Sevendust!

Loud, brash and angry, Sevendust hails from the dirty south of Atlanta! They've got better as they grow in popularity, since coming together in 1994. Named after an insecticide, Sevendust is fronted by Lajon Witherspoon and his deep throat. The group released an eponymous debut on TVT in 1997, and landed on the Ozzfest tour a year later and at the neo-Woodstock in 1999, just before dropping their second musical bomb, Home. Animosity came out in 2001, but they took a break following the death of Witherspoon's younger brother. Sometimes great art comes from tragedy, however; Seasons, which came out in 2003, is Sevendust's best effort to date, and would mark the band's last original release for TVT. Guitarist Clint Lowery left in 2004, citing the requisite musical differences - he was eventually replaced by Sonny Mayo, late of Snot. Next came out in 2005, and a new disc, Alpha, is due in March, 2007.
Sevendust plays heavy - and we mean heavy - guitar licks that grab you, bounce you around a padded room, and leave you gasping for air. Even though they were originally called Crawlspace, they make a big, fat, thumping sound, and Witherspoon's brash, introspective voice carries the nifty melodies the band manages to tap into on top of all that dark noise. You pull for any band that's put its time in on the road before making it big, and Sevendust played with just about everybody - KORN, Creed, Metallica, Kid Rock, Godsmack, Limp Bizkit, you name it - on their way to fame and fortune. They were hungry when they started, and their music continues to reflect that ambitious feeling, greedy for power riffs amidst grinding guitars. It's the sort of band that finally found its way onto a major label, and you never feel like they sold their souls for rock n' roll.