INTERVIEW: Lajon Witherspoon on Sevendust’s new inspiration
Photo: Sevendust recently released their 14th studio album, Truth Killer, out now on Napalm Records. Photo courtesy of Chuck Bruckmann / Provided by PFA with permission.
Lajon Witherspoon, the legendary vocalist of the metal band Sevendust, is celebrating, along with his fellow band members, the release of their 14th studio album. Truth Killer is now available from Napalm Records, and fans can hear some of the new tunes when the group comes to town. They are currently touring with Mammoth WVH and Alter Bridge, and later this year they head out with Static-X and Dope.
“We always want to get back in the studio, especially with the way things went down with Blood & Stone,” Witherspoon said in a recent phone interview about the band’s last album, which was released during the pandemic. “Releasing the album and not being able to tour with it was the weirdest thing for us in our career. It never had happened. The world was shut down, but us sitting there, we felt like as a band it would be crazy for us not to release music with everyone being at home. That’s what we need to get through this time. With that being said, the album did chart, but it was obviously, definitely weird for us not to tour. So I feel like we put all that energy of being away into Truth Killer.”
It feels like Sevendust has recently been shot out of a musical cannon because they are ready to bring their songs — both old and new — to their many, many fans on an ambitious tour schedule. In many ways, the pandemic offered them a rebirth, this time with them releasing tunes on the world-respected Napalm Records.
Witherspoon said he has fond memories of recording the album with Clint Lowery, John Connolly, Vince Hornsby and Morgan Rose. Together they created many powerful tunes, including “I Might Let the Devil Win,” “Everything,” “Holy Water” and “Superficial Drug.” Michael “Elvis” Baskette produced the effort.
“This time we were able to go and work at the farmhouse, which was left to my wife and our family from her grandparents,” he said. “We went down and wrote some songs. It reminded us of being a kid, for me personally. When we had to find a room to jam in, and to look into Grandma’s room and see Morgan’s drum set, John’s guitars, all the guitars, the mic stand and everything set up, and us just jamming as a band, just made something very special for this album.”
When Truth Killer was released a couple Fridays ago, Witherspoon sat down and listened to the new recording in its entirety. He likes to remove himself from the pains and joys of recording the songs, and simply sit and listen as if he were fan. He liked what he heard, and that’s evident because the band has started putting “Fence,” the album closer, into the set, along with “Everything.” There’s also a chance “Superficial Drug,” a new single from the album, will make a live appearance.
“I feel like that was just one of those bouncing songs,” Witherspoon said about “Superficial Drug.” “As soon as we heard that, we knew that that was going to be something that people could gravitate to and just have a good time. I like for everyone to interpret the songs, but if you listen to the lyrics, I think it kind of talks about everything that is going on in the world right now, too.”
At this point in Sevendust’s career, with 14 studio albums under their belt and decades in the business, they can be nostalgic and look back at the many successes they’ve had. For Witherspoon, he believes that the band has grown up with their fan base, and now they can take more risks, especially with the lyrics.
“That’s why we felt safe with putting out the first teaser with a song like ‘I Might Let the Devil Win,’ you know what I mean,” Witherspoon said. “People were like, ‘Oh my God, what’s going on? You guys going to really do that?’ … We’re not afraid at this point to put our music out. Before it was like, you had a whole group of people, ‘Man, you guys are not heavy anymore.’ Yes we are. Yes, but we’ve grown. We’ve evolved. We have kids, wives. Other things inspire. We’re not those kids that didn’t have responsibility that just toured on the tour bus and the only thing we had to do was write music. There’s a lot of different things going on now that inspire to help you write things, and you have to have that in life. I think if you’re doing the same thing all the time, you can’t have good things to write about that are really real. We have to have real experiences.”
Witherspoon added: “We’re the tightest that we’ve ever been.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Sevendust’s new album is called Truth Killer. They are currently touring with Alter Bridge and Mammoth WVH, and later this year, they tour with Static-X and Dope. Click here for more information and tickets.
