Seasons (Sevendust album)

Seasons is the fourth studio album by American rock band Sevendust. It would be the band's final album with TVT Records and was dedicated to the memory of Reginald Witherspoon (Lajon Witherspoon's younger brother) and Dave Williams (Drowning Pool's original singer), the former was murdered in November 2002 and the latter died of cardiomyopathy in August 2002.

Seasons
Studio album by
Sevendust
ReleasedOctober 7, 2003
RecordedRuby Red Studios &
Brannon Studios
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
GenreNu metal, alternative metal
Length43:54
LabelTVT
ProducerButch Walker
Sevendust
Jay Jay French
Jeff Hanson
Steve Gottlieb
Sevendust chronology
Animosity
(2001)		 Seasons
(2003)		 Southside Double-Wide: Acoustic Live
(2004)
Singles from Seasons
  1. "Enemy"
    Released: September 25, 2003
  2. "Broken Down"
    Released: January 19, 2004
  3. "Face to Face"
    Released: September 27, 2004

Seasons was, for a time, the band's last album with Clint Lowery as he left in 2004. Lowery would return to Sevendust in March 2008.

A limited edition of Seasons was released. This includes a DVD featuring "Black" (live and acoustic) and other special features.

Recording and production

In an unusual choice, Butch Walker was chosen to produce the band's fourth album. Although Walker had produced some demos for the band in their early years as Crawlspace, he had a largely pop-oriented résumé. In a 2003 interview, guitarist John Connolly described the album's overall approach:

"It's really heavy and just tons of melody. We're real big fans of melody and there's no reason that a heavy band can't have something to sing over, and we just really pushed it a lot farther then we had a chance to on the last few records."

Connolly also compared Seasons to the band's previous albums:

"A lot more mature. A lot more focused. We just had a lot more time to spend with it. Working with Butch Walker in the studio just made us a lot more efficient, and we could move a lot faster. We wrote a lot of songs for this record. I think we just pushed better songs further along then we had a chance to with Animosity."[1]

In retrospect, Morgan Rose has described Seasons as too commercial. This was due to Sevendust's loss of creative control with TVT Records thinking that Seasons should be suitable for radio airplay. He noted in an interview, "When we finished our touring cycle for Seasons, and our number one priority was to figure out a way to get out of the record deal that we had been stuck in for quite a while. Once we finally got out, our next priority was not to be stuck in the same position as far as creative control and to be able to make a lot of the musical decisions on our own."[2]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Exclaim!(positive)[4]
Star Pulse[5]

Commercial performance

Seasons gained substantial commercial success. It debuted at No. 14 in the US, selling around 68,000 copies in its first week. The lead single, "Enemy" reached No. 10 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks to become the group's highest charting single to date. The following two singles did not achieve such a high standard but nevertheless gained frequent airplay upon release. Despite mostly positive reviews, the album failed to sell as well as its predecessors, which all were certified gold.

Critical reception

The album gained overall positive reception from critics. Its approach to heaviness and melody were commended as was the band for their continued strength in songwriting. However, Seasons provided little diversity from previous albums. Amber Authier of Exclaim! noted, "...as these Atlanta, Georgia natives release more discs, they start to blend into each other. They take small steps into a new direction but they aren’t willing to take a leap of faith into something radically outside of the style that has given them success to date."[4] AllMusic's Alex Henderson described the album as "far from a happy CD, but it's a compelling one -- perhaps too dark for some listeners, but compelling nonetheless" and added, "Sevendust continues to live up to its high standards throughout the band's fourth album."[3]

Touring and promotion

Building up to the release of Seasons, the band performed lengthy acoustic sets in various cities and had listening parties for the new album. Their performance at the Georgia Theatre would be released as the band's first live album, Southside Double-Wide: Acoustic Live, in May 2004. Following the acoustic shows, Sevendust opened for Staind.[1] They also joined Cold for a US tour in the spring of 2004.[6]

The album's lead single, "Enemy", had a music video which was shown frequently on Headbangers Ball in late 2003. It features former professional wrestler Chyna in a comical yet violent street brawl against an armless man. Two more singles were released and gained substantial airplay. The track "Separate" was also included on the MTV2 Headbangers Ball compilation in 2003.

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Disease"Morgan Rose, Clint Lowery, Lajon Witherspoon, Butch Walker3:33
2."Enemy"Rose, Walker3:03
3."Seasons"Lowery, Walker3:32
4."Broken Down"Rose3:23
5."Separate"Lowery, Rose, Walker3:41
6."Honesty"Lowery, Rose, Walker3:30
7."Skeleton Song"Lowery, Rose4:22
8."Disgrace"Lowery, Rose3:58
9."Burned Out"Lowery3:52
10."Suffocate"Lowery, Rose3:22
11."Gone"Lowery, Rose3:43
12."Face to Face"Lowery, Rose3:55
Total length:43:54
Bonus track release
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Coward"Rose, Walker3:36
Bonus tracks release
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Rain"Lowery, Rose3:35
14."Coward"Rose, Walker3:36
Japanese release
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Rain"Lowery, Rose3:35
14."Number One (The Ballad)"Lowery, Rose4:47
15."Coward"Rose, Walker3:34

B-sides

Charts

Singles
Year Song Chart Position Ref.
2003 "Enemy" Mainstream Rock Tracks 10 [7]
2003 "Enemy" Modern Rock Tracks 30 [7]
2004 "Broken Down" Mainstream Rock Tracks 20 [7]
2004 "Face to Face" Mainstream Rock Tracks 22

Album
Year Album Chart Position Ref.
2003 Seasons Billboard 200 14 [8][9]
2003 Seasons Top Independent Albums 1 [9][10]
2003 Seasons Top Internet Albums 14 [9]
2004 Seasons Top Australian Albums 38
2004 Seasons Top New Zealand Albums 20

Personnel

Production
  • Produced and recorded by Butch Walker, co-produced by Sevendust
  • Assisted by Rusty Cobb & Shawn Grove
  • Recorded at Ruby Red Studios & Brannon Studios, Atlanta, Georgia
  • Mixed by Jay Baumgardner at NRG Studios, Hollywood, California
  • Programming by William Vignola
  • Drum tech: Mickey Wade / Guitar tech: Brent Mullins
  • Mastered by Tom Baker at Precision Mastering

References
  1. Joseph, Jason Throwback Interview: Sevendust ShockblastMedia.com (September 2003). Retrieved on 6-10-11.
  2. Wright, James Sevendust Archived 2011-09-10 at the Wayback Machine Blistering.com (2005). Retrieved on 6-10-11.
  3. Sevendust Review, AllMusic, retrieved 2010-04-25
  4. Sevendust - Seasons Exclaim! (November 2003). Retrieved on 6-10-11.
  5. Alex Henderson, Rovi Sevendust - Seasons StarPulse.com (2003). Retrieved on 6-10-11.
  6. SEVENDUST/COLD Tour Dates Announced Blabbermouth.net (March 7, 2004). Retrieved on 6-10-11.
  7. "Seasons > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". AllMusic. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
  8. Sevendust (Chart History: Billboard 200), Billboard, retrieved 2010-04-25
  9. "Seasons > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
  10. Sevendust (Chart History: Independent Albums), Billboard, retrieved 2010-04-25
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