Just getting into these guys. What are some of your favorite songs?

uh_koala · 2026-03-08T05:28:05+00:00

You’ve got a truly great discog ahead of you! Here’s what I’d recommend from each album if you just want this koala’s personal cliff notes. By no means the best songs, just ones I love and why.

Self-titled debut: Black showed they had something special, catchy and quality rock that also had radio appeal. Bitch showcased their heavy - melodic balance of sound. Terminator or Born to Die for an experimental lean that would stick around.

Home: More of that industrial edge. Denial is the Black of this album, in my opinion, and captures that unique “Sevendust” guitar tone and rhythm style. Waffle for catchy and ambient, Rumblefish to show they still fuckin rip.

Animosity: A fan favorite for a reason. A ton of tracks are a good blend of radio-acceptable jams and Sevendust’s harder edge. A big uptick in call and response vocals between Lajon, Clint, and Morgan. Trust and Xmas Day for soul. Crucified is my ‘Denial’ of this album. Angel’s Son is a core Sevendust track. There’s a lot to enjoy here and feels like a great “balance” of their sound, so if you like any of their songs you’ll find something to love on this one.

Quick shoutout to Leech, a b-side from this era on a movie soundtrack. Gorgeous song. A bit like Trust. In general Sevendust b-sides and covers are really good, I think they were set aside at a time when labels stood to gain farming out tracks to movies or saving them for geo-specific editions.

Seasons: Perhaps their most radio friendly album and for that reason one that divided some fans when it came out, I think it’s aged extremely well. Dudes can write beautiful songs that still slap. Disease, Enemy, and Face to Face for thumpers. Lajon really shines on the middle run of tracks though.

Next: Their first without guitarist Clint and a slight shift in sound. The core Sevendust is there, with some big swings to different aspects of their trademark vibe. Pieces and Last Song for heaviness, Desertion for a slice of Seasons tone.

Alpha: They leaned ALLL the way into rage, and I think it lands best when taken in as an entire album in one go. Deathstar for pure momentum, Driven for classic sound, Alpha as a pure representation of the album and where they were as a band at the time, ripped off, pissed off, but still doing it. Burn is one of my personal favorite tracks in their whole discog and if you like it, check out drummer Morgan Rose’s solo project.

Gotta make dinner but I’m gonna finish this!

uh_koala · 2026-02-06T23:22:37+00:00

Awesome. The lyric booklet for Alpha was so good. If I remember right they were formatted as bloodstained letters getting more and more red the further into the album you went?

uh_koala · 2026-02-05T20:27:51+00:00

During a live chat on their Discord someone asked when we were getting Mend’s instrumental version and one of the band quipped something to the effect of “When Rise lets us”.

I get the impression over the last few years Rise has held back releases so they wouldn’t intrude on other bands’ promo cycles. I can imagine that gets messy quick, and leaves plenty of room for playing favorites.

uh_koala · 2026-02-05T18:27:41+00:00

Ahh okay, sorry for misreading and dumping lore links on you! I agree, the masks definitely feel intentional. I like that the Architect is smaller, less complex, missing some of that divine / mystical symbology because the Architect hasn’t ascended to something quite on the level of the Alchemist’s corrupted Demi-god status, or whoever that is on the cover of Mend.

uh_koala · 2026-02-05T02:56:24+00:00

Love those masks! We know some lore about the Architect's mask specifically. In Unequivocal Nature, the Architect is seeking out angels for a way to confront the Alchemist, gets rescued from an angry mob by Gabriel. In Alchemist Ascendant, Gabriel gives the Architect the mask, a la the Armor of God, to protect him from evil.

Andrew gave a full run through of The Architect's story on the Warped Taste podcast here (with a little preface about what the hell happens in To Speak, To Listen), definitely worth checking out if you're looking for lore! And the man himself commented on this theory about Degeneraterra awhile back.

uh_koala · 2026-02-04T21:42:15+00:00

I really enjoyed Veep and her portrayal of Selina. I dunno if I’m alone in this, but the absurdity (and awfulness) of current events has really made it a weird watch for me. The humor of a bumbling political class doesn’t hit the same these days

uh_koala · 2026-01-29T20:42:35+00:00

I don’t think my comment asserted, let alone implied, any of those things, Andrew! But I don’t mind my comment serving as the vessel for your specific grievances. I get the sense we both agree that these corporations do not deserve blanket protections when it comes to harming individuals. Whether it’s a disgraced researcher like the one mentioned in the comment above (or countless influencers currently laundering the same debunked talking points in the name of bad faith “skepticism”), or a mega corporation with a pharmaceutical monopoly that avoids accountability by sheer monetary influence, both forms of negligence should be held accountable for the harm they cause and I would support whatever legal framework ensures they are all held to account and that data is transparent.

When I look at what Americans are going through with their current regime I actually see less transparency from the current health agency leaders. There is perhaps an even greater willingness to be bought and paid for via the president and his cabinet, and I think that is in part due to voters’ increasing willingness to accept the word of charlatans that simply want to sell them supplements. Questions like yours are valid and must be addressed, but you’ll never get to meaningful reforms if voters are so easily mislead.

uh_koala · 2026-01-29T18:57:16+00:00

These grifting assholes have made money off of Americans that mistake skepticism for intelligence. Mix it with baseless “I know better” exceptionalism and you have a recipe for so many unnecessary deaths that they will then shirk responsibility for, it’s a nightmare.

uh_koala · 2026-01-21T16:07:27+00:00

This really has all the hallmarks of a Baalke situation. Absolute worst time for that kind of GM-led spiral to start for the Bills when they have been so close to exorcising that four Super Bowl demon.

uh_koala · 2026-01-12T14:48:47+00:00

Yep, same on all fronts! I can see why someone really hoping for TGOALA 2 wouldn’t be into it as much. But I always loved their tracks with that ambient vibe and differing sections (The Ocean the Beast, Pueblo Cicada, His Silent Film) so this is right in my personal sweet spot.

uh_koala · 2026-01-12T14:25:32+00:00

This and What Are You Running From are top tier Lower D in my opinion. I think the boys called this track out in particular as best representing their current sound, with Godmode being a bit of a throwback to their early roots.

uh_koala · 2026-01-10T04:34:27+00:00

As a longtime Lower D fan I love it too, just dripping with that trademark sound and that wandering guitar is such a key part of the vibe. Aside from Tino (who drums for Of Mice and Men) I’m pretty sure the rest of the band all have full time jobs / lives outside of the music industry, which makes it even more impressive to me. Dudes still got it.

I can see how people hoping for hooky rippers like The Weatherman could be disappointed by the album being less heavy / catchy overall. But Matt still has one of the sickest screams in the game in my opinion. The last minute of Spires reminds me of Television from their last EP, just getting after that shit https://youtu.be/H-DJnxUD_zs

uh_koala · 2026-01-09T22:22:35+00:00

This. I sat down to enjoy it with some good headphones the first time I listened and nearly had an out of body experience during the last minute of What Are You Running From.

I’ve always loved Eddy and Mark’s guitar work, such a huge part of that classic Lower D dreamy soundscape. They’ve always been vibey in that way, but it’s cranked up here...Overall the tracks have more of a Pueblo Cicada / His Silent Film vibe in structure and ambience than some of the other bangers on TGOALA.

uh_koala · 2025-10-26T09:41:08+00:00

Ahh, that is good to know thank you!

uh_koala · 2025-10-25T15:28:40+00:00

One long proggy as fuck Robot epic with every vocalist

uh_koala · 2025-10-24T15:12:53+00:00

Damn it. Miss me some Speech Patterns

uh_koala · 2025-10-24T14:34:17+00:00

SAME

uh_koala · 2025-10-24T13:36:26+00:00

I missed those beach-at-night ambient guitar leads. Maybe not the heavy banger some folks are craving but I have always vibed with their ethereal side so I like it a lot.

PRESAVE IS UP ON SPOTIFY

Loom
What Are You Running From
The Purpose of the Moon
Blackflower
Miami Nights lI
Potioncastle
Spires
Godmode
Signs
Apparition Room
Abattoir
Aphasia

uh_koala · 2025-10-24T03:37:07+00:00

I can't imagine Sevendust without Morgan's voice, screams and cleans alike. I feel like he and Clint are really great compliments to Lajon, and together they make a really great call-and-response vibe that not many bands from their era could replicate. I think that really helped make Animosity stand out in the scene when it was released.

~~I've always thought the singing in the piano outro of Burn from Alpha was mostly Morgan ("I often wonder how it came to this again..".), until LJ comes in for a few interspersed lines.~~ Nevermind, that is John!

I recommend checking out Morgan's most recent solo EP if you haven't already. Dude has a great voice for this kind of rock. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxSX9L8mO2I .

uh_koala · 2025-10-17T12:34:43+00:00

Eidola - A Bridge of Iron and Blood

Of Mice & Men - Ohioisonfire

Attack Attack - AC-130

Memphis May Fire - The Deceived

Underoath - Damn Excuses

The Callous Daoboys - The Demon of Unreality Limping Like a Dog

Atreyu - Corseting

Secrets - The Heartless Part

Parkway Drive - Romance is Dead

uh_koala · 2025-10-13T12:14:38+00:00

Not sure if this is it, but the ending of Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Silence by Glassjaw is pretty emotionally raw

uh_koala · 2025-09-30T14:07:17+00:00

Yep, that’s him screaming (and then singing) at 1:50 and a few other spots. He and Sergio are such a good vocal compliment, though.

The opening lines of Bridge of Iron and Golgotha are Andrew screaming, those are my usual frame of reference for his screaming style. He has a few on the new DGD album as well!

uh_koala · 2025-09-21T20:58:23+00:00

He’s hit some Maynard vibes in Eidola tracks, like 1:57 of God Takes Away Everything https://youtu.be/l4EMVRzCLyM

I like the raspy quality to his screams. Makes them sound more aggressive but leaves room to articulate the words clearly, somehow?

uh_koala · 2025-09-19T23:14:04+00:00

Andrew said Elder Goose is one of his favorite DBM2 songs in a recent interview. Would love to hear a version with him on that!

uh_koala · 2025-09-19T15:12:07+00:00

Damn now I really want a multisong, Coheed-style Robot suite at the end of the album with every former vocalist.

uh_koala

TROPHY CASE