SEVENDUST – LIVE AT THE STARLAND BALLROOM

On Friday, September 16 I headed to the Starland Ballroom in New Jersey to see two of my all time
favorite bands; Sevendust and Nonpoint and what a spectacular show it was!!

First up was Burden of The Sky whom I’ve never see before and I was very impressed and would love to see them again. Burden of The Sky is an American Alt-Metal band from Bloomington, Illinois which formed in 2012 as a project of Brad Shaw and Josh Appel. In 2017 the band’s debut album Cinis Ad Cinis came out and the public took notice. In 2018 the band was still led by Shaw and Appel on guitars, as well as Michael Mahoney (Keyboards), Dustin Tritsch (Bass), Rick Streeter (Drums) and new vocalist/songwriter Scottie James. If you haven’t seen these guys be sure to!

Next on the stage was Bastardane. Again, this was my first time seeing these guys as well. A solid trio that packed a punch. These guys are a hard rock band from Savannah, Georgia comprised of James Hetfield’s son Castor Hetfield (Drums), Jake Dallas (Lead Vocals/Bass), and Ethan Sirotzki (Guitar). Formed in 2019, Bastardane is a blend of old school thrash, hard rock, and stoner rock..

Nonpoint was up next and as always they were terrific. This was my third time seeing them and I have to say they just get better and better each time.  They are a very tight band with high energy and they had the crowd going wild. They started their set with “Ruthless”. By the third song, “What a Day” , the packed Starland ballroom went crazy. Their last song “Bullet With a Name” also had the crowd frenzied.

Nonpoint’s latest album X was released back in 2018 and we are all anxiously awaiting more new music to be released. Nonpoint is from Fort Lauderdale, Florida and consists of Elias Soriano (Vocals), Robb Rivera (Drums), Jaysin Zeilstra (Lead Guitar), Rasheed Thomas (Rhythm Guitar) and Adam Woloszyn (Bass). The band was formed in 1998 and really created a name for themselves in the mid- late 90’s.

The band  released their debut major label album Statement on Oct. 10, 2000 via MCA Records. They toured with bands such as Mudvayne, Fuel and Drowning Pool. Their biggest tour was appearing in the USA leg of the 2001 Ozzfest.  A year after its release, the album hit #166 on the Billboard charts and their first single from the album, “What a Day”, hit #24 on the Mainstream Rock charts.

And headlining tonight was Sevendust and wow, what a show,.These guys are a metal powerhouse. The overly packed Starland went crazy. The crowd surfing was insane and people were having an absolutely amazing time. Their sound was balanced. Their light show was very intense during their 13 song setlist from their Animosity album. They came on stage playing “Animosity” and ended with “Crucified”. Their encore were two amazing songs “Pieces”and “Face to Face” which ended the show with a bang.

Sevendust was formed in 1994 and they are from Atlanta, Georgia. The band consists of Vince Hornsby (Bass), Morgan Rose (Drums), John Connolly (Rhythm Guitar), Clint Lowry (Lead Guitar) and Lajon Witherspoon (Lead Vocals). In 1996 the band released the track “My Ruin” which was featured on the videogame soundtrack, Mortal Kombat.

On April 15, 1997 Sevendust released their self-titled debut album which was known for its heavy riffs, angry vocals and thrashing drums, Just listen to the songs “Black” and “Bitch”. Until 2004 “Black” was the opening song for nearly every one of their performances. Sevendust was on the billboard 200 for 16 weeks and the album went gold on May 19, 1999. On August 24, 1999 Sevendust released their second album, Home, which peaked at 19 on the Billboard 200. There were two singles on the album that gave the band moderate chart success, “Denial” and “Waffle”. In November 2001 they released their third album, Animosity which went gold.

In 2003 Sevendust came out with their fourth album, Seasons, and it debuted at #14 in the US, selling around 68,000 copies in its first week. This is definitely one of their best received albums with their highest chart single “Enemy” which came in at #10 on the Mainstream Rock chart. “Enemy” was made the official theme song for WWE Unforgiven 2003.

Sevendust have released thirteen studio albums, and has earned additional charting success and gold sales. If you have not seen Sevendust I highly recommend that you do. What a wonderful band and it was an amazing show as always.

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To learn more about Sevendust, check out the website

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