When I fulfilled an adolescent dream and interviewed Jackyl’s Jesse James Dupree earlier this year, he told me that he was anticipating some controversy for the band’s cover of Mother’s Finest’s song “Just Like a Negro.” It’s obviously a little weird to have a bunch of white dudes doing a track with that title, and doubly so when you consider that Jackyl are southern and might be seen as, um, I think the correct terms are “crackers” and “honkeys.”

But Dupree felt confident that anyone who knew the facts behind the cover would realize Jackyl aren’t a bunch of redneck racists. He even re-wrote the lyrics with Mother’s Finest bassist Wyzard so that they’d make sense for a caucasian to sing:

“…the lyrics basically say that music makes all the colors run together and that it was the brothers who invented rock n’ roll – Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Fats Domino…  That’s all the song is – a tribute to that, and the fact that music breaks down the barriers.”

He also told me that he had hoped to get Sevendust’s Lajon Witherspoon to do some guest vocals on the track, but it didn’t work out for whatever reason. What he didn’t tell me, and what I didn’t know at that time ’cause I hadn’t heard the album yet, was that he did end up getting a guest for the track — the “DMC” from Run DMC, Darryl Matthews McDaniels.

And, honestly, this song is still pretty awful. I mean, watching Dupree try to dance while DMC raps is kinda funny, but I’d never actively listen to this track. That being said, I’d still argue that it’s the least worst rap metal song of the century so far. I’ll take Jackyl over Limp Bizkit and their ilk any day of the week and twice on Sundays.

Jackyl’s latest, When Moonshine and Dynamite Collide, is out now.

-AR

It’s always heart-breaking when an artist you admire associates him or herself with an “artist” who pretty much stands against eveything in which you believe. Thus is the case with Sevendust’s Lajon Witherspoon, who appears on the new (Hed) p.e. track, “Stand Up,” which is now streaming over at Noisecreep. We always try to defend Sevendust as the “good” nu-metal band here at MetalSucks, but then Witherspoon goes and does something like this and all we can really do is shrug and say, “Hey, but Cold Day Memory is really fun!” and hope you still believe us.

I guess the silver lining, really, is that Witherspoon’s vocals instantly elevate this song above all other (Hed) p.e. releases. But that’s a little like saying that a three-legged dog beat a two-legged dog in a race — Well no duh-skis, y’know? And my understanding is that Witherspoon is a really nice dude. So maybe he was just too kind to tell (Hed) p.e. to suck it. Or maybe he’s legitimately a fan of that band. I dunno. I read somewhere recently that Christopher Nolan likes Michael Bay movies, so I guess you can’t assume someone has great taste just ’cause you like their work.

Side note about the song: In the interview that accompanies the track debut, (Hed) p.e. is referred to as “the leaders of the Truth Movement,” whatever the fuck that is, and then front man Jared Gomes declares that he is “worried about all the anti-government sentiment that I find in the youth.” Because that’s what metal is really all about, dude: Trusting The Man. Thank God (Hed) p.e. are here to teach young headbangers to respect authority.

-AR

Axl and I were listening to a couple of tracks from the new Sevendust record Cold Day Memory last night. The gist of our conversation was “It’s amazing how much of a difference one person can make in the music of this band.” That person, of course, would be Clint Lowery, and his presence — absent for the past three albums — can be felt from the very first note. What Clint adds to the songwriting and production table has been pretty well-documented but he’s also an extremely talented vocalist, and his re-introduction to Sevendust makes the vocals on the album a whole lot stronger, a return to that patented “three voice” sound. In this exclusive clip of the DVD that accompanies Cold Day Memory we get a look into the vocal recording process of all three men who sing — Clint, drummer Morgan Rose and lead vocalist Lajon Witherspoon — as well as interviews with all of the band members.

Check out the interview I did with Clint a few weeks ago about his role in the recording and production process of Cold Day Memory. And of course, pick the album up; it just came out yesterday.

-VN

[This exclusive has now ended.]

Though Clint Lowery rejoined Sevendust two years ago, the group’s new album Cold Day Memory — out April 20th — will be the first Sevendust record to feature his writing contributions since 2004′s Butch Walker-produced affair Seasons. Most folks agree that the last three Lowery-less Sevendust records seemed to be missing something, an idea that Lowery acknowledges in our brief chat, but Lowery couldn’t be happier to be back writing new music with his brothers again.

I recently called up Clint to talk about the new album, the writing process, any pressure that he may be feeling now that he’s back in the band, what’s changed since the last time, and what he and the band were trying to accomplish with the new record.

Our chat, after the jump.

Click to read more…

Earlier this week, I was pretty down on “Forever Dead,” the new Sevendust song from their forthcoming album, Cold Day Memory. But our pals over at SMN posted this other new Sevendust song, “Unraveling,” last night, and I gotta say, I’m really, really digging it. Maybe it’s because I’m a massive pussy and I’ve always enjoyed Sevendust’s melodic material more than their heavy stuff – “Xmas Day” makes me wanna run as I fast as I can for Lajon Witherspoon every time I hear it – but this song just hits me in the right spot.

Cold Day Memory drops April 20. And now I’m excited to hear it again!

-AR

I don’t know whether this is actually the case, but before I met Clint Lowery (we interviewed him right after he rejoined Sevendust in early 2008) he always struck me a super-serious dude. He always just looked so fucking serious up there on stage, counter to 7D bassist Vinnie Hornsby’s class-clown stage antics. But he was super chill and affable in person. And he always responds to my emails, no matter how annoying they may be (“Hey dude, wanna send me that unreleased Dark New Day album?” “Sorry man, I wish, but I can’t.”) Maybe it’s that whole newfound sobriety thing (congrats on two years, dude!).

Anyway I’ve really been enjoying these Sevendust video diaries from the studio. They’re updated several times daily and show a whole other side of the band, especially Mr. Lowery, who’s been handling the lion’s share of the camera work. Every time the camera clicks off he makes a silly face. It’s cute. Here we see him goofing off while Lajon tracks vocals. Wonder what song it is that they’re working on?

-VN