I'm satisfied
Well, it's not easy for band to keep you interested and content after, I guess, seven albums (I wasn't counting, but that's a good point). But Sevendust has done that in my opinion. It's really impressive that they've carved a niche that they can sound relatively fresh in after all these albums.

They're just great song writer's. They still have a very driven and heavy side. They continue to switch up rythms and moods within songs, plus they're "catchy" and have a somewhat unique sound, even if they remain similar to their own previous material. There are a lot of bands that used to be exciting that continue to make music but sound like a bad replica of themselves (Red hot chili peppers, metallica, whatever crap G n R remnants do, even weezer is getting that way). But you can shuffle this album into their 90's material and wouldn't know the difference. So I wouldn't throw these guys away just because they've been around. This is a great album.

Welcome to the New Sevendust
The new Sevendust CD, titled Chapter VII Hope and Sorrow represents a slightly more experimental Sevendust than its fans are used to. Most metal bands tend to mellow and become more intellectual with age, and Sevendust is no exception.

Sevendust is and always has always been hardcore and relatively experimental (in terms of harmonies and rhythms), but in the first part of they're career (from their beginning through the album, Next) they were more about harsh, adrenaline pumping, concrete smashingly heavy music than they were about experimentation, and the experimentation was always subject to making the music more striking; it was never an end unto itself. Starting with Alpha, and even more so with their current album, experimentation becomes the end, not the means.

Fans who loved the bloodthirsty rhythms of the old Sevendust, will not be disappointed by this album, but they will hear a little less of that, and a little more use of polytonality, octatonicism, chromaticism, and formal irregularities (such as the two minute long introduction to the first song).

Welcome to the new Sevendust.

Different But Cohesive
This album has a much more mature song than any Sevendust album prior. Each song flows smoothly into the next, and for Sevendust this album is pretty light on the ears.

The collaborations with Chris Daughtry on "The Past" and Myles Kennedy on "Sorrow" are simply amazing. I'm not a big Daughtry or Alter Bridge fan but their work with Lajon's vocals work so well together.

The rest of the album just seems pieced together well. I really like how they incorporated Morgan Rose's screaming, it works better in this albums selection of songs than any album prior.

Animosity remains Sevendust's best album in my book followed closely by Alpha, but I would give Chapter VII the nod for the 3rd best album.

Not their best
Every song has a stupid, slow intro. It really kills the flow of the CD and I very very rarely listen to it.

Not their best, but still awesome
This one definitely deviated from the sound of their last two albums, which I loved, but the lyrics didn't seem to hit as hard as the ones on Alpha. Only recommendations to check out would be, coincidentally, Hope and Sorrow.