Sevendust released Blood & Stone on October 23, 2020, through Rise Records. Their 13th studio album had been recorded before the pandemic, with Michael “Elvis” Baskette returning as producer after All I See Is War. By release day, the band had a finished record and no tour to take it on.
“Dying to Live” opened the album, a choice Lajon Witherspoon told Outburn was intended to establish its direction immediately. Across the record, he also welcomed the chance to spend more time singing melodies over slower and midtempo material. The band didn’t need every song to be its heaviest.
That range had developed over months of writing. Guitarist John Connolly told Live Metal that demos began early in 2019, with group sessions and touring fitted around one another before recording started that fall. Some early favorites didn’t develop as expected, while ideas the musicians had nearly dismissed became stronger once they worked on them together. They returned to Studio Barbarosa in Gotha, Florida, where Baskette could help turn those competing possibilities into a complete record.
The setting kept them close to the work. Witherspoon described staying at the property, working out, spending time by the pool and making music from noon until midnight. In his Audio Ink Radio interview, the memory of those Florida sessions stood in sharp contrast to the restrictions that followed. The band had been able to live and record together before returning home to a world in which gathering for a show became impossible.
Baskette’s role went well beyond getting the instruments recorded. With several members contributing vocals, Sevendust could generate more layers than a song needed. Connolly explained that the producer helped identify the essential hooks, remove unnecessary parts and choose the right voice for each passage. Sometimes that meant asking for a specific high note; elsewhere, a lower, rougher voice suited the part. Drummer Morgan Rose contributed harmonies, too. Sorting those choices gave the melodies room without requiring everyone to sing at once.
The album’s closing song presented Witherspoon with a different challenge. Sevendust had discussed recording a cover without settling on one until Baskette proposed Soundgarden’s “The Day I Tried to Live.” Witherspoon loved the suggestion, then realized he would be the one tackling Chris Cornell’s vocal. He put off recording it until the end. “I am paying homage and I am going to do it my way,” he told SPIN, explaining how he approached the performance. The goal was to honor Cornell while singing as himself.
The music was ready before its release plan was. Witherspoon told SPIN that the band had originally intended to put the album out in spring 2020, then held it back as shutdowns began. By October, waiting for touring to resume no longer felt like a useful answer. He told Audio Ink Radio that Sevendust needed to keep releasing music, and hoped the album could give listeners something positive during an isolating period.
On release night, the band performed its first livestream concert, Live In Your Living Room, from an Orlando facility. The set opened with “Dying to Live” and also included “Blood From a Stone” and the Soundgarden cover alongside older material. Sevendust performed the new songs together, with fans watching from home instead of standing in front of the stage.
