Drummer MORGAN ROSE Explains Why SEVENDUST Threw Out the Rulebook When Writing Their New Album “One”

Thirty years in and fifteen albums deep, Sevendust made a deliberate choice with their newest album, One, to stop trying to make a deliberate choice. No overarching concept, no sonic direction, no pressure to be heavier or leaner or more polished than the last album. Just five guys, Lajon Witherspoon [vocals], Clint Lowery [guitar], John Connolly [guitar], Vince Hornsby [bass], and Morgan Rose [drums] writing songs and seeing what survives. The result is ten diverse and muscular songs, introduced by the title track “One,” which sets the album’s tone off with a brooding riff, an unshakable groove, and Lajon’s unmistakable melodic voice. Songs like “Unbreakable” lean into a big, soaring chorus built for live crowds, while “Threshold” injects a sharper, more progressive edge, offering some of the album’s deeper moments. It’s an album that showcases a band deep into its career yet still hungry to push its sound forward. In my interview with Morgan Rose, he offered an insightful, often humorous look at the creation of One. Rather than approaching the album with a predetermined direction, Morgan explained that the band abandoned the idea of forcing a specific sound and instead focused on writing the strongest songs possible. He also described the importance of the sequencing process, ensuring that One flows like a complete listening experience rather than simply a collection of songs. The result is an album that embraces the full spectrum of Sevendust’s identity with deeply personal themes. He also shared the band’s kind yet hilarious way of tossing a member’s idea for a song to the curb. In fact, it even happened to him when pitching an idea. He went on to highlight the close creative partnership with vocalist Lajon during the making of One, which was unlike anything he had experienced previously. Morgan noted that both men were navigating similar personal struggles and found themselves speaking the same emotional language throughout the writing sessions. He said, “We were both miserable,” with characteristic bluntness. “We were speaking each other’s language, which doesn’t happen all the time.” Songs such as “Bright Side” and “Is This the Real You?” emerged from those shared experiences, blending personal reflection with universal themes that listeners can relate to in their own lives. Some of the more comical moments came when Morgan revealed he had practiced only once in his life. It was 11:00 pm in MI (Musical Institute) when his roommate called him a loser for never showing up to class. In a drunk “I’ll show you, moment,” he went and practiced. By his own admission, he had no idea what he was doing. The irony of that story is that his playing on One is some of the tightest of his career. His approach sat between two poles: let the groove breathe on some songs, lock the kick drum to the riff on others.