SIT DOWN, LAJON

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