SEVENDUST's LAJON WITHERSPOON Says Murder Of His Younger Brother Is His 'Deepest Scar': 'I Feel His Soul Is Here With Me'

In a new interview with France's Loud TV, SEVENDUST singer Lajon Witherspoon spoke about the band's fifteenth studio album "One", which came out on May 1 via Napalm Records. SEVENDUST once again worked with producer Michael "Elvis" Baskette at Studio Barbarosa in Gotha, Florida. Baskette had previously worked with ALTER BRIDGE and Slash, among others.

Lajon said about the follow-up to 2023's "Truth Killer" (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We put a lot of work into it. I feel like all our albums are the best, but for whatever reason, I really feel like this one is one of our best — maybe due to maturity and the seasons and the things that we've gone through in life that we were able to… I like to say — an album, to me, is a collage and it tells a lot of different stories, and I really feel like this one does… I do feel like definitely a rollercoaster of trying to get to the bright side of things in life. I feel like there's always up and ups and downs, but at the end of the day, we always come out on top somehow."

After the interviewer noted that Lajon sings about emotional "scars" in some of the lyrics on "One", the vocalist concurred. "Absolutely," he said. "But those are what makes us stronger too, at times. And those scars, they always stay with you no matter what. It just only gets better, but that scar could still be there."

Asked what his "darkest" or "deepest scar" is, Lajon said: "Oh, man. No one's ever asked me that. Probably my deepest scar is the passing — my little brother was killed, and that would probably be the deepest scar for me, still to this day, was losing him in the way that we lost him. So, I feel like his energy's always with me though… I pray for him every day, and I feel like he's here, even though he's not here. But I feel his soul is here with me and he is very proud and I'm still proud of him too."

Witherspoon also talked about SEVENDUST's working relationship with Baskette, who previously helmed the band's "All I See Is War" (2018),"Blood & Stone" (2020) and "Truth Killer" albums. Lajon said:  "Elvis — the best in the world. He's a member of our band, pretty much. I'll tell you what — it's the most exciting producer I've ever worked with, because it's nothing about him telling us what to do. It's about him knowing what we have and just do it. And there's never not been a day when I go in to do vocals with him that I'm nervous or scared. We work really well together. It's butter. So, I look forward to working with Elvis again, him and [engineer] Jef [Moll] at the house, and we get to stay in this big, beautiful mansion that's now just the studio. And we go in there and we live, we cook, we have a pool right there, and you don't have to go anywhere. So it's all about music when you're there. And then when you walk in the house too, it's a tribute to all the artists that he is worked with. So you can only be inspired when you're looking at all these plaques and you're, like, 'Oh, man. That's platinum. That's platinum. That sold a zillion albums.' It's, like, 'Wow.' And Elvis is really cool. We hang out. On Sundays, we would take off and we would go to his main house and watch the football games and eat. It's just a good time. We're brothers.

Asked if Baskette "pushed" him to do more vocally on "One", Lajon said: "Absolutely. Oh, absolutely — but in a good way. I wanted to sing more on this album. I think I was able to accomplish that with this album. I'll kind of give you a rundown. Me and Elvis kind of work where I could do a verse and he'll be, like, 'We got it, but let's do it again. Just in case.' And I love doing it, 'cause I might change something up and then he goes back in. And when he gets his pencil out and Jef is right there doing stuff and you see him do that and you can tell that he's moving and he knows what word sounded better and you can tell he's just mapping it out, man. It's just like an art. It's really cool."

Asked if he was "surprised" by himself in terms of what he was able to accomplish vocally on "One", Lajon said: "Oh. Not surprised — very happy and proud. Just after you get the final copy. I don't like to listen to it until the people get to hear it too. I'll listen to it once, and be, like, 'Yeah, maybe you might change this,' but nothing was needed to be changed. So the first time I really listened to the album was, I think it was Portland, where we did a Live Nation listening party. And I was so excited. They were, like, 'Okay, you guys come out, and then you go backstage in this back room and they're gonna listen to a song and then you come out and they'll talk to you about it.' I couldn't stay back there. I had to listen. So I was like right here behind the curtains trying to see the reactions. And I'm just like a kid in the candy store with it, man. It's a good feeling to come back to the album and listen to it fresh like that."

When Loudwire asked Witherspoon three years ago to name the SEVENDUST song he was proudest of, he selected "Shine" from the 2001 album "Animosity", a track he wrote about his younger brother Reginald, who was shot to death nearly a quarter century ago.

"[I wrote it] about my little brother that passed… who was killed," Witherspoon said. The singer has since come to dedicate live performances of the song to his fallen sibling. "I wish he was able to be here, alive, to be with me and to see what we've done," Lajon added.

On November 9, 2002, Reginald Witherspoon was shot to death in the Parkway Terrace Homes area of East Nashville. Around 8:30 p.m. that night, Reginald drove up to a house on Smiley Street where there were three black males standing outside. One of the males got in the car with Reginald. After a couple minutes, Reginald drove his car down the street, made a U-turn and drove back down Smiley Street. When he approached the stop sign at Neill Avenue, the other two males approached the car and began shooting. The male in the passenger seat also shot Reginald. He suffered multiple gunshot wounds and succumbed to his injuries a short time later in the hospital. Reginald Witherspoon was 23 years old at the time of his death.

SEVENDUST's fourth studio album, "Seasons", was dedicated to the memory to both Reginald Witherspoon and Dave Williams, DROWNING POOL's original singer, who died of cardiomyopathy in August 2002.

Renowned as one of the most powerful live bands in modern metal, SEVENDUST kicked off a U.S. headline tour in support of "One" on April 16 in Carterville, Illinois. The trek, which will run through May 20, concluding in Knoxville, Tennessee, features support from ATREYU, FIRE FROM THE GODS and AMERICAN ADRENALINE. The band will also appear at major festivals including Welcome To Rockville and Sonic Temple.