Sevendust played to a sold-out and pumped-up crowd Thursday night at Bogart's. Although the two opening bands also played their fair share of manic head-banging rock 'n' roll, Sevendust sounded distinctive and fresh and showed clear signs of maturing.

        The strongest link in Sevendust is their lead singer, Lajon Witherspoon. An African-American man with long dreadlocks and a voice as muscular as his biceps, he has considerable range, packs an emotional punch, and is a convincing front man.

        The problem is writing material that plays to his strengths, but progress is being made. During Sevendust's hour-long, 15-song set, more than half of the songs came off their new record, Animosity, which more than any of their previous records spotlights Mr. Witherspoon's vocals.

        During Thursday's concert, “Trust,” “Angel's Son” and “Crucified” off the new album were a step in the right direction. Moody and melodic, they toned down the rhythmic bottom-heavy riffing that characterized Sevendust's previous work and used the two-guitar attack in a way that augmented Mr. Witherspoon's vocals instead of smothering them.

        There was still plenty of raw aggression to satisfy the most die-hard heavy metal fans, and after the first few songs the band members were dripping with sweat. Ditto the predominantly male crowd, especially near the stage. Black T-shirts gave way to bare chests as fans found a way to move around in tight spaces.

        Sevendust's three-song encore started with their latest single, “Praise,” and ended with a single off their first album, Bitch. The most powerful song of the night, however, may have been the opener.

        A chilling description of racial tension and alienation, “Black” was a nightmare vision that seemed all too real. As primal as anything Sevendust has written, it was riveting even though Mr. Witherspoon had to scream to be heard.

        Flaw opened the show, followed by Gravity Kills, whose virtues seemed lost on the crowd. This may have had something to do with their stage presence: singer Jeff Scheel tried but failed to concoct a menacing persona, and keyboardist Doug Firley seemed more concerned with swinging his Oberheim synthesizer around on a pedestal than playing music.

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