seether

(8/10) "Poison the Parish" is Seether's seventh album and it's a strong one. Three years after having had "Isolate and Medicate" out there in the shops the new longplayer comes with twelve new songs that are all excellent rockers.

"Stoke the Fire" is the opener and it immediately ignites the fire of hard rocking music. Post-grunge meets modern riffs, all leading to an aggressive song that will work perfectly in a live environment. There are more of these tracks on the album. "let You Down" is one of them and also "Nothing Left" is a raging outburst of power.

But these loud moments are just one aspect of what Seether offers on this longplayer. One of the best tunes on the album is called "Something Else". The beauty of this anthem is the combination of melody, harsh guitars and soulful moments that are in constant interaction; a mixture that also makes the following "I'll Survive" to a real treat. It's Nirvana that shimmers through a bit in the verse, while the melodic chorus catches you directly.

Talking about soulful moments - "Against the Wall" is the name of another one on "Poison the Parish". It's the track that's probably best for widening the fanbase. It's a ballad that's not really coming from another planet and it might live up to certain standards, but it's drowning in the deep sea of cliches.

I have to admit that Seether was for a long time a kind of side note for me, but I start enjoy their music and songs. Especially the last two longplayers feature tracks that belong to the best post-grunge can offer these days. If the quality of an album can be described by how often you listen to it, than "Poison the Parish" is a damn good one.

(8/10)

Tracklist:

1. Stoke the Fire
2. Betray and Degrade
3. Something Else
4. I'll Survive
5. Let You Down
6. Against the Wall
7. Let Me Heal
8. Saviours
9. Nothing Left
10. Count Me Out
11. Emotionless
12. Sell My Soul

Label: Spinefarm Records

Genre: Alternative Metal

Release Date EU: May 12th, 2017

(8/10) Seether from South Africa (they live in the US since a few years already) worked on a new album and the result got the name "Isolate and medicate". It's the sixth record of the trio and it contains the alternative rock which the band is known for. Seether sticks to their patterns and their also grunge influenced rock songs aim for the same target group as Alter Bridge, Creed or Nickleback. They might be a bit less heavy than the first mentioned ones and a bit less mainstream than the last named band, but they all share the same roots.

The album comes with ten songs which gives you a playing time from around 40 minutes. Indeed, this isn't too long, but since the tunes are all on a high level it doesn't matter that much. Still, one or two more songs would have been nice. 

A remarkable track is the center piece "Crash". It's a very melodic track which is in the verse based on vocals and acoustic guitars only. The chorus gets a bit more rocking. The track in general got an atmospheric wall of sound. For me one of the highlights of the album. But also "Same damn life" is worth to be mentioned. The falsetto vocals of Morgan is a very interesting fact. He uses this technic in some parts of the verse before the track turns into a punky chorus. It's an energizing song with a high hit potential.

The first single release from the album is "Words as weapons". The song is well chosen, since the melodies and the hookline makes it easy approachable while it is still heavy enough to not disappoint anybody. "Nobody praying for me" is one of the most commercial tracks and has a big Nickelback affinity. A good song, but there are better ones on the album. The 'softest' track comes in the end. "Save today" starts as a ballad with acoustic guitars and a nice melody. Along the way the track builds up and becomes in the last part a real rocker. The closer functions as a good summary of the entire album. 

Another constant factor with Seether is the expression of the cover artwork. You can immediately recognise the band by having a look on the cover. Those little 'creepy' characters are coming back. I have to admit that I don't really like their covers. But for me this doesn't matter, since it's like with a present. The packaging is one thing, but the inside is more important. And in the case of Seether we are talking about the music.

I like the "Isolate and medicate" since you get immediately into it and it stays exciting even after a few rounds on the record player. 

(8/10)

Tracklist:

1. See you at the bottom
2. Same dawn life
3. Words as weapons
4. My disaster
5. Crash
6. Suffer it all
7. Watch me drown
8. Nobody praying for me
9. Keep the dogs at bay
10. Save today

Label: Spinefarm

Genre: Alternative rock