Seether : Holding Onto Strings Better Left To Fray

With a name like Seether, one would assume to expect intense lyrics and musicality stemmed heavily in anger and hatred from this three-piece band from Pretoria, South Africa. Perhaps it is because in their previous efforts, front man Shaun Morgan utilized a more guttural groan to his style of singing. Yet like any established band ought to do, Seether has followed the steady path of creative growth and evolution. This time around, the vocals are cleaner and more expressive, the lyrics are heartfelt and at times even uplifting and the music maintains its edge while complimenting the message of the overall opus.

Listening on through their new album, Holding Onto Strings Better Left to Fray, one comes to find that these seemingly tough-as-nails dudes have a heart, a big one at that. It is a roller-coaster ride with an inconsistent flow that hits a peak then plummets back down. The album kicks off with heavy, grinding guitars that segue into the song Fur Cue setting us up for a real kick in the ass type of album that can only come from a bunch of chest-thumping hardened men with something to roar about. However, the opening song sets a false atmosphere for the rest of the songs that follow.  Three songs in, Here and Now is an almost ballad that brings the songwriter down to his knees in an honest confession of his vulnerability. Just when the listener thinks they have cracked the shell, Country Song steers us in a completely different direction. The album’s first single has an almost Kid Rock type of feel that is completely unrelated to the rest of the compositions on the album. The twangy guitars are off-putting and sound like a campy attempt at an actual country song. For being the first single of the album, it is a poor showcase of the band’s abilities as artists and rather a pop-y hook in attempts to ensnare new listeners of a different vein of music.

Winding down once again, the song Master of Disaster may just be their redeeming oeuvre and, quite frankly, the masterpiece of the entire album. It’s Tool meets Incubus sealed with an authentic Seether seal of approval. It’s honest and raw wrapped in a beautifully composed musical flow.  The album picks up again with the transition into Tonight, a song that almost did not make the final cut. It’s an uplifting song with a powerful message emphasized more so by the sunny sound of the surging guitars. The album slows down once again after hitting yet another pinnacle with Tonight and veers itself back into dark waters until stumbling onto Roses, a song that could very well be considered the fight song of the band. It’s in your face without being overdone and combines graceful bridges with a commanding chorus that ultimately winds down to military-inspired marching drums and a heavy guitar outro.  The final song, Forsaken, starts off with the soft chiming of a piano and picks up into a metal-y journal entry-like symphony. A bit dramatic yet brutally honest, the song is a melancholic farewell to the emotional ride demonstrated by the band in this album.

Seasoned fans will appreciate the band’s sixth release as it stays true to the heart and soul of their burgeoning legacy. To untrained ears, their music really takes a second and even third listen in order to appreciate the creative direction that the fellows of Seether choose to lay their trail.

Tracklist:
01 – Fur Cue
02 – No Resolution
03 – Here And Now
04 – Country Song
05 – Master Of Disaster
06 – Tonight
07 – Pass Slowly
08 – Fade Out
09 – Roses
10 – Down
11 – Desire For Need
12 – Forsaken

Samantha