| Written by Alex Mrkonjic TRACK LISTING Stoke The Fire Betray and Degrade Something Else I'll Survive Let You Down Against The Wall Let Me Heal Saviours Nothing Left Count Me Out Emotionless Sell My Soul Release Date: May 12, 2017 Label: Bicycle Company / Concord Music Group Website: www.seether.com www.facebook.com/seether |  |
SEETHER IS:
Shaun Morgan - Lead vocals & guitar Dale Stewart - Bass & vocals John Humphrey - Drums
Shaun Morgan - Lead vocals & guitar Dale Stewart - Bass & vocals John Humphrey - Drums
I have been listening to Seether since they came out with Disclaimer II when I first heard the song “Driven Under”. Then Karma and Effect came along in 2005 and to this day, it remains one of my favourite hard rock records of the early to mid 2000’s, so naturally I have paid close attention to their career and am very happy to see them still being relevant despite how much the music industry has changed since then. After their last two studio records: Holding Onto To Strings Better Left To Fray (2011) and Isolate and Medicate (2014) had a rock sound with some pop songs, I was hoping they would come back with a classic sounding hard rock Seether record with their new album Poison The Parish. What I got was a record that was okay but unfortunately left me wanting a lot more and wondering “That was it?”.
Lead singer Shaun Morgan’s signature scream to me is one of the defining features of the Seether sound. In this regard, the album starts off strong with the opening track “Stoke The Fire”. It is a classic heavy Seether track that fans of the old sound will absolutely love and will have on repeat with its heavy crunching riffs and floor-pounding drums from longtime drummer John Humphrey. The lead single from the album “Let You Down” is a great way to warm up fans for the album since it's also a great hard rock track with its opening riff that made me think it could have worked quite well on Karma and Effect. “Betray and Degrade”, “Something Else”, and “Saviours” are also good songs but I found myself feeling bored of them because all of them sounded relatively similar after the first couple listens.
Sadly, other parts of the album don’t do much for me. “Count Me Out”, “Nothing Left”, and “Let Me Heal” are forgettable and generic that just don't have the same magic as "Let You Down" and some of the band's older songs. “Emotionless”, “Against The Wall”, and “Sell My Soul”, all have a different vibe to them which actually made me like them a bit. “Against The Wall” is your typical Seether power rock ballad which made my feet tap and my head bop. It reminded me of “Tonight” from Holding Onto Strings Better Left To Fray, while “Emotionless” makes me think of “Diseased” from Karma and Effect. However these songs weren't enough to improve my thoughts of the album as a whole.
Overall, Poison The Parish is disappointing. Only half of the album is memorable while the other half is generic and boring. I was hoping for more after a couple pop/rock sounding records but I am left wanting more. Don’t get me wrong, some of the songs are great hard rock tracks that I will always listen too for sure, but in the end, when I need my Seether fix, I'll stick to the old records.
Rating: 6.5/10
Lead singer Shaun Morgan’s signature scream to me is one of the defining features of the Seether sound. In this regard, the album starts off strong with the opening track “Stoke The Fire”. It is a classic heavy Seether track that fans of the old sound will absolutely love and will have on repeat with its heavy crunching riffs and floor-pounding drums from longtime drummer John Humphrey. The lead single from the album “Let You Down” is a great way to warm up fans for the album since it's also a great hard rock track with its opening riff that made me think it could have worked quite well on Karma and Effect. “Betray and Degrade”, “Something Else”, and “Saviours” are also good songs but I found myself feeling bored of them because all of them sounded relatively similar after the first couple listens.
Sadly, other parts of the album don’t do much for me. “Count Me Out”, “Nothing Left”, and “Let Me Heal” are forgettable and generic that just don't have the same magic as "Let You Down" and some of the band's older songs. “Emotionless”, “Against The Wall”, and “Sell My Soul”, all have a different vibe to them which actually made me like them a bit. “Against The Wall” is your typical Seether power rock ballad which made my feet tap and my head bop. It reminded me of “Tonight” from Holding Onto Strings Better Left To Fray, while “Emotionless” makes me think of “Diseased” from Karma and Effect. However these songs weren't enough to improve my thoughts of the album as a whole.
Overall, Poison The Parish is disappointing. Only half of the album is memorable while the other half is generic and boring. I was hoping for more after a couple pop/rock sounding records but I am left wanting more. Don’t get me wrong, some of the songs are great hard rock tracks that I will always listen too for sure, but in the end, when I need my Seether fix, I'll stick to the old records.
Rating: 6.5/10
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