Recommended Aussie Tunes:Psycroptic | The new single "A Fragile Existence" | Listen

Album Reviews : Seether – Poison the Parish

By on May 20, 2017

It’s hard to believe that South African hard rockers Seether have been a band almost twenty years. I remember getting into them at the time of their second release, Disclaimer II, way back in 2004. Ever since, I’ve keenly awaited each new album the three-piece release and they are now up to album number seven, Poison The Parish.

Kicking off with Stoke The Fire it quickly becomes obvious that the older, true rock style of Seether, heavier guitars and loud drums, are back. Frontman Shaun Morgan (who also produced Poison The Parish) has said of this album that it is a “heavier” album overall and that their past few releases they’d been pushed down a more “alternative” route but the band wanted to go back to their rock sound with this album.

I’ll Survive is the first to slow things down a bit with the acoustic guitar coming out—for the first part of the song, anyway. The choruses lift the tempo a bit to match that of the previous tracks and, over the next few tracks, the album becomes a true rock album in many respects. Morgan’s voice still shines strong, however, whether it’s mellower singing or his screams which make the odd appearance here and there (especially on tracks like Nothing Left and Count Me Out (which has the heaviest screams at the end of the track that the band has possibly ever done)).

While I have nothing against the sound of the last couple of Seether albums and I (usually) have no issues with a band changing their sound, this is definitely a return to the band’s truer roots that I, and many fans, fell in love with. It’s a much more straightforward rock album that any of their previous releases to date have been and for that, I believe it’s a stronger release overall.

Band: Seether
Album: Vista
Year: 2017
Genre: Hard Rock
Label:  Concord Music Group / Universal Music
Origin: South Africa

About

Matt Barton loves all things rock and metal. Everyone from Slipknot to The Living End. He enjoys going to gigs and discovering new music. Matt also writes for Heavy Mag and is currently attempting to write his debut novel.