SEETHER – Isolate and Medicate

Crawling from the heat of South Africa for their seventh studio album, Seether consisting of Shaun Morgan, Dale Stewart and John Humphrey has streamlined their style of hard rock to fit American rock radio tapping into an arsenal of hooks and friendly deliveries.  For fans of Nickelback, Theory of a Deadman and the many other examples of mainstream U.S. hard rock, Seether make no apologies as they throw liberal amounts of expletives to their ever-growing fan-base.

If you’re looking for the latest addition to your collection for commercially appealing hard rock, wrap your ears around Same Damn Life complete with a sprightly bounce and infectious hook; perhaps the acoustic-based album closer Save Today which builds introducing subtle layers as the song staggers ever onwards, or digest the hypnotic qualities of the first official single Words as Weapons.

There’s plenty self-pity to go around as well as you’d imagine; after all, don’t they say misery loves company?  Please embrace examples like My Disaster or Watch Me Drown which exhibit such lyrical gems as “Don’t let me down again, you’re the key to my disaster” or “The bullet in your hand, it had my name on” which showcase their sunny disposition.

Nobody Praying for Me drags its feet along the sidewalk with its hands in its pockets and a hanging head.  The chorus is injected with some distortion with some somber moments during the verses.  The mold most certainly hasn’t been broken and don’t raise expectations for any innovation.  A similar approach plagues Crash and Keep the Dogs at Bay whilst Suffer It All offers up a slab of brain-crushing heaviness until a bouncy chorus adopts those ominous pop sensibilities.

Isolate and Medicate is uninspiring with a serious look in its rear-view mirror towards grasping the prickly success that comes with entering the charts.  There’s nothing wrong with commercial success, especially if you’re on the receiving end.  It would be fair to say there’s very little wrong in embracing guilty pleasures either as a consumer.  If you feel that you qualify in either of these two categories then it goes without saying that Isolate and Medicate will be digested like sweet honey.  For the rest of us, it’s business as usual as we wade through the plethora of rock releases trying to find something of substance and originality.