{"id":41554,"date":"2014-06-19T08:14:40","date_gmt":"2014-06-19T13:14:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=41554"},"modified":"2014-06-19T08:14:40","modified_gmt":"2014-06-19T13:14:40","slug":"seether-isolate-and-medicate-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2014\/seether-isolate-and-medicate-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Seether | Isolate and Medicate<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Matt Karpe<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"SeetherSouth Africa\u2019s finest rock band return with their sixth studio album Isolate and Medicate<\/em>, with just under 40 minutes of trademark post-grunge anthems.<\/p>\n

Seether have always been masters at writing gloomy angst ridden songs with catchy radio friendly choruses, and this album is no different.
\n2011 release Holding Onto Strings Better Left to Fray<\/em> was slightly overdrawn and at times became a bit of a tiring listen, but the ten tracks here flow nicely and demand your full attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cSee You At the Bottom\u201d is a moody number with some excellent thrashing drums and hard guitar riffing. Vocalist Shaun Morgan has often drawn comparisons to the genius that is Kurt Cobain, but Morgan\u2019s storytelling of lost love and feelings of inferiority has always been something that sucks in the listener. It is part of Seether\u2019s charm, and this opening song is just the very start of things to come.<\/p>\n

\u201cSame Damn Life\u201d has a slight garage rock sound before a brilliant sing-a-long chorus kicks in. \u201cSuffer It All\u201d is another prime example of the bands talent at writing songs that can dominate the radio airwaves. The heavy verses pound the ear drums before the chorus tones down, but nonetheless, you can\u2019t help but nod along as the energy exudes.<\/p>\n

There are a lot of classics in the Seether back catalog, but there are two songs on Isolate and Medicate that may have just eclipsed everything that came before. \u201cWords Are Weapons\u201d starts with a haunting intro before Morgan\u2019s heartbreaking lyrics take center stage with such delicate intricacy. The heavy drumming and grungy guitar rhythms add to the drama and the chorus is sensational. Morgan screams \u201cAll I really want is something beautiful to say,\u201d and it\u2019s something that he isn\u2019t often able to do, but that is why Seether are good at tugging at people\u2019s emotions.
\nThe second show stealer is \u201cNobody Praying For Me,\u201d a dark and emotional roller-coaster with a good use of backing vocals that echo Morgan\u2019s words. It\u2019s a perfect hard rock song as the verses build up to an addictively melodic chorus.<\/p>\n

Other honorable mentions go to the metallic \u201cMy Disaster,\u201d the raucous \u201cKeep the Dogs At Bay\u201d and an experimental ballad of sorts in the form of \u201cCrash.\u201d<\/p>\n

Isolate and Medicate<\/em> finds Seether at their very best. They have never been a one in a million, different to anyone else type of band, but in a very overcrowded and sometimes stagnant rock genre, this trio are definitely one of the best at what they do. <\/p>\n

There will also be a deluxe release with four extra songs, and if they are as strong as the 10 tracks on the standard issue, then Isolate and Medicate<\/em> could be a contender for the best album of the year. <\/p>\n

Genre: Post-Grunge, Hard Rock, Alternative Metal<\/p>\n

Band Members:
\nShaun Morgan- Vocals, Guitar
\nDale Stewart- Bass, Backing Vocals
\nJohn Humphrey- Drums<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tSee You At the Bottom
\n2.\tSame Damn Life
\n3.\tWords As Weapons
\n4.\tMy Disaster
\n5.\tCrash
\n6.\tSuffer It All
\n7.\tWatch Me Drown
\n8.\tNobody Praying For Me
\n9.\tKeep the Dogs At Bay
\n10.\tSave Today<\/p>\n

Record Label: Bicycle Music\/Concord Music Group<\/p>\n

Website: www.seether.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven Rating: 9\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Matt Karpe – Senior Columnist — South Africa\u2019s finest rock band return with their sixth studio album Isolate and Medicate, with just under 40 minutes of trademark post-grunge anthems. Seether have always been masters […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":41555,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10848],"tags":[8600,9449,2317,9450,1103,9448,6414,1183],"class_list":{"0":"post-41554","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2014","8":"tag-alternative-metal","9":"tag-bicycle-music","10":"tag-cd-review","11":"tag-concord-music-group","12":"tag-hard-rock","13":"tag-isolate-and-medicate","14":"tag-post-grunge","15":"tag-seether"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41554"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41554\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}