Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Takes time to find the beauty, 13 Nov 2007
Seether return with their third studio album, following on from the 2002 release Disclaimer (and the two Disclaimer II re-releases a couple of years later) and the 2005 follow-up Karma & Effect. They also return a man down - former guitarist Pat Callahan is no longer with the band (the official date of his depature was 14th June 2006, having been a full-time member of the band since 2004, before which he spent a long stint as their tour guitarist).
Despite Seether being a much-maligned band in some corners of the music industry, I have always liked their music. I wouldn't say Seether have ever been a particularly sophisticated or overly technical band because they're not. But I think what really shines with the band is the angst that radiates through their songs. "Gasoline", taken from the Disclaimer/Disclaimer II albums, is still one of my most listened to rock tracks some 5 years on. So can Seether replicate this for their new album? The answer isn't quite a resounding yes - it's a somewhat mixed bag in places - but overall the band just about manage to pull it off, as I shall explain.
Seether always kick off an album with a beast of a track - for example "Gasoline" on Disclaimer/Disclaimer II and "Because Of Me" on Karma & Effect are two songs that contain monster-sized, angst-ridden riffs and vocals. Seether do the same on this album with the opening track "Like Suicide" - I just love the heavy riff that kicks in at about the minute mark. It's a perfect way to kick off the album and is easily one of the best songs Seether have ever done. Let's run through the tracks one by one:
1. "Like Suicide" - best track on the album by a mile; it's moody, angry and has the best riff on the entire album (just love the pounding drums that accompany the monster riff, which comes just after the choruses). This kind of song is what Seether do best, fantastic track 10/10
2. "Fake It" - the first single, which I wasn't too keen on at first but it's really grown on me. Like the music video to this 8/10
3. "Breakdown" - quite a moody and emotive track; one of the slower tracks on here but with a big soaring chorus 9/10
4. "FMLYHM" - alright track; very middle of the road Seether track (heavy but not as heavy as their older stuff) 6/10
5. "Fallen" - not too sure on this track; very middle of the road again but just don't find it particulalrly exciting, even though it's quite a rocky song 5/10
6. "Rise Above This" - probably the most radio-friendly track on here; almost a song to cruise to. Very optimistic-sounding song, which is ironic because it's about Shaun's brother Eugene, in advance of his tragic death last August. For the feel of this song, think electric guitars mixed with an acoustic mid-tempo sound. 9/10
7. "No Jesus Christ" - a seven minute epic that takes almost 2 minutes before the main guitar riff kicks in. I'm not overly keen on this track - just don't think there is quite enough variety to warrant such a duration as seven minutes 6/10
8. "6 Gun Quota" - reasonable rock track but not the best Seether have to offer. The sound on this song reminds me of Nickelback, particularly the chorus 7/10
9. "Walk Away From The Sun" - quite a unique sounding song on the album. Acoustic to start with then the mid-section adds a bit of distortion, leading into probably the best little guitar solo I have heard Seether do (they don't do very many at all). This song builds up to a decent climax. A brilliantly haunting track 10/10
10. "Eyes Of The Devil" - not too keen on this track, just doesn't hold my interest 5/10
11. "Don't Believe" - dark sounding track but not much variation to it 5/10
12. "Waste" - the closing track. I think this song is quite unique amongst Seether's other tracks. It has a soaring chorus but the overall sound is different to what Seether normally do 6/10
Overall, this is a reasonable album - at first I thought this was the weakest album yet but after sveral listens it has really grown on me. I had exactly the same reaction to Karma & Effect when that was released and yet I still find time to listen to that album because I gradually grew very fond of it. I feel the same is happening with Finding Beauty In Negative Spaces.
With each and every studio album Seether have released, they have continuosly streamlined their sound and there is a lot less screaming on this album than previous releases - the opening track, "Like Suicide", contains the most violent screams to be found on this album. In the context of this song I think the screaming section works but generally speaking I'm glad Seether don't put too many fits of screaming into their songs any more - it was my main criticsm on an otherwise excellent Disclaimer II. On the flip-side, don't go expecting anything as gentle as "Broken" on here because there is nothing as mellow as that on this album.
To sum up, I think if you like the previous albums you will enjoy Finding Beauty In Negatve Spaces. The sounds doesn't deviate too much from what they've done before - it's recognisably Seether but they have thrown in a few new sounds (listen out for the backing piano-sounding sectons on a couple of tracks - only very brief and subtle so might be hard to spot). This is a gentle progression as opposed to anything distinctly new but it's different enough to feel fresh yet will be instantly recongnisable to existing fans.
Overall 4/5
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7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic., 4 Nov 2007
Great album as a whole - with many strong songs:
1. Like Suicide - Great! (9/10)
2. Fake It - Classic (10/10)
3. Breakdown - Different but Strong (8/10)
4. FMLYHM - Catchy and Fun (9/10)
5. Fallen - Heavy, classic Seether. (8/10)
6. Rise Above This - Cool song (8/10)
7. No Jesus Christ - Brilliant. (9/10)
8. 6 Gun Quota - Equally strong song (9/10)
9. Walk Away From the Sun - Different style but shows seether can do no wrong! (9/10)
10. Eyes of the Devil - New angle, but great. (8/10)
11. Don't Believe -Heavy, good song.
12. Waste - Slower, relaxed tune. (7/10).
All in all a very good album.
If you like rock music of a heavier caliber (i.e. with a bit of attutude) then buy this album. It's worth every penny.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An interesting new direction, 25 Nov 2007
This is a very interesting album from Seether's last three: 'Disclaimer', 'Disclaimer II' (a re-release of 'Disclaimer' with some bonus tracks including 'Broken Feat. Amy Lee') and 'Karma & Effect' (or 'Catering To Cowards' as it would have been called without the influence of Seether's record label). This album was produced by Howard Benson, and it really shows. The 'sound' of the album has something more like a Papa Roach feel than a Seether feel to it. The intensely heavy sound of past albums has disappeared, and whilst the lyrics remain dark, the music sound doesn't match. It's hard to describe but if you take a listen and you're familiar with Seether's past work you'll hear what I mean immediately. To me this is an interesting thing for Seether to have done and I certainly didn't see it coming. I haven't really been able to make up my mind on what I think about it yet, but I'm sure many Seether fans that have been supporting the band from the start won't like it. Judging this album for what it is though, I've got to say that I really like it. The first single off the album is 'Fake It' and it's got great rhythm to it. For me 'No Jesus Christ' and '6 Gun Quota' are the best tracks on the album, with 'No Jesus Christ' clocking in at over 7 minutes long, resemblant more of a Metallica length of song rather than a Seether one of the past. But it's great. Shaun, Dale and crew have done a great job again. Full marks from me guys. Just don't forget that 'Seether sound' that your old fans love. PS - you'll have a hard time finding a copy of this album in record stores as it doesn't seem to have been released in the UK properly, but get an imported copy. What's with all the US bands/artists not releasing their work over here anymore? Come on guys, the UK needs some good rock and metal to combat the pop-rock, pop-punk phase that seems to be taking over. All American rock/metal artists, and you South Africans in Seether too, please hear my plea!
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