Seether

Originally from South Africa.

Seether these days are founding members Shaun Morgan on vocals and Dale Steward on bass. Drummer John Humphrey joined in 2003 and now they have Corey Lowery on guitar who has been in a few modern rock bands like Saint Asonia, Dark New Day, Eye Empire and Stuck Mojo and is the brother to Clint Lowery, the guitarist from Sevendust.

The album is called “Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum”. The title translates from Latin to, ‘If you want peace, prepare for war’.

There form of fuzzy rock always gets me interested. And man, Shaun Morgan can write riffs.

And the first track “Dead And Alone” starts. It’s doomy and very Sabbath like with a very Tool meets Rage Against The Machine vibe in the verses. Or Deftones.

On a side note, did you know that guitarists Tom Morello from RATM and Adam Jones from Tool were in a band together before they went and formed the bands that the world knows. These two dudes changed modern rock guitar.

And the bass guitar is always prominent in Seether like in “Bruised And Bloodied” with an addictive and melodic vocal melody showcasing the pipes on Shaun Morgan.

“Dangerous” is another melodic post grunge rock song. The bass guitar kicks it off again and the vocal line is catchy.

The last two minutes of “Buried In The Sand” are so doomy yet melodic.

“Failure” is another track that kicks off with the bass and a catchy melodic vocal line. And man, the lyrics.

And yeah I live my life like a broken-hearted failure / I’m trying to shed some light on the scars left by the razors

The feelings of depression, self-loathing, and anxiety are conveyed in the lyrics and the music builds in intensity at the right moment.

And the closer, “Written In Stone” keeps the melancholy going, with its clean tone arpeggio intro and slow build as it percolates. And I’m waiting for it to explode in intensity, but it doesn’t, which is also a good thing.

I read a Kerrang review of this album which said the “songs are either power-chorus cheese that’s still waiting to see if the invitation to appear on the Spider-Man soundtrack with Chad Kroeger turns up in the post, or mid-paced nu-metal with the volume turned down.”

In other words the review states the album sounds dated.

But that’s exactly why I like em.

Needtobreathe

The first time I came across this band was via an Amazon referral when I purchased either a “Casting Crowns” or “Skillet” or “Thousand Foot Krutch” album back in 2012. So I went to the pirate sites and YouTube and sampled em. And I moved on. There was a lot of material there to digest and I wasn’t really in the mood to explore deep. My third child was under six months, I had surgery on my foot three times to put screws in and then to take the screws out and my mindset wasn’t on exploring new music.

Fast forward many years later and Mr Jon Snow at 2loud2oldmusic.com is a fan of the band and writes enthusiastically about em. You can read the review from 2loud2old here. The enthusiasm rubs off and I’m keen to explore, and my mood is very different.

“Alive” kicks the album off nicely and “Out Of Body” feels like a Springsteen song in the verses and I like it. “Riding High” sounds like a cross between Bad Company and The Eagles. And there are other songs to check out like “Who Am I”, “Banks”, “Bottom Of A Heartbreak” and “Seasons”.

Disturbed

“If I Ever Lose My Faith In You” is Disturbed trying to re-capture their “The Sound Of Silence” moment.

Stryper

Michael Sweet is working hard, writing and recording new music via his many different projects but the project which is his bread and butter and which led to him being who he is, is Stryper.

“Even The Devil Believes” is basically pushing the metal Stryper sound of the last few albums, which in reality was a return to their “Soldiers Under Command” sound from the 80’s and it showcases the influence of Judas Priest to their music.

Standout tracks are “Blood From The Above”, “Make Love Great Again”, “Do Unto Others”, “Even The Devil Believes”, “How To Fly”, “Invitation Only” and “For God & Rock ‘N’ Roll” which starts off with the same drum pattern that Robert Sweet uses for “To Hell With The Devil”.

Bruce Springsteen

Springsteen is always here and there with me. “Letter To You” means he’s back to being here. It’s one of those “My Hometown” style tracks which I like.

And theres this interview video of Springsteen doing the rounds on social media about “when Trump loses the next election”.

The Boss has spoken.

Mastodon

This is an old track that appeared on a new compilation album.

And how can you not like a track called “White Walker”?

But the tribal drum start that gets you. It makes you feel like you are in the snow, living the life of a Wilding with the threat of these ancient beings.

September became a big month for releases in 2020 because so many albums got pushed back to this month because of coronavirus, so there will be a few more posts to come.