Seether – ‘Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum’ (If You Want Peace, Prepare For War) out August 28th via Fantasy Records
Listening to the vocal and guitar styling of Shaun Morgan has kept me a fan of his band Seether for many years now. This South African band has had worldwide success with their angst ridden melodic hard rock and rightfully so. Seether’s tracks like ‘Remedy’, ‘Fake It’, and ‘Words As Weapons’ had built the band a loyal following and the release of their latest album will not disappoint.
It’s been three years since the release of Seether’s ‘Poison The Parish’ album. Now Seether is releasing their eighth studio album ‘Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum’ on August 28th. The music community has had the opportunity to hear the early release of the singles ‘Dangerous’, ‘Bruised and Bloodied’, and the most recent track ‘Beg’. The great thing is there are ten more tracks (thirteen tracks total) to go.
So let’s do a track by track breakdown. The album starts with ‘Dead and Done’. Right out of the gate the albums sets the momentum on eleven. We get an adrenaline driving track that keeps Morgan in your face for the chorus and it is simply fan’fucking’tastic. ‘Bruised and Bloodied’ is in the line of their earlier work of anthemic hard rock that has built the band’s career. ‘Wasteland’ will easily be a fan favorite with its haunting melody and acoustic feel.
Shaun has written such strong melodic songs that they can be played both electric or acoustic and still hold up well. ‘Dangerous’ is proof of that as the band put out an acoustic video for the track as well. Their next track ‘Liar’ is a melancholy power house which had almost a soothing hypnotic tone.
‘Can’t Go Wrong’ is the stand out track that has everything I want and need in a track. A driving melody, proper tonality breaks, and strong lyrics. Seven tracks in with ‘Buried in The Sand’ and no two songs sound the same or repetitive. It’s Morgan’s voice that is the link to the band’s diverse sound.
‘Let It Go’ carries more of the older grunge overtones but still keeps a fresh sound. The same could be said for the next track ‘Failure’. Both a stylized in the alt rock format but still very different in sound. ‘Beg’ has that slow burn feel as it builds and builds though its pulsing rhythm until your engulfed it its fire.
We continue with ‘Drift Away’. Shaun does an incredible vocal counter melody to the initial vocals that raises the level of his song writing. The song also carries a distorted guitar rhythm at times that works so well against the actual softness of the majority of the song. ‘Pride Before The Fall’ is a no frills power track that is in the same wheelhouse as ‘Let You Down’ from ‘Poison The Parish’.
The last track to close out the album is ‘Written In Stone’. It’s a dark power ballad that is everything you want from Seether. It’s lingering, haunting, and most of all…memorable.
Simply put, Seether’s ‘Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum’ (If You Want Peace, Prepare For War) is an album that was worth the three year wait.
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