Seether

Does anyone remember that wimpy song called “Broken” that became a modest radio hit last year thanks to a guest appearance by Evanescence frontwoman Amy Lee? Even if you do remember the song, it’s quite likely you won’t remember the artist who wrote and recorded the song. The authors of “Broken” are actually a very heavy rock band from South Africa called Seether and they are back with their third studio album titled Karma and Effect. Despite the fact that the band’s only real radio hit was a slow ballad, Seether has resisted the temptation to go soft on the new album as it is filled with fast-paced, hard rocking songs loaded with plenty of gut wrenching screams from lead singer Shawn Morgan. Maintaining their hard edge seems to have worked well for Seether on Karma and Effect as the band has produced a solid album with more than a handful of good songs.

The hard stuff gets going right away on the album with the lead track “Because of Me.” It only takes ten seconds for Morgan to let out a gigantic scream at which point it becomes evident that the band has not gone soft in the least. “Because of Me” really gets the album going and it acts as a good introduction to the band for those who are unfamiliar with their previous work. Next up is the first single from Karma and Effect, a straight forward, no nonsense rock song called “Remedy.” The song, one of the best off the record, features an awesome guitar riff and a hard and catchy chorus. After “Remedy,” Seether maintains their momentum on the next three tracks which in addition to the first two songs; make up the best portion of the fourteen track album. “Truth” features another great riff and Morgan sounds a lot like Staind lead singer Aaron Lewis on the song. The band takes things down a notch on “The Gift” as Morgan really shines with his vocals and his lyrics. Track five is the strangely titled but solid “Burrito,” a song with another very cool, catchy guitar riff. The first half of Karma and Effect is rounded out by “Given” and “Never Leave,” two decent songs but at this point in the album, a bit too much of the same.

While the first seven tracks on Karma and Effect are for the most part solid, the same cannot be said for the last half of the album, with a couple of exceptions of course. Nothing in particular stands out about track eight “Never Leave” and it is just a bit boring. The band sounds more inspired on “World Falls Away,” but the momentum drops off on the next two tracks “Tongue” and “I’m the One.” Oddly enough, perhaps the best song on the album comes at track eleven, “Simplest Mistake.” This song absolutely rocks and it features Morgan’s best screams on the entire disc. Of the final three songs, really only the soft and acoustic “Plastic Man” is decent.

Overall, Karma and Effect is a fine album of alternative rock music. It contains about seven or eight high-quality songs that for the most part really rock out. The major downfall of the disc is that it has too many songs. Fourteen songs were far too many to include on the album and it shows in the drop off in quality in the latter half of the disc. If Seether had gone to the effort of discarding two or three of the weaker songs, the album as a whole would flow better, but Karma and Effect remains a respectable rock album.  [ END ]

Track Listing:

01. Because of Me
02. Remedy
03. Truth
04. The Gift
05. Burrito
06. Given
07. Never Leave
08. World Falls Away
09. Tongue
10. I’m The One
11. Simplest Mistake
12. Diseased
13. Plastic Man
14. Secret Song

Run Time: 1:00:49