Seether - Holding Onto Strings Better Left To Fray (Album Review)
Wednesday, 14 March 2012
Written by Heather McDaid
When a band release the same album on dates particularly far apart, it can often render the offering a little anticlimactic as fans will have acquired the album online by the time it officially drops in their country. With this in mind, Seether’s ‘Holding Onto Strings Better Left To Fray’ could have been one of those releases to kind of fall between the cracks due to its huge success already but they’ve offered a whole range of bonuses to warrant rife anticipation. Cue: extra songs, remixes and an additional DVD.
The initial record itself surpassed any expectation. Being the band’s most successful release to date, it saw itself reach #2 on America’s Billboard chart, with their single ‘Country Song’ snagging the number one spot. ‘Fur Cue’ is a powerful opener, wracked with an intense vocal performance from Shaun Morgan who flits between his regular singing and the punchy, aggressive screams. The chorus is a little lighter than would be expected, but it works. Brooding guitar creates a journey on this song between the darker verses and the brighter, encircling the screams that rarely feature following this track. ‘Country Song’, the famed number of this offering, is down and dirty country and – for lack of a better term – it’s damn good. It’s no surprise that this was so acclaimed. For the most part, the album is full of fire yet offers a few softer interludes. It appears – overall – a diminution in terms of heaviness, but that’s not a bad thing. Seether are still producing good work.
‘Master of Disaster’ even sounds a little reminiscent of System of a Down in their guitar opening – personally at least; a little ironic as this record seems a little less heavy than their previous. As you progress through the album, the tracks lose some power. Not necessarily a negative, more a note. It’s more simplistic or reserved in comparison to the punchier opening numbers, yet it definitely still holds authority – you won’t stop listening, it’s still great stuff the band are producing. ‘Forsaken’ ends the original album with an angsty attack, musically reserved, yet vocally straining.
It’s now fans are given seven tracks of new material. ‘Dead Seeds’ is a more retained track but still encompasses that crunchy rock sound visible throughout. ‘Yeah’ continues in a light, somewhat acoustic manner. Layering light instrumentation to create a relatively entrancing sound at the beginning, this slows the pace of the album, proclaiming, “I can’t pretend that I feel the same, my skins not thick enough. There’s no comfort in song...” Without delving into it here, it’s recommended to check out the album on a lyrical level. Morgan’s lyrics appear heartfelt, reinforcing a meaning behind his music instead of mere empty words.
The final three tracks are remixes. Make of that what you will, but in an age where remixes are rife and dubstep is oversaturating the industry, it’s almost inescapable. Personally, they’re not my cup of tea in this instance – particularly the Elder Jepson remix of ‘Country Song’ but it’s assumable that fans of both Seether and remixes will find some form of enjoyment from these tracks.
Moving onto the DVD, this is definitely a treat for Seether fans. The opportunity to see bands play stripped down to the pure essentials is almost always a great thing and, in this case, it most certainly is. With acoustic offerings of ‘Country Song’ and ‘Rise Above This’ to name but two, it’s definitely a neat little addition to this musical acquisition. Instead of being purely unplugged, the band go ‘plugged in’ for the last two tracks of the DVD – live recordings of ‘Country Song’ and ‘Remedy’ for I Heart Radio.
Seether have combated the issues of releasing the same album months apart superbly. It also helps that the original album was pretty damn good to begin with. So, while many UK fans may already own ‘Holding Onto Strings Better Left To Fray’, this may be enough to persuade you to acquire it all over again.
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The initial record itself surpassed any expectation. Being the band’s most successful release to date, it saw itself reach #2 on America’s Billboard chart, with their single ‘Country Song’ snagging the number one spot. ‘Fur Cue’ is a powerful opener, wracked with an intense vocal performance from Shaun Morgan who flits between his regular singing and the punchy, aggressive screams. The chorus is a little lighter than would be expected, but it works. Brooding guitar creates a journey on this song between the darker verses and the brighter, encircling the screams that rarely feature following this track. ‘Country Song’, the famed number of this offering, is down and dirty country and – for lack of a better term – it’s damn good. It’s no surprise that this was so acclaimed. For the most part, the album is full of fire yet offers a few softer interludes. It appears – overall – a diminution in terms of heaviness, but that’s not a bad thing. Seether are still producing good work. 
