Seether
Disclaimer II

THE REVIEW

The Seether are another band that is part of the post-grunge bandwagon, where bands like Staind, Puddle Of Mudd, Creed, and Cinder are present (and maybe even Nickelback, but to me, they are pop-rock). Grunge has never really thrilled me, and the little that I've listened to hasn't exactly excited me, although I respect the genre for the importance it had in the early '90s (even though it later became a cultural phenomenon because of MTV); in this more modern version of the aforementioned genre, I think the best album is Break The Cycle by Staind (who might change their name for legal reasons).

Disclaimer II is the reissue of the debut album (which was coincidentally called Disclaimer, dated 2002) from this South African band. Even though I don't have the first, I know this album features the same 12 songs from the previous one adapted plus 4 unreleased tracks (one of which is the revisited version of "Broken," in the soundtrack of the film "The Punisher," sung with Amy Lee of Evanescence, the current girlfriend of singer Shaun Morgan). How this album sounds is easy to guess, a pseudo-grunge of the two-thousands devoted to the early '90s Seattle sound (so Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, etc...) with a few splashes of nu metal here and there: songs with slow verses and slightly stronger choruses, melodic songs, and more intense songs; naturally sad and depressed lyrics. On the first listen, it seems like you're hearing (melodically speaking) a hybrid between Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Puddle Of Mudd, and the latest Staind, and from this, one can understand that the whole work is characterized by a great lack of originality (which lately is diminishing); and this is the major flaw of the album.

Still, there are some good tracks, like the angry "Fuck It," which is the most nu metal song of the album, "Broken" The Punisher version (because there are two versions) is very beautiful and emotional (perhaps also thanks to Lee's voice); and then there's the opening "Gasoline," the slow and catchy "Fine Away," and the cheerful "Cigarettes," which sounds very Puddle Of Mudd punkish. Some songs (like "Sold Me," "Pride," and "Sympathetic") are nice, all the others are decidedly boring and quite suck (especially "Fade Away" and "Got It Made"). The singer's voice isn't bad, in the screams (though sporadic) he manages quite well, so this pleases me enough; certainly not like Aaron Lewis's (just to stay on topic) even if at times they seem to resemble each other, but he still holds his own, it must be admitted.

Deep down inside, it wouldn't be too bad, but it's not that great either in short, so I would only recommend it to fans of old and "new" grunge. Without a doubt, it's not a monotonous work because it features songs with quite different melodies, but it doesn't achieve sufficiency for the reason already mentioned before and for the presence of many insignificant tracks. Maybe next time dear Shaun and friends, many people don't like those who remain anchored in the past; and then, as they say at groovebox "the step from veneration to mere imitation is very short"...

PS: Damn it, I wanted to remind (to those who may be interested) that there is also another edition of this album (maybe the American one) with 20 tracks, the usual 16 plus another 4 unreleased tracks which are: "Love Her," a slow piece about the life of a prostitute, "Take Me Away," a so-so acoustic song, the angriest "Out Of My Way," and "Hang On." Anyway, the rating doesn't change even on this alternative version.