Seether
Karma And Effect

With this latest album, Seether, a band always influenced by Nirvana and classified by everyone in that group of post-grunge bands that haven't offered anything new for years, had announced their desire to separate from various currents, to escape from the patterns.

The question is: have they succeeded? Generally, the evolution is noticeable, more of a musical growth, still not deviating from the standards that Seether fans have always felt satisfied with. In this case, evolution is not synonymous with maturation because the album, while enjoyable, is nothing special, in fact, in the long run, it could become quite boring. However, there is no doubt about one thing: of the South African quartet, this album is the best, and it is the precursor of this genre, which, as much as they don't want to label themselves as such, it is pure post-grunge, perhaps with some rock or nu-metal influences, but still post-grunge in the vein of Creed, 3 Doors Down, etc.

There is also no doubt that they resemble many other bands, like Staind, and that Shaun's voice is not particularly unique, although it has a good timbre. This album has, however, a noteworthy melodic component, and pretty beautiful lyrics, while the tracks overall are catchy, powerful, sometimes sad and reflective, other times carefree. The album opens with a very beautiful track, "Because of Me," very powerful and indicating right away what the direction of the entire album will be, dominated by Shaun's very melodic use of his voice; "Remedy," the single, immediately brings to mind "Come As You Are" and "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana, perhaps revisited, but still the exposure to Nirvana's influence here is very alive; of the 14 tracks, it is certainly the most commercial and predictable; "Truth," in the vein of the first track, is a beautiful song, dominated by arpeggios and a very nostalgic lyric. "The Gift," started by a very interesting arpeggio in pure post-grunge style, is another remarkable track of the quartet, very deep also in the lyrics and the incisiveness of the singing; "Burrito," a beautiful track that seems designed to continue the first 4 without losing a second of enjoyment, ranks among the most beautiful tracks with a very catchy chorus and quite interesting arpeggios in their simplicity; the sixth track "Given" at the start does not differ much from the others but one should not say the last word until the very powerful chorus breaks the melancholy of the verses; next is "Never Leave," interesting to a point because it's here that the repetitiveness of the songs begins to be felt, although it is still enjoyable and listenable (perhaps separated from the others).

"World Falls Away" is the first so far to start powerfully, immediately marking the song's tempo; in the song's riffs, one can glimpse some novelties, but the Seether's style is always the same repeated; the track is still rather well elaborated and good. Following, a beautiful ballad in which Shaun's voice stands out, "Tongue," very beautiful and almost influenced by Pearl Jam, other great exponents of grunge.
"I'm The One," immediately resembles a Nirvana song, but reworked in Seether's more modern and captivating style; "Simplest Mistake," very simple in its scheme but very catchy, is one of the most beautiful tracks in terms of the beauty of the words and the chorus; "Diseased," another very beautiful track, perhaps the slowest of the album, does not leave a moment with a bitter taste for its sweetness until it bursts into the power of distortion, which continues the track in a superlative way; "Plastic Man" cancels the calm then vanished of "Diseased" in a very sweet and melancholic ballad, devoid of distortion, where the voice takes center stage.
I'll just spend two words for the bonus track, a piece that could easily have been left out (even though it contains a thank you to the fans in their mother tongue).

The album is therefore beautiful, enjoyable; nothing special for those who have already heard the others, but it discreetly hides an eloquent leap in quality, which loses its incisiveness with the repetitiveness (in the long run) of some songs too similar to each other. Recommended for lovers of this genre that re-explores the old glories of grunge from Nirvana, Mudhoney, etc.