Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces

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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com
Seether returns with another workaday outing that rocks like late 2001. Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces is virtually interchangeable with any previous Seether disc, as well as pretty much anything by the likes of Nickelback, Shinedown, and other "post-grunge" rock bands. True, "Fake It" has zeal, and "Rise Above This" may very well provide the soundtrack to late-night, soul-searching sessions for teenagers from Cape Cod to Cape Town. Shaun Morgan's often unnecessarily profane lyrics are another problem. Witness the gauche "FMLYHM," which borrows from lyrical ideas that sounded novel when Trent Reznor sang them in "Closer" more than a decade ago but now just sound juvenile and unnecessarily angry. Same goes for the numbing epic "No Jesus Christ" and the closer, "Waste." Throughout, the band shows a lack of imagination that may ultimately prove fatal. In all, this is cookie-cutter rock that really doesn't. --Jedd Beaudoin

Customer Reviews: Read 56 more reviews...

3 out of 5 stars

3 Star Quota October 25, 2007
45 out of 70 found this review helpful

Why is this album not as satisfying as Seether's past albums? Why does it sound recycled, like just about anything else you'll hear on radio these days? Is it due to drug problems that eventually led to a stint in rehab last summer for frontman Shaun Morgan? Is it the firing of second guitarist Pat Callahan, who gaves 2005's "Karma & Effect" some much needed dimension? Is it the fact that producer Howard Benson, who produced crossover hits for the likes of Hoobastank and Papa Roach, had a hand in the production?

Whatever it is, one thing is for sure: "Finding Beauty In Negative Spaces" just isn't up to par. Even the strongest songs sound like b-sides to previous albums, and aside from an exception or two, the new territory they tread here doesn't pan out well at all. The thing that set Seether aside from most of their contemporaries was always frontman Shaun Morgan's honest delivery. Even if they weren't always creating the freshest music or if Morgan wasn't spewing the most original lyrics, you could almost always feel the passion in his voice. Listen to songs from past albums like "The Gift," "Driven Under" and the original version of "Broken" to hear what I mean. Unfortunately, the passionate, honest side of him is hardly shown on this album, except when he states that he can "fake it with the best of them" on the first single, "Fake It." Afterall, this album is, if nothing else, Seether going through the motions.

One song that does stand out, however, is "No Jesus Christ." A seven-plus minute long slowburner that seeths like older Seether and yet, sounds nothing like anything they have done in the past. Unfortunately this song is slapped right in the middle of the album, sandwiched in between embarassing arena-rock like "Rise Above This" and the generic, repetitive fodder of "Fake It." A few gems sprinkled in between -- "Like Suicide" and "Eyes Of The Devil" -- have a familiar feel to them and hold up just fine next to older material. The main problem, though, still remains that there aren't enough moments like this to qualify this as a great album, like the others. It's good enough, I suppose. Afterall, every band is entitled to one mediocre affair, and Seether have survived enough hardships to justify this one. If you don't mind hearing a great band water down their sound, you might just like this better than their other albums, but for everyone else, you'll have trouble finding beauty in this space.

5 out of 5 stars

Solid October 23, 2007
14 out of 21 found this review helpful

Insanely Catchy songs-Check. Hard pounding emotional songs-Check. introspective ballads-Check. This cd has it all. This is the perfect mix and has a something for all of us. I have seen Seether live 3 times and I can't wait to hear Like Suicide, Fake It, Breakdown, Fallen and Eyes of a Devil live. A must have for any rock fans.

3 out of 5 stars

Seether has lost their touch October 23, 2007
9 out of 18 found this review helpful

Seether was always set apart from other similar bands before by their catchy riffs and creativity. I loved them for the heaviness they mixed in with all of that. This album, however, seems to have lost both the heaviness and the creativity, leading them to sound much like Breaking Benjamin and even, dare I say it? Nickelback. Not that there is anything wrong with those bands but I'm definitely disappointed that Seether has become another clone.

They also seem to think that being even more foul-mouthed than previously makes up for their lack of actual heaviness in the music. I don't mind the cursing but I want it to fit with the music and be at least partially tactful. The song "F**k it" from "Disclaimer" was a good song because it had angry music to go with the lyrics. "Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces" has angry lyrics but not angry enough melodies to go along with them.

Breakdown of the songs:

1. Like Suicide - 7.5/10 A decent song, with hints of the old Seether in it. It's not nearly as heavy of any of the previous album openers, though.
2. Fake it - 8/10 Ok, I admit it. This song is catchy. It gets really stuck in your head. It's not at all Seether, though. Sounds kind of like Nickelback. Nothing unique, at all.
3. Breakdown - 6/10 This song is so unmemorable and such a Breaking Benjamin clone (I think they even have a song with the same title).
4. FMLYHM (F**K Me Like you Hate Me) - 7/10 The verse of this song is actually pretty good. But I have serious objections to the chorus. It's just lame. The music doesn't fit the anger of the lyrics.
5. Fallen - 8.5/10 The verse is again, actually quite good. The chorus gives a slightly heavier taste of Seether than the rest of the album. But overall, the song isn't real memorable.
6. Rise Above This - 4/10 No, No, No. It's painful to think that this is Seether. I'm not even touching this any more than that.
7. No Jesus Christ - 6.5/10 This song is kind of weird. It's, thankfully, much heavier than the previous song but the song just doesn't have much substance to it.
8. 6 Gun Quota - 8/10 Another fairly catchy song that still lacks much creativity. It's fun to listen to but doesn't win too many marks in my mind.
9. Walk Away From the Sun - 6/10 Eh. Nothing special. Unmemorable and tedious.
10. Eyes of a Devil - 6.5/10 Sounds like "Three Days Grace" but worse.
11. Don't Believe - 5/10 These songs just keep getting less and less memorable.
12. Waste - 6/10 This is not getting any better.

So, there's a few catchy songs on the album but overall, Seether has really lost their touch.

5 out of 5 stars

Seethers IN UTERO November 10, 2007
8 out of 12 found this review helpful

I hated this album at first it sounded nothing like there previous works but I gave it another chance because of Like Suicide and Fake It both really catchy songs. I'm glad I did because this cd is really good from start to finish. This reminds me of In Utero because everyone hated that record when it came out and as time went on it became a classic and the same goes for FBINS. Its a solid album its not my favorite it may be the bands favorite Seether record but my favorite will always be Disclaimer (1). This is just Seether experimenting just like Linkin Park with minutes to midnight its only one cd they can always come back on the next one if your just getting into Seether start with this one and work your way down. The best tracks Like Suicide, 6 Gun Quota, Breakdown, & FMLYHM.

4 out of 5 stars

Despite persona issues, Shaun Morgan and Seether put out a solid album April 4, 2008
7 out of 9 found this review helpful

THE BAND: Shaun Morgan (vocals, guitars), Dale Stewart (bass), John Humphrey (drums & percussion). Origin - South Africa.

THE DISC: (2007) 12 tracks clocking in at approximately 50 minutes. Included with the disc is a 10-page booklet containing song titles/credits, song lyrics, a dedication to Morgan's brother Eugene Welgemoed (R.I.P.), artwork by famed Chinese-American artist David G. Ho, and thank you's. Music by Seether, all lyrics by Morgan. This is the band's 3rd studio album. Label: Wind-up Records.

COMMENTS: Seether continues their breed of angry post grunge songs (with an affinity for the F-bomb - which sometimes works, but usually doesn't). "Finding Beauty In Negative Spaces" is a solid album, but there's nothing out of the ordinary here. To me, Seether is still in the same class with Breaking Benjamin, Staind, Three Days Grace, Crossfade, Cold, etc... the band continues to write quality songs that deliver with conviction. There are some issues here that perhaps affected the songs/album - Morgan dealing with his brother's suicide, his own drug addiction, and numerous production delays. Also, gone is guitarist Pat Callahan - in these 2nd tier rock bands, 2 guitars are usually better than 1. "Finding Beauty In Negative Spaces" is a solid album, filled with stinging guitar riffs and some decent hooks scattered through out. I find myself listening to the entire disc without hitting the `skip' button. While there's no mainstream rock powerhouse hit like Disclaimer's "Fine Again", or a pound your fist get-up-and-yell track like "Gasoline", or a top-notch smoky ballad like "Broken", "Finding Beauty" still manages to please - reaching #9 on Billboard's Top 200 albums in 2007. 11 of the 12 songs fit into the 3-5 minute range, with only "No Jesus Christ" breaking the mold at over 7 minutes long. Two singles did emerge - the most well known track on the album "Fake It", and the mainstream mid tempo "Rise Above This" (about one brother missing the other). Other highlights include the heavy opener "Like Suicide", the crunchy rhythm guitars in "Fallen" (sounds like it could be a Godsmack tune), the slower acoustic "Walk Away From The Sun" that gradually picks up speed, and the beautiful final cut "Waste". Several reviewers here on Amazon (as well as other sources) have said how different they feel this album is when compared to "Disclaimer" (2002) and "Karma And Effect" (2005). I guess I'm not on the same bus - I think this sounds a lot like previous Seether albums... maybe too much so. "Finding Beauty" is trademark Seether - melodic with crunchy guitars, good familiar vocals, and lots of attitude. "Finding Beauty" will not hit you as hard as "Disclaimer", but it's still a solid release (4 stars).

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