Seether for me are a band that I find hard to write about. Of course, the aim of every review is to inform the reader and write objectively, but I find this so hard to do with Seether. They were the band that got me into metal (not to say that they are a metal band, however there certainly are influences here), and I've always seemed to connect with their music better than most people.
This album has a very good variation on the types of music; there is a nice mix of heavy, mellow, happy and sad. For instance, the first track, 'Gasoline' is one of Seether's heaviest songs in their catalog, containing grungey riffs, rumbling bass lines during the verse and a screaming bridge-type section from vocalist Shaun Morgan.
'Needles' and 'Your Bore' are similar in the sense that both are based around pure anger and hate, particularly in the lyrics, while 'Pig II' maintains the aggression instrumentally and adds it's own little eerie twist.
Elsewhere we have 'F*** It', which starts off with an odd and softly executed intro in comparison with the chorus, where we have multiple 'F*** It's!' being screamed out to the listeners. Perhaps a little immature, but a good song to listen to when you're angry.
We also have the soft(er) parts of this album, and the first one can be found in the 3rd track, 'Fine Again'. Featuring simple chord progressions and average drum beats, this song is nothing special instrumentally, but it's the lyrics that really make this song. They're simple, but in a good way in the sense that a lot of people can relate to them. We have generally pessimistic verses ("It seems like everyday's the same and I'm left to discover on my own/It seems like everything's grey and there's no colour to behold."), and then a more optimistic and uplifting chorus ("I am aware now that everything's going to be fine..."). To sum this song up, it is its simplicity which makes it so good.
'Sympathetic' is in the same vein as 'Fine Again' in terms of musical simplicity to make a good song, with some reasonably deep lyrics and easy-on-the-ear instrumentals.
The softest track on the album, 'Broken', also happens to be the best. Many people prefer the version with Amy Lee, but personally I prefer the original version. It's just Shaun and a guitar, wailing out lyrics of inner sadness about a past relationship. Containing a nice little solo too, this song is deeply emotional, and once again, easy to relate to, which is why I love Seether so much. The version with Amy Lee isn't bad either, but in my opinion it's slightly more cheesy and overdone.
Then we have the boring side of the album, as well as the 'awful lyrics' side. For example, '69 Tea' is so disappointing considering it comes straight off the back of a song like 'Gasoline'. There is almost no point to this song, it is so boring. To me, it seems like Seether had made the 19 songs for the album, hastily tried to find the last one and just wrote it clumsily and without much thought.
'Driven Under' sounds out-of-place on the electric guitar and would sound a lot more natural on an acoustic. The simple chord progressions combined with all the other instruments just don't work on this song. It would sound a lot better if they stripped it down a little.
'Fade Away' does exactly what it says on the tin; it makes me want to fade away into a much needed slumber. Later on, we have 'Got It Made', which to first time listeners, will sound the exact same to 'Fade Away'. The only thing that saves this song is it's solo, which is rather decent for radio-rock standards.
As stated before, some of the lyrics are just awful here. Just pure awful. Take for example the chorus of Gasoline; ("She's got nothing to say/she's got bills to pay/she's got no one to hate/except from me"). Fair enough if she (whoever 'she' is) hates you Shaun, but what has paying bills got to do with anything?
Another example is just before the chorus of the song 'Needles'. Shaun screams "F*** you for killing me!". If that's not a bad lyric, I don't know what is.
So what about the rest of the instruments then? Well, I'm sad to say, but they're insanely average. I didn't hear any real interesting drum beats, any dazzling guitar leads, or any groovy bass-lines. To be fair, none of this is needed in most of the album, but it would have been nice to maybe include something more substantial instrumentally.
To summarise, Disclaimer II is an excellent album if you're looking to expand your musical horizons into heavier territory (don't be expecting to fall in love with Slayer after listening to this, however), and my personal rating is so high for this album because of nostalgic reasons. But ultimately, if you're already into heavier music than the whole 'radio-rock' scene, I wouldn't get too excited.
Pros:
* Easy-on-the-ear and catchy instrumentals
* Easy to relate to lyrically
* Good variation of styles
Cons:
* Lyrics are awful in some places
* Lots of boring, filler songs with no real emotional drive
* Album length is way too long (76 minutes and 50 seconds on the American version)
Recommended Tracks:
* Gasoline
* Fine Again
* Pride
* Sympathetic
* Your Bore
* Pig II
* Broken
