Seether
Seether |
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Seether is a post-grunge band. Originally called Saron Gas and signed to Musketeer Records in South Africa, they changed their name in 2002, coinciding with the release of their second album and major label debut, Disclaimer. The font used for the logo from Disclaimer to Karma and Effect is called DANimal.
History
Early Days, Fragile, Disclaimer
Saron Gas had their origins in Pretoria, and the earliest days of the group saw their public appearances at parties, small-scale concerts and University venues, such as the University of Cape Town and the University of Stellenbosch, where they played for the lunch-time crowds in the Neelsie centre on the latter campus as late as the summer of 2001. As Saron Gas, the band released its first album, Fragile on Musketeer Records, in 2000 in South Africa. Upon achieving success on the South African music charts, Wind-Up Records took an interest in Saron Gas' melodic-yet-heavy sound and signed them to the label. The band was asked to change their name, however, due to Saron Gas being a homophone of sarin gas, a deadly nerve agent. The band chose the name Seether, inspired by a single by the band Veruca Salt. Their first major release came in 2002 with the album Disclaimer. The album spawned three singles, Fine Again, Driven Under and Gasoline, but only Fine Again charted with any success. The remaining singles got semi-frequent radio play on modern rock stations, but were not major chart hits. The biggest hit off the album, Broken, was not even released as a single. Morgan has cited Nirvana (and specifically the album Nevermind) as 'the reason he picked up a guitar,' and also quotes Pearl Jam, Rage Against the Machine, Alice in Chains and Deftones. [1]
Success and Disclaimer II
After Disclaimer was released, the band went on a non-stop touring route in hopes of boosting sales and name recognition. Upon completing the tour, the band had planned to go into the studio and record their sophomore release. However, they were instead tapped to support Evanescence on a worldwide tour that postponed their recording plans by almost a year. On this tour, the band reworked the acoustic ballad Broken into an electric ballad and had Amy Lee of Evanescence share vocal duties with Morgan during live performances. Inspired by the positive reaction the duet got on the road and perhaps fueled by a budding romance between Lee and Morgan, the band headed into the studio and quickly recorded an alternate version of Broken with Lee on vocals. The song, along with a new song titled Sold Me, was featured on the soundtrack for the 2004 film The Punisher and was massively successful, bringing the band fame in the US, the UK and Australia in particular. Morgan has stated that the hit was an incident where the band was subjected to what the record company wanted for them rather than what they wanted [2]. Disclaimer II, an alternate version of the original album with many of the songs remixed or re-recorded as well as eight extra tracks, was released in late 2004.
Karma and Effect, One Cold Night
In 2005, the band released their follow-up album Karma and Effect, featuring a fuller and richer sound than previous releases. The original title for the album was Catering to Cowards, but the band was pressured to change the title by their label Wind-Up Records. The album also did not contain obscenities, unlike their previous releases.
While on tour for the album with Shinedown, Seether released an acoustic CD/DVD set titled One Cold Night, recorded on 22 February 2006 at Grape Street in Philadelphia. Morgan, who had been suffering from a stomach ailment, decided to do an acoustic performance of their setlist rather than cancel the show.
Guitarist Departure, Rehab
On June 16, it was announced via Seether's official site that lead guitarist Pat Callahan had chosen to leave the band. The exact reason for Callahan's departure is unknown. Shaun Morgan said that "Um… relieved a little… actually a lot, He was the guy in the band that was always our naysayer, and he was the negative energy as far as writing. I personally have no love lost, which is weird for some reason ‘cus he was my friend for four years. But when he walked out – it kinda walked out with him." [3].
Shaun Morgan went into rehab for unspecified addictions in August 2006, forcing the band to cancel their tour with Staind and Three Days Grace. Morgan is now out of rehab. Evanescence's hit "Call Me When You're Sober" is allegedly written about this incident.
New Studio Album
Seether is currently recording its third studio album as a three-piece unit. The band has set an April-May 2007 release date, yet it is unknown whether Morgan's time in rehab will affect this. Morgan claims the new album will be more diverse than previous ones [4].
Touring History, Contributions
In addition to the soundtrack for The Punisher, Seether have also had their songs featured on the Freddy vs. Jason soundtrack and in the film Daredevil. The song Out Of My Way was the entrance music for former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Superstar Zach Gowen. Broken was featured on a career retrospective DVD for Eddie Guerrero. Their song Sold Me was the official theme song of WWE's Bad Blood pay-per-view event in June 2004, while Remedy was the official theme song of the 2005 installment of WWE SummerSlam. In mid 2005, Seether released a video of the song Truth which also featured wrestling. In March 2006, the band performed before a crowd of 45'000 people at "The Coca-Cola Colab Massive Mix", with Simple Plan, The Rasmus, Fatboy Slim, and Collective Soul, with Metallica headlining. They were the headliners in the 2006 Winterfresh Snocore tour featuring Shinedown, and Flyleaf as the supporting acts. Seether will soon be embarking on a tour of the UK (Re-Scheduled October 2006) with support by the Essex based punk band Engerica. Their song Fine Again also featured on the Nintendo GameCube video game, 1080° Avalanche and on Madden NFL 2003.
Trivia
- The original name for their Karma and Effect album was "Catering For Cowards", but they decided rather than possibly offending anyone, they chose their first alternative.
- On Karma and Effect the band decided not to use swear words in any of their songs after Shaun spoke with Slipknot singer Corey Taylor who was accused of dropping "F-Bombs" and he wanted to prove that he actually had a vocabulary.
- Their song "Burrito" on their album Karma and Effect found its name from an Osbournes episode where Ozzy Osbourne has a craving for Burritos.
Discography
Albums
| Cover | Date | Title | Label | Charted Positions | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Fragile (as Saron Gas) | Sony BMG Musketeer Records |
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| 2002 | Disclaimer | Wind-up Records | #92 US | Gold | |
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2004 | Disclaimer II | Wind-up Records | #53 US | Gold |
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2005 | Karma and Effect | Wind-up Records | #8 US | Gold |
| 2006 | One Cold Night | Wind-up Records | #50 | ||
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2007 | TBA (3rd studio album) |
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Hot 100 | US Modern Rock | US Mainstream Rock | |||
| 2003 | "Fine Again" | #61 | #6 | #3 | Disclaimer |
| 2003 | "Driven Under" | - | #13 | #13 | Disclaimer |
| 2003 | "Gasoline" | - | #37 | #8 | Disclaimer |
| 2004 | "Broken (ft. Amy Lee of Evanescence)" | #20 | #4 | #9 | Disclaimer II |
| 2005 | "Remedy" | #70 | #5 | #1 (8 weeks) | Karma and Effect |
| 2005 | "Truth" | - | #25 | #8 | Karma and Effect |
| 2006 | "The Gift" | - | #29 | #8 | Karma and Effect |
External links
Official sites
- Seether's official website
- Seetherville A sub site run by the band
Fan sites
- Seether.fr Seether's french website