Seether
Seether: 2002-2013
Wind-Up Records

One can’t deny that South Africa’s Seether has had quite a ride on rock radio, and never is this more evident than by taking a listen to the first disc of the trio’s latest release, a 2-disc compilation of Greatest Hits and unreleased demo recordings in the form of Seether: 2002-2013. The first cut, 2002’s life saving debut single “Fine Again,” from the group’s debut Disclaimer kicks things off right, reminding you of the acts humble beginnings. Then there’s the career changing “Broken” featuring Evanescence vocalist Amy Lee that brought the band to new audiences before they unleashed the second most played rock radio track for 2005, the bouncy “Remedy.”

The quirky “Fake It” and uplifting “Rise Above This” from 2007’s Finding Beauty In Negative Spaces album really puts things in perspective, while “Tonight” and “Here and Now” from the band’s last full-length, Holding Onto Strings Better Left to Fray bring a nice rise to the tail end of the discs’ 15 tracks. The nice thing about the ‘radio hits’ disc is that the songs are in order from when they were first released as singles, truly showing the bands maturation over their career.

The second disc is more for the die-hards, with a handful of demos and unreleased tracks that were previously available via soundtracks. The band attacks the tune that bares their namesake by the dual female fronted darlings Veruca Salt and, some 20 years later it still has that kick that sounds just as modern today as it did in 1994. Soundtrack tunes “No Shelter,” “Out of My Way” and the searing “Hang On” are great riff rockers while moody new tracks “Weak” and “Safe to Say I’ve Had Enough” would sound at home on the bands third effort, Finding Beauty on Negative Spaces. 

Long-time fans are finally able to sink their teeth into B-side’s “Innocence,” “Let Me Go” and the somber “Blister,” from the acts sophomore effort Karma and Effect that have become fan favorites over the years. To cap off the disc, fans are treated with demos of new tracks such as the indie meets hardcore tinged “Burn The Bridges,” “Melodious” and the Pearl Jam Vitology-era sounding “Butterfly with Teeth,” which end the disc, and this era of the band on a raw high note. After listening to these new songs one can only look forward to the next chapter of Seether’s career and what’s in store for their next disc of all-new material. –Matthew Pashalian