Hot off the release of their seventh studio album ‘Poison the Parish’, South African rockers Seether brought the house down at Saint Andrews Hall on Wednesday night. Supported by San Francisco based Letters from the Fire, Detroit’s own Kaleido and a splash of fun with the crowning of local rock radio station WRIF’s 2017 Rock Girl, the night was a heavy metal dream.
Kaleido opened the night celebrating the release of their latest “CD experience”, which dropped hours earlier. Unfortunately, the band faltered as lead singer Christina Chriss struggled with an extremely horse voice. The result of an extremely heavy touring schedule over the past few weeks. I’ve covered this band numerous times and can’t wait to hear Christina belt out these new tunes with the angelic voice she is known for.
The female vocalist contingent continued with Letters from the Fire hitting the stage next. This was my first encounter with this band and I was truly impressed with lead singer Alexa Kabazie’s vocal range and stage presence. Bassist Clayton Wages stole the show with his heavy grooves and unending explosions of energy.
After watching the crowning of the new WRIF Rock Girl, the crowd was primed and pumped for Seether to hit the stage. Having just witnessed them at Welcome to Rockville in Jacksonville, Florida, I knew that they would not be disappointed. Opening with “Gasoline”, the 15 song set was a tour through the bands hits. Thrown into the mix was also a cover of Thrice’s “Black Honey”, which was the icing on the cake for this photographer. Unfortunately, Chriss’ vocal problems nixed a scheduled duet with the band on “Broken”. The lighting was dark and moody, which was a photographer’s nightmare, but added to the rhythmic tempo of songs like “Driven Under”.
Breaking loose from Bicycle Records and going D.IY, it’s quite evident that the band has made one of the most honest albums in years as shown by lead guitarist/vocalist Shaun Morgan’s piercing vocals and melodic riffs on the first single “Let You Down” . The addition of Sevendust guitarist Clint Lowery, after the departure of Bryan Wickmann is huge and in my mind adds that missing link to their live show.
The band has a few more shows before finishing up the tour with their annual festival Rise Above in Bangor, Maine. A benefit for suicide awareness, a big topic in today’s rock world.