Seether‘s new album, The Surface Seems So Far, is out Friday. While there are a few quieter moments on the record, the ninth studio effort from the South African rockers is otherwise a nonstop rager.
Speaking with ABC Audio, bassist Dale Stewart credits frontman Shaun Morgan co-producing the album for influencing its heavier sound.
“In the past we’ve felt like maybe producers were trying to, I don’t wanna say dumb it down, but maybe just kinda take the edge off a little bit just to make it a little bit more palatable for radio consumption and so on,” Stewart says. “But with Shaun producing, it’s like old-school garage days.”
So far, the approach has been a success: lead single “Judas Mind” is currently #1 on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart.
“It’s always cool to have one of the heavier songs be a single,” Stewart says. “I feel like in the past the label was always like, ‘Hey, let’s take the ballad … those will be the singles, all the ballads on the album.'”
“We’re like, ‘No, let’s play a rock song!'” he adds. “I feel like people wanna hear that kind of stuff.”
Even with “Judas Mind” hitting #1, Stewart says he and his bandmates aren’t interested in trying to prove anybody wrong.
“I think we’ve really sort of found our stride and are just comfortable with who we are as a band and as people,” Stewart says. “We just kinda do our thing, and if people like it, cool, and if they don’t, OK!”
“We’re also old guys now,” he smiles. “We’re not gonna be cool even if we tried, and there’s nothing less cool than trying really hard to be cool.”
Seether is currently on tour with Skillet.
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