On their sixth full-length album Isolate and Medicate, multi-platinum alternative rock trio Seether – Shaun Morgan [vocals, guitar], Dale Stewart [bass, backing vocals], and John Humphrey [drums] – strip their trademark melodic thrash to its core and deliver the most poignant, passionate, and powerful record of their illustrious career. With rigorous minimalism and maturity, chief songwriter Shaun Morgan – long one of rock’s most unheralded melodists, has become a composer of deep emotion and clear-eyed vulnerability. The band too has developed into one of rock’s most fearsome units, playing with precision, grit and authority, yet still light on their feet. After 15+ years of hardscrabble success, it’s evident that Seether felt like survival was not enough. They had something to prove with this new album – somewhere farther to go.

Seether has worked tirelessly to reach this point. The hard rocking outfit originally from Pretoria, South Africa has now released eight albums in all, two of which have gone Platinum and two more that are certified Gold along with a live concert DVD that has sold over 500,000 units – for total worldwide sales in excess of 4.5 million. The consistent hit makers have quietly amassed eleven #1 singles and seventeen Top 5 multi-format hits resulting in singles sales that top seven million – a level of success few artists working today can match. Seether has averaged 120 performances a year, crisscrossing the globe, emerging into headlining mainstays and featured performers on many of the world’s biggest rock festivals.

Nonpoint only becomes fiercer with each subsequent album. Their eighth full-length offering and second for Razor & Tie, The Return, is no exception either. After 17 years in the game, the Florida quintet sustains the same energy that sparked its foundation back in 1997. The riffs crack with neck-snapping intensity, the bass and drums forge an unmatched groove, and the vocals rapidly recount stories of pain and perseverance. The Return remains as raw, ripping, and real as these musicians—Elias Soriano [vocals], Robb Rivera [drums], Rasheed Thomas [guitar], Adam Woloszyn [bass], and B.C. Kochmit [guitar]—get.

In late 2013, Nonpoint closed out a year of touring behind 2012’s self-titled record, which yielded the Active Rock radio hit “Left For You.” Fueled by that continued success and their time on the road, they immediately began writing for album number eight. This time around, the band amped ups the aggression musically, while Elias drew inspiration from a whole new well altogether.

In February 2014, with this mindset, the guys entered Groovemaster Studios with Grammy Award-nominated producer Johnny K [Disturbed, Staind, Megadeth] and engineer Daniel Salcidoto. It marked their second collaboration together, and this time, the band had already amassed an arsenal of tight and tough material.

Not only does The Return match the pristine sonic power of Nonpoint, but the songs stand out as some of their catchiest and most crushing output to date. The first single “Breaking Skin” pierces with sharp and slick guitars before catapulting into a catchy chorus, punctuated by the vocalist’s punchy delivery.