Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces

Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces is the fourth studio album by South African rock band Seether. The album was released in South Africa and Switzerland on 19 October 2007, and released worldwide on 23 October 2007. It is the first album by the band without lead guitarist Pat Callahan.

Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces
Studio album by Seether
Released	23 October 2007
Recorded	2007
Genre	Post-grunge alternative rock hard rock
Length	50:46 (standard edition) 58:05 (reissue)
Label	Wind-up
Producer	Howard Benson
Seether chronology
Karma and Effect (2005) Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces (2007) Holding Onto Strings Better Left to Fray (2011)
Singles from Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces
"Fake It" Released: 28 August 2007 "Rise Above This" Released: 19 February 2008 "Breakdown" Released: 9 September 2008 "Careless Whisper" Released: 10 March 2009

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	(39/100)[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Billboard	(favorable)[3]
Blogcritics	[4]
PopMatters	[5]
Q	[6]
Rolling Stone	[7]
Sputnikmusic	2.5/5[8]

The cover artwork was designed by David Ho, the same artist who designed the Vicious Delicious cover for Infected Mushroom. The covers apparently display the same character: Candice the Ghost.[9]

Three singles, "Fake It", "Rise Above This" and "Breakdown" have been released from the album with all three being top 10 singles, the former two reaching the top position on several Billboard charts, despite generally negative reviews from critics, scoring a 39 out of 100 on Metacritic.[6] The album was reissued in 2009, featuring a fourth single, a cover of George Michael's "Careless Whisper", as the final single from the album. It is the first Seether album to reach gold status in their home country, South Africa.

Album information

The band updated both their official web page and Myspace on 23 August 2007, with the new single, "Fake It", being uploaded to both. The band had this to say on their official webpage:

Here we are, about to embark on the release of our favorite Seether record to date and can guarantee that you will all feel the same. Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces is a hearty serving of the usual Seether sting and grit with an added twist of lime. We have been working hard in the studio for months recording the album and there are only a few loose ends to cinch up before all is said and done. We can't wait to hit the road to share the new shit with everyone. In the meantime the remolded site should make it easier for you guys to share your undying love for us, keep up with everyone, and get all the news that will pass through here in coming weeks. The album is dedicated to Eugene "Junior" Welgemoed. Junior has always offered the band more support and love than we've ever given ourselves. He has lit an uncontainable fire under us, and without him we will never be the same again. Cheers to taking the world by storm...[10]

In the lower right corner where the album title appears, one can faintly see a Chinese symbol overwritten by the letters of the title.[11] The symbol shown is 美, the Chinese character for the word "beauty", or "America".[12]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number nine on the Billboard 200 chart in the US with 56,900 copies moved in its first week,[13] and ended up being certified Platinum for shipping 1,000,000 copies.[14] Seether claimed their first South African Music Award in the category "Best Rock: English" for Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces.

Track listing

Standard edition

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Like Suicide"	4:15
2.	"Fake It"	3:14
3.	"Breakdown"	3:29
4.	"FMLYHM" ("Fuck Me Like You Hate Me")	3:28
5.	"Fallen"	4:18
6.	"Rise Above This"	3:24
7.	"No Jesus Christ"	7:06
8.	"6 Gun Quota"	3:23
9.	"Walk Away from the Sun"	4:14
10.	"Eyes of the Devil"	5:01
11.	"Don't Believe"	4:35
12.	"Waste"	4:22
Total length:		50:41

2009 re-release bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
13.	"Careless Whisper"	4:57
14.	"Careless Whisper (strings version)"	4:26
Total length:		58:05

iTunes pre-order exclusive

No.	Title	Length
15.	"Quirk"	3:46
Total length:		63:59

B-sides

No.	Title	Length
16.	"Naked"	5:13
17.	"Left for Dead"	4:00
18.	"Untitled"	3:50
Total length:		75:19

• "Quirk" is a demo version of "Fake It" and was apparently recorded in Morgan's bedroom.
• Later versions of the album, pressed after the release of "Careless Whisper", were released with tracks 13 and 14 added on.

Credits

Seether

• Shaun Morgan – lead vocals, guitar
• Dale Stewart – bass, backing vocals
• John Humphrey – drums
• Troy McLawhorn – guitar (tracks 13, 14)

Additional musicians

• Howard Benson – keyboards, programming
• Space – guitar (track 12)

Technical credits

• Howard Benson – producer
• Ross Petersen – co-producer
• Chris Lord-Alge — mixing
• Mike Plotnikoff – engineer
• Hatsukazu "Hatch" Inagaki – engineer
• Paul DeCarli – digital editing
• Hatsukazu Inagaki – additional engineering
• Ted Jensen – mastering
• Jon Nicholson – drum technician
• Marc VanGool – guitar technician
• Scott D. – guitar technician
• Stu Sobol – management
• Nicki Loranger – management
• David Ho – illustrations
• Gail Marowitz – art direction

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2007–08) Peak position Canadian Albums (Billboard)[15] 10 French Albums (SNEP)[16] 154 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[17] 9 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] 39 US Billboard 200[19] 9 US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[20] 4 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[21] 5

Year-end charts Chart (2008) Position US Billboard 200[22] 86 US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[23] 11 Chart (2009) Position US Billboard 200[24] 154 US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[25] 23

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[26]	Gold	50,000^^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[27]	Gold	7,500^^
United States (RIAA)[28]	Platinum	1,000,000
^^shipments figures based on certification alone sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

References

1. "Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces". Metacritic. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
2. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces - Seether". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
3. Graff, Gary (2007). "Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces". Billboard. Archived from the original on 21 October 2007. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
4. "Music Review Review: Seether - Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces". Blogcritics.
5. Blackie, Andrew (1 November 2007). "Seether: Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces". PopMatters. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
6. "Critic Reviews for Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces". Metacritic.
7. Hiatt, Brian (1 November 2007). "Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces : Seether : review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2 February 2009. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
8. Jom (23 October 2007). "Seether - Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces Review". Sputnikmusic. Archived from the original on 29 October 2007. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
9. David Ho personal gallery
10. "Seether". Myspace.
11. The Chinese character can be seen clearly here.
12. "America", in Chinese in full, is 美國, literally, "beautiful country".
13. Harris, Chris (31 October 2007). "Carrie Underwood Has An Easy Ride To First Billboard #1". MTV.
14. "American album certifications – Seether – Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
15. "Seether Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
16. "Lescharts.com – Seether – Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
17. "Charts.nz – Seether – Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
18. "Swisscharts.com – Seether – Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
19. "Seether Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
20. "Seether Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
21. "Seether Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
22. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2008". Billboard. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
23. "Hard Rock Albums – Year-End 2008". Billboard. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
24. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2009". Billboard. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
25. "Hard Rock Albums – Year-End 2009". Billboard. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
26. "Canadian album certifications – Seether – Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces". Music Canada.
27. "New Zealand album certifications – Seether – Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces". Recorded Music NZ.
28. "American album certifications – Seether – Finding Beauty in Negative". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 9 December 2020. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.