The individual members of Seemless have impressive pedigree. There’s no denying that. They are a product of the incestuous, yet prolific Massachusetts rock scene, and the members have logged miles in extremely influential bands like Shadows Fall, Overcast, and Killswitch Engage, bands that are easily the metal/metalcore scene’s biggest, most influential bands. But that’s not what defines Seemless or its members. The guys went on to form a completely original, blues-influenced rock band of their own volition. Rather than rely on the efforts of their pasts, they strove to move forward, and ultimately, forged and created their own unique identity. Seemless are completely separate from the member’s pasts, and the debut album, Seemless, originally issued by Losing Face Records and now remastered and re-released by Equal Vision Records, is a rock ‘n roll bulldozer, full of thick, 70s inspired, distorted, guitar-based jams. Songs like “Something’s Got To Give,” “Soft Spoken Sanity,” “Lay My Burden Down” and “The Crisis” operate off a battery of pure rock fury, originality, and unharnassed passion. The story goes that guitarist Pete Cortese and drummer Derek Kerswill, who despite being a pounding-his-chest rock drummer, played in a jazz band when he was in 8th grade, technically started Seemless. The duo was the main songwriting team in a band called Medium. After 2 years, they amicably split with their singer, but knew in their hearts that they wanted to continue making music together, and started their search for a vocalist who would eventually front Seemless. “We had two guys in mind [for vocals] and I didn’t want to move forward without either. My two choices were Jesse and Jonah from Only Living Witness,” Kerswill says. Jesse was MIA, and according to the singer himself, he was “ready to put down the mic. After ten years of metal and hardcore, it was time for a change.” Fate intervened, though. “He heard we were looking for him, and I sent him stuff,” Kerswill says. “He fell in love with it, and 3 months later, we were playing together.” The singer says he feels vocally stronger than ever, and that his vocal performances are the best they’ve ever been. “My voice is allowing me to do things I never thought I could do before. I discover new things and ideas all the time. I feel like I am starting fresh again,” he says. “Refreshing” definitely describes Seemless, who are fiercely independent in their musical style and vision. They don’t adhere to any scene rules, standards or sound. They are like the Harley Davidson of rock: they live to rock and rock to live. “We never wanted to be part of any ‘scene,’ Kerswill says, passion filling his words.
“Building walls in any aspect of your life is a very limiting practice, and I didn’t want Seemless to be labeled as anything. Like Led Zeppelin, Porcupine Tree, Soundgarden. Those bands were not afraid to take chances and always maintained that ‘thing’ that made them who they are. That stuff is simply ‘timeless.’” And Seemless presents itself an eternal rock record, one that music fans – not just rock or hardcore or metal fans- can pick up and enjoy as much on the first listen as they do fifteen years later. Seemless has that lasting, timeless quality, and while this may be a big statement to make, it’s not a stretch to think that people that who are attracted to this record will be sucked into its inescapable gravitational pull, and become fans of it for their entire lives, much like a Zepplin or a Who classic. Kerswill continues to elaborate on the abundance of musical surprises that Seemless continues to delve out, saying, “It’s really weird that because Jesse sang in a ‘metalcore’ band and that Pete and I played in ‘metal’ bands that people know, and people expected something exactly the same from us. When it comes down to it, though, when you truly become the artist that you are, it has a lot to do with your cognitive years, which are the first years of whatever inspired you. Some were inspired and moved to play music later in life, so , hardcore or punk may have been their ‘cognitive’ years, musically. For us, classic rock, metal, and blues are what we bleed. It’s not even a conscious thing. We just want to take that style, combined with messages of deep and emotional thought, spirituality, and positivism, and create a brand new monster.” Well, the monster has undoubtedly been created, and it continues to grow at an exponential rate. Seemless have written an entire new album, and are gearing up to record it sometime in 2005. But in the meantime, they’ve teamed up with Equal Vision. Kerswill is more than excited about the union, saying, “We had options, and we went with them because they have been amazing and renewed our faith in the ‘music’ business.” With Equal Vision behind them and an army of powerful new songs in its arsenal, Seemless are firing on all cylinders and show no signs of stopping or slowing down until they bring their honest, feisty rock to the ears of everyone smart enough to listen. –Amy Sciarretto
