"Let You Down" is a song by South African

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Seether Seether are a South African Rock music, rock band founded in 1999 in Pretoria, Gauteng. The band originally performed under the name Saron Gas until 2002, when they moved to the United States and changed it to Seether to avoid confusion with ...

. It is the first single from their seventh studio album '' Poison the Parish''. It peaked at number one on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Mainstream Rock Songs Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" fo ...

chart in 2017.

Background

The song was first revealed on February 23, 2017, the same day the band announced their seventh album – '' Poison the Parish''. A

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

was released on the same day of the song's release, which features many ominous, masked and cloaked

carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

-themed people roaming through an open field. The footage cuts back and forth between the figures and the band performing in a dark, secluded cabin.

Composition and themes

The track was self- produced by band

frontman The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

and lead vocalist

Shaun Morgan Shaun Morgan Welgemoed (, born 21 December 1978) is a South African musician. He is the lead singer, songwriter, and rhythm guitarist for the rock band Seether. Early life Morgan spent most of his early life in South Africa.Bottomley, CSeeth ...

, and was meant to represent the band's return to a heavier rock sound found in their earlier albums.

Loudwire ''Loudwire'' is an American online media magazine that covers news of hard rock and heavy metal artists. It is owned by media and entertainment business Townsquare Media. Since its launch in August 2011, ''Loudwire'' has secured exclusive i ...

described the chorus as being "a little bit of an emotional reprieve" to the song's verses, calling it "sonically uplifting, but lyrically despondent." A few publications noted a similarity in the guitar riff and

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural, or simply changes) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from ...

of the song to Chevelle's 2014 single " Take Out the Gunman",

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's 1997 single " Lakini's Juice" and

Tool A tool is an Physical object, object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many Tool use by animals, animals use simple tools, only human bei ...

's 1996 single "

Stinkfist "Stinkfist", also referred to as ''Track #1'' due to the perceived offensiveness of the actual title, is a song by American rock band Tool A tool is an Physical object, object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the ...

Personnel

– lead vocals, guitar * Dale Stewart – bass * John Humphrey – drums

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control Seether songs 2017 songs 2017 singles Songs written by Shaun Morgan