Poison the Parish

In response to being asked about the album's "heavier" direction than prior releases, frontman Shaun Morgan said of the album's musical direction:

...a lot of the time, we were dealing with the record company that wanted the band to...sound slightly more radio-friendly, in terms of possibly pushing us toward an alternative direction. Alternative used to be something that was the category [we were] in. That's no longer the case. Now, it's more that guitars are less of a player in the music, and it's more Imagine Dragons and Lorde and stuff like that. We don't fit the alternative category anymore. That was something that the [record] label wanted us quite desperately to try [to be a part of], and I think the producers steered us in that direction as well. It all makes sense, in some respect. They had a plan that we just weren't privy to. The whole point, for me, was to reclaim the fact that we're a rock band and it's what we'll always be, and until the alternative label shifts back to the kind of rock bands that have guitar and vocals, that's just what we'll be.[5]

He further expanded that the album's emphasis would be on "heavy guitars" and "loud drums", but not "...a lot of percussion in the background and keyboard parts and tons of strings in different places. There's a time and place for all those things, but I didn't feel like this was that time or place."[5]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[6]
Rock Sins	8.5/10[7]

The album was generally well received, with critics praising the album's quality despite a perceived lack of originality. AllMusic was generally positive about the album, concluding that "Poison the Parish doesn't deviate too far from the structural blueprints of prior outings, but it's hardly the work of a band just going through the motions. By attaining autonomy, Seether seems to have rediscovered their vitality.[6] Similarly, Team Rock felt that the album was " a competent radio rock record that’s a little too long and ends on a mediocre ballad. It won’t be the last album of 2017 to fit that description, but it will likely be one of the better ones.[8]

All tracks are written by Shaun Morgan.

Credits adapted from album’s liner notes.[9]

Seether

• Shaun Morgan – lead vocals, guitar[10]
• Dale Stewart – bass, backing vocals
• John Humphrey – drums, percussion

Production

• Shaun Morgan — producer
• Matt Hyde — engineer, mixing
• Jordan Griffin — assistant engineer
• Sean Badum — assistant engineer
• Tom Baker — mastering