Shaun and Dale confirmed in an interview on 2 March 2009 that, after their tour with Nickelback, Seether would take the rest of year off to write and record the follow-up to Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces.
[7] During an interview with Planet 1051 radio in Louisiana, former guitarist Troy McLawhorn and drummer John Humphrey confirmed the band would be releasing a new album titled Holding Onto Strings Better Left to Fray in May.
[9] On 7 March 2011, in an interview with radio station 103.3, Shaun stated that he was writing a song for a potential movie soundtrack, and that it was sent into the label the previous week.
On 8 March 2011, Wind-Up Records released the track list and album art on the band website, along with the first single, "Country Song", on iTunes.
On 26 April, the song "Forsaken" became available as a free download for pre-ordering the deluxe version of Holding Onto Strings Better Left to Fray on iTunes.
The band played on the main stage for the 2011 Rockstar Uproar Festival along with Avenged Sevenfold, Three Days Grace, Bullet for My Valentine, and Escape the Fate.
Steve Losey of AllMusic said, "Holding Onto Strings Better Left to Fray is another journey into the mind of Shaun Morgan: through heartbreak and rebirth he still has a lot to say about betrayal.
"[18] Chad Grischow of IGN said in his review that "this diverse set of melodic hard rock proves to be a solid entry in the band's catalog.
"[1] Finally, Brandon Geist of Revolver gave the album 4 stars out of 5, saying, "Held together by Shaun Morgan's alternately gritty and smooth vocals, Holding onto Strings Better Left to Fray should forever distinguish Seether from all the clichéd radio-rock schlock flooding the airwaves."
All lyrics are written by Shaun Morgan; all music is composed by SeetherThe physical pressing of the deluxe edition contains the four additional tracks listed above, as well as a bonus DVD featuring the video for "Country Song", a "making of the video" featurette, and a "The Making of Holding Onto Strings Better Left to Fray" feature, bringing the release to 16 tracks and two discs (including the bonus DVD).