Call it the Mariah Carey principle: just because you can do something doesn`t mean you should. No one doubts the diva`s virtuosity and astonishing range, but the ability to sing 12 notes a second, some at pitches that send dogs running for cover, doesn`t necessarily make for a better song.

Melbourne rockers The Living End found themselves faced with a similar problem when it came to the recording of their fifth album, White Noise.

On stage, guitarist and songwriter Chris Cheney and his band mates, drummer Andy Strachan and bassist Scott Owen, make up one of the most technically proficient outfits in the country.

But, perversely, the musical prowess they built up over four albums and countless tours since they burst onto the local music scene in 1997 with the killer double single Second Solution/Prisoner Of Society had become a stumbling block, creatively, to their future.

Reflecting on their previous album, the number one hit State Of Emergency, the band noticed a tendency to throw too much at the songs, trying to "trickify`` them.

"We tried to trim them and make them less complicated and more direct and subsequently more powerful,`` guitar guru Cheney says.

"The melodies and the groove were the most important things, rather than how flashy each player could be individually. It was about locking in as a group.``

As it turned out, the band defied the odds by making a fifth album at all, let alone one that`s being hailed as their best to date.

During one of their national tours after State Of Emergency, Cheney had what he describes as ``a wig-out`` during a show on the Gold Coast.

Physically and mentally drained by the relentless touring here and overseas and trying to juggle a young family with the pressure of the band`s burgeoning career, Cheney found it just wasn`t much fun any more and, to all intents and purposes, quit the band.

Owen and Strachan were surprisingly supportive, although they feared the worst.

"It was a horrible feeling to think our life wasn`t going to continue the way it should or we wanted it to,`` says Strachan.

So the band went on hiatus, Cheney eventually rediscovering his hunger for music thanks to yoga and time away from the grind of the industry.

Now the emphasis was on not taking themselves quite so seriously and trying to recapture the sense of fun that had somehow been lost as the band that Cheney had started as a 17-year-old schoolkid turned into a big business.

With the new album, Cheney says he put particular effort into the lyrics, recognising an area that could be improved from previous efforts.

"I guess I was just trying to dig deeper into the art of writing lyrics and I`m a big fan of being able to read someone`s lyrics on a piece of paper and conjure up imagery,`` he says.

With the album in stores and receiving rave reviews, a full Australian tour will happen before the end of the year and then the trio will mostly likely head to the UK and US.

Given his recent history, Cheney in particular is wary of the demands of life on the road, but admits it beats the alternative.

"It`s easy to say: `Nah, it`ll be great, let`s just get in the van and go`, but we tour so hard that it does get very tiring,`` he says. ``But what`s the option? Not being in a band and playing music? Working a day job?

"We have it made and we just have to enjoy it for what it is and try to keep our personalities in check.``

* White Noise is out now. The Living End play Campbelltown September 23, Newcastle September 24, Wollongong September 26 and Sydney September 27. See ticketek.com.au