Derek Sedam
Assistant Online Editor
Hardcore band pushes the limit even further into the metal genre, while retaining what they do best as a group.
In 2006, Florida metalcore sextet Underoath had the world at its feet — headlining a world tour. Acclaimed album “Define the Great Line” was certified gold — a rare feat for Christian music and labels — and MTV-mainstream success.
But, everything the band had worked so hard to obtain almost came crashing down after its abrupt exit from the Vans Warped Tour that year. Rumors swirled about years of strife (only singer-drummer Aaron Gillespie has been in Underoath since the formation) regarding vocalist Spencer Chamberlin’s troubling substance abuse and the loss of Christian messages within the band’s lyrics.
Underoath took a long break, with Gillespie getting the pop-rock out of his system on his side project, “The Almost.” It did so to retool and refocus its hardcore roots after critics and fans alike called out the generic scream formula that plagued 2004’s “They’re Only Chasing Safety.”
The music was one good thing to come out of the band’s tumultuous year. “Define…” was a key turning point for Underoath, as it took thrashing guitars, snarling screamed vocals and pop-sensible melodies to a whole new level for metal music.
Hailed as a classic for the genre, how does a band on the verge of disbanding top its masterpiece? How does it make its previous effort even better?
Every ounce of hurt, pain and aggression the band has suffered since “Define…” is put into its latest EP, “ Lost in the Sound of Separation,” which finds the band pushing even further into the metal genre, while experimenting with its soundscape and lyrically challenging their faith.
Right off the bat, Underoath makes a firey statement, with Chamberlin growling his most haunting lyrics yet.
“I can’t get away from it all / I messed up like I always do / I gave you nothing / I took you nowhere,” Chamberlin screams in the opener, “Breathing In A New Mentality.” He tackles the issues that have plagued him head on from beginning to end as if it were more testimonial than song.
A reduced role on clean vocals from Gillespie brings the music, especially his astonishing take on drums throughout, to the forefront. While Gillespie’s shot of vocals here and there only steer passages of music along, his deep and painful lyrics offer breaks of daylight from Chamberlin’s resonating snarl.
“I was lying when I said / I was looking north / I was too scared to show what I am,” Gillespie sings, while Chamberlin screams the same in the layered epic “Fault Line, A Fault of Mine.” The constant tug between the two makes the song riveting.
Gillespie’s highlight (besides his breathtaking drumming) comes in the first part of the two-track masterpiece of the closer ballad, “Too Bright to See, Too Loud to Hear.” Fuzzed guitar and Gillespie’s soft prayer to God slowly build with handclaps into an all-out assault from the rest of the band.
“God, if your song leaves our lips / if your work leaves our hands / they will stare and say how empty we are,” Gillespie beautifully hymns as the track builds.
Another role that has changed for the better comes in the form of keyboardist-programmer Chris Dudley. In the past, Dudley complimented the sound of band. Now, the space in which Underoath operates is under his control. His synths and keys open and close the walls in which Underoath perform. Although his programming is nearly gone from the entire album, his work truly makes “Lost…” work.
Despite the experimental texture in most songs, Underoath strikes in every facet like a kick to the teeth. Without giving up the beefed-up, muscular metal that made it the biggest hardcore band today, “Lost in the Sound of Separation” makes more huge strides lyrically and sonically.
The music is intense — challenging to hear, but rewarding on all levels — and the time spent listening to “Lost…” will both hurt the ears and blow away the mind.
A masterpiece in all that is lost and can be found again, with the hope and passion that drives us all, Underoath has crafted its first perfect record and 2008’s top so far.
09-11-2008