Band's List Metalcore Underoath Ø (Disambiguation)

[Originally posted December 23, 2010]

The group of astonishing artists that go by the name Underoath have finally released their new masterpiece. Except now, the album does not include their long appreciated and loved drummer/singer, Aaron Gillespie. Aaron has always been (and still is) one of my favorite drummers of all time. So I have been longing to hear what their new drummer sounds like. So when Aaron left the band, Spencer really had to take initiative and be a good leader to help the band stay together. Along with that, he now does all of the vocals (singing and screaming). And he did an amazing job of working with the band on creating a completely new sound.

I have noticed lately that a lot of bands have been striving to create new sounds (kind of like the 70s all over again). Bands like Alexisonfire, Mutiny Within, Animals as Leaders, Augury, Decrepit Birth, Iwrestledabearonce, Keep of Kalessin, I, Nachtmystium, Bring me the Horizon, Winds of Plague, and many more have been striving to create something not slightly new, but completely new, things that haven’t been even thought of before! This album somewhat reminds me of Plagues by The Devil Wears Prada. But even then, those two albums sound almost completely different from each other. That is partly why Underoath is my all-time favorite screamo band; because they will go to the edges of the earth to create their own sound (which they are great at). But in my opinion, that’s not how they’ve always been.

Underoath’s landmark album (They’re only Chasing Safety) is the first album with Spencer Chamberlain being the guy that does all of the screaming, instead of Dallas Taylor. Taylor’s departure outraged and upset numerous fans. But the band’s worldwide recognition skyrocketed. Here is my personal opinion on all of the albums previous to (They’re only Chasing Safety). All of the instrumentations are simple, uncreative, and all of the songs generally sound the same. There just wasn’t that much variety or progression in their music. Starting with (They’re only Chasing Safety), EVERYTHING that Underoath played was filled with color, experimentation, and pure artistry. I think that Spencer had a huge influence on the band’s new sound; constantly supporting progression and wanting to create something new. And ever since that, Underoath’s sound has been getting better and better.

A lot of bands rely on one member (or person) to write the basics of a song, and then they take each part and build on top of it to make it have its own unique sound. After that, they will combine each member’s part to create the final song, critiquing each other’s parts along the way. But Underoath does something completely different. The whole band literally writes everything! This record comes with a bonus documentary DVD that the band filmed and produced themselves (along with occasional interviews by an anonymous interviewer). And it was surprising how each member took a small part in everything. I also noticed that everyone got along perfectly like a family should.

The overall quality of the music on the record is astonishing. The sound of the guitar distortion is a little similar to Lost in the Sound of Separation. I am one of the many people that believe that Aaron is a way better drummer than Daniel. But I think that it’s obvious that the band wouldn’t hire a mediocre drummer. He has to be good. And Daniel is an amazing drummer! He is a little more stubborn than Aaron, but he is a very good musician with plenty of talent. Aaron’s drumming is a little more explosive and chaotic than Daniel’s. But Daniel has done a great job of making his drumming blend in well with the music with more of a traditional style, rather than being more abstract. This album is also the album that has the most digital effects and keyboards in the music. This I think really is the main factor that gave this album its truly unique sound.

The instant that the In Division music video got uploaded on YouTube, I watched it (me being view #3). It was nothing that I think anyone was expecting. And the song did nothing short of blowing me away (I think I might have shit myself). The pure color and creativity of the album is not something that can be easily put into words. I would say that the song that sticks out to me as my favorite is Vacant Mouth. In this song, Underoath really tries on the jackets of heavier music. And they did a great job of it, especially with the solos done by almost every member. Driftwood really is a weird one. I can’t really say much about it other than that it’s cool, but really nothing I’ve ever heard in my life. If you want to get an idea of what I’m getting at, buy the CD and listen to it, because it’s an experience you will never experience ever again unless you play the album again. The three remixes at the end of the album are actually really good (most remixes of metal songs aren’t that good, because it’s hard!). This album gets a perfect score on ANY scale.