Underoath
Define The Great Line

THE REVIEW

I am about to review Underoath, one of my favorite bands making a return to the scene in 2006, after the hugely successful "They're Only Chasing Safety," an album that somehow launched them into the global emo metalcore scene.

This time, they give life to an album that completely abandons the catchy and melodic tunes of the previous record, making room for metallic, almost schizophrenic outbursts and scream vocals where these six guys seem to excel.

The album starts off in the best possible way with the aggressive "In Regards To Myself" where the guitars, accompanied by a rough sound, seem to go wild, leading to a very intense and dark song. The second track is called "A Moment Suspended In Time," a song in which the singer Spencer Chamberlain with his screams and drummer Aaron Gillespie with a more melodic voice create a fantastic blend. The rest of the album is a succession of deeply anguished and shouted songs (it’s worth noting that the very first Underoath album was death-metalcore). Among the standout tracks, we find "Salmamir," a very electronic track where the lyrics feature verses from the Bible in Russian (Underoath is a Christian band) and "Writing On The Walls" in which Underoath have some throwbacks to their previous album (this song will later become their first single).

In conclusion, an album that tends to stray from other works of similar bands and which succeeds perfectly given the originality and aggressiveness of the product. One to watch out for also because they are very young, and they didn’t make the mistake of "copying" their previous album thus avoiding being monotonous and repetitive. "Wake Up! Wake Up! This is not a test! It's time to meet the concrete!" This is what the lyrics of "In Regards To Myself" say, and these guys have proven that this album is not a test; on the contrary, these are UNDEROATH.