Underoath
Ø (Disambiguation)

The release of "Disambiguation" was a true litmus test for Underoath, being their first album without their long-time member Aaron Gillespie. Personally, I never found him essential, but that's another story. I'll tell you right away, they've fully passed the test, but alas, we're not on the same level as the epic Define the Great Line, let alone The Changing of Times (sigh), but that was to be expected.

We last left them with the massive Lost In The Sound Of Separation, we find them again with an even more imposing, colossal, and in some ways epic work. Spencer's voice is now even more dominant, the space for melody is even more limited, and the accompanying electronic component is always ingenious. A merit, but also a flaw, is the fact that the album appears as a single large monolith, impossible to break apart and dissect. Despite numerous listens, it's still quite challenging to distinguish the individual songs, but when you look at the platter as a whole, you can’t help but take your hat off; the few and well-thought-out breakdowns are always devastating, comparable to others, the rhythm section, now entrusted to Daniel Davison (ex Norma Jean), is powerful and pounding.

The emo-pop and swoopy-haired Underoath of the mid-2000s are definitively gone, the band is increasingly aware of their limitless capabilities and, I bet, they won't make any more missteps.

Disambiguation is a work akin, if I may say so, to that of the flagbearers of Christian metalcore, the Zao, with all the ifs and buts of the case.