Category: Underoath

 

BEST FOURTH RELEASE 2008 Award Co-Winner!

CO-WINNER: Superchick (Rock What You Got).
Runners-Up: NONE.

 

Lost In The Sound Of Separation is the perfect sequel to Underoath’s previous album (and a great disc in itself). Frontman Spencer Chamberlain now tends more toward the low end of his range (which has gotten even lower)… their music— which was already good, of course— has actually improved quite a bit in technicality, diversity, and even sound quality… and Lost In The Sound Of Separation‘s lyrics, while still quite honest, bring closure to many of Define The Great Line‘s themes and also share more hope.

In evidence, the disc kicks off with “Breathing In A New Mentality”, featuring great lyrics, a pounding drum line, and music and vocals that are as dynamic as ever.

“Anyone Can Dig A Hole But It Takes A Real Man To Call It Home” is somewhat suspenseful and faster-paced. Well into this track, Aaron Gillespie makes his first vocal appearance of the album.

“A Fault Line, A Fault Of Mine” musically shifts tone several times; and there’s also an interesting contrast between its slightly-more-conventional rock music and Spencer’s quite heavy screams (though Spencer and Aaron actually share this song’s vocals, often excellently trading off).

Flowing from the previous track, “Emergency Broadcast :: The End Is Near” moves to rhythmically dark music with complex interactions between the right and left speakers.

“The Only Survivor Was Miraculously Unharmed” slams in heavy, loud, and fast. Its music is dynamic and technically excellent, and the vocals are equally dynamic and varied.

“We Are The Involuntary” features unusual vocal rhythms at first, which draw some words and sentences out interestingly. And the bridge before the final verse is excellent, with Aaron singing and Spencer singing/screaming perfectly. The outro of this song flows into the next track.

“The Created Void” is mostly sung by both vocalists (though with quite a bit of emotion, power, and screams ) and has music that is yet again dynamic. It’s an excellent track.

“Coming Down Is Calming Down”, of course , kicks the heaviness meter back up a bit further; and it flows without a pause into the next track.

“Desperate Times Desperate Measures” is quite rhythmic at times, and (given its heaviness) is surprisingly catchy as well.

“Too Bright To See Too Loud To Hear” is slow-building and completely sung by both vocalists until the very end, where the heavy power returns to cap the track off right. It’s very memorable, and it’s excellent.

And flowing right from the previous track is the closer “Desolate Earth :: The End Is Here”. It’s instrumental with a slight soundtrack feel until the end, where the music smoothly yet unexpectedly kicks up a step, and then Spencer slides into the background with the disc’s perfect final words.

Special Edition Bonus Content:

The Special Edition comes with a DVD featuring a making-of-the-album documentary. This includes some behind-the-scenes clips of the recording, as well as tons of interviews and commentaries from the bandmembers, both producers, and the mixer. (There is also one more clip that plays after the video appears to be done.)

Deluxe Limited Edition Bonus Content:

The Deluxe Limited Edition is a collector’s box set limited to just 5,000 copies (authenticated by a certificate hand-numbered and signed by the band). It includes the CD and Special Edition DVD; a vinyl copy of the album on two colored, saw blade-shaped discs; and a large-square hardcover book. The book contains (occasionally on translucent pages) artwork, the lyrics/song commentaries/thanks, in-studio and behind-the-scenes photos, and copies of handwritten lyrics and notes (some used, some not).

 

Lost In The Sound Of Separation is Underoath’s best album to date, and worthy of Best Fourth Release.

Our rating for Lost In The Sound Of Separation: 5 & 1/3 Stars.

 

BEST THIRD RELEASE 2006 Award Winner!

Runners-Up: NONE.

 

As evidenced by its incredible first-week sales (it debuted at #2 on the Billboard chart), for the modern Screamo genre, Underoath’s third release is a hit. Frontman Spencer Chamberlain’s range has greatly expanded from that of their previous CD (he can now scream from his original high- and medium-range all the way down to near Metal-style territory); and the music itself has improved and expanded as well. You also hear a good amount of vocals from drummer/singer Aaron Gillespie.

“In Regards To Myself” opens the album, and it wastes no time— the vocals are heavy right off the bat. The track’s lyrics begin dark, introverted, and depressed, but eventually morph into a hopeful “…it’s not too late for you” final verse and bridge.

“A Moment Suspended In Time” warns that you never know when the end is coming.

“There Could Be Nothing After This” describes a search for something truly fulfilling.

“You’re Ever So Inviting” has a short intro (actually at the end of the previous track) that’s surprisingly mellow. Of course, that is suddenly shattered not too long afterwards. This song is fairly different musically, and features a lot of vocal variety besides the screaming. It flows into the next track without a pause.

“Salmarnir” is semi-instrumental. It begins slightly suspenseful, then turns intriguing; some monk-like speaking in another language appears in the right speaker, followed by a simultaneous sound clip of a live English-language speech in the left. It also flows into the next track.

“Returning Empty Handed” has very dynamic music; and during the bridge near the end Aaron Gillespie sings, and even Spencer mostly sings a line or two, before continuing the normal screamed vocals.

The long intro to “Casting Such A Thin Shadow” (which begins at the end of the previous track and then carries on into this one) very slowly and continuously builds. By itself, this combined intro is an excellent rock instrumental. Several minutes into this, the vocals (which are actually a double singing/screaming combo by Spencer until his totally-screamed chorus) smoothly and naturally slide in, and also slide smoothly out at the track’s close.

“Moving For The Sake Of Motion” goes back to a fast pace with again-quite-dynamic music.

“Writing On The Walls” contains a lot of vocal variety, and the bridge is perfectly sung by a dark chorus of voices, the final screamed lyrics slamming in just after.

“Everyone Looks So Good From Here”, all screaming, has a heavily rhythmic chorus. About halfway through the track, the pace begins to slow down… and it intriguingly continues to slow more and more until near the end, where it suddenly snaps back up to speed.

The final track “To Whom It May Concern” begins with another fairly mellow (and very good) intro, which slides naturally into an echoing, sung chorus of voices. The music seems to fade off after this, as if it were done, but Spencer then leaps back in with some sudden screams and the song continues. And lyrically, this track’s final message ends the album with hope.

Limited Edition DVD Bonus Features:

Well, first— to get this out of the way— the DVD contains a 15-minute Easter Egg, which is basically a home interview with some guy who entertains conspiracy theories and claims he’s seen military UFO’s at Area 51. We have no idea what the point of including this was; but oh well.

Anyway, the first official feature is the 21-minute “Movie”, which is a very funny and interesting behind-the-scenes making-of; and the other is the much-less-interesting 2-minute “Making Of The Album Art”, which briefly shows where they went to shoot the promo photos and etc.

Our rating for Define The Great Line: 5 Stars.