Underoath

Seeing is believing, particularly in Underoath’s case. Whatever your feeling about their thunderous, increasingly complex and dynamic metalcore tsunami, their performances are a sight to behold. Writhing and shaking as though in the midst of a full-body seizure, the Florida six-piece appear on the verge off physically vibrating apart as they unleash their musical maelstrom. They spent years in basements and VFW halls honing their muscular sound and building their audience, before breaking out with 2004’s more radio-friendly They’re Only Chasing Safety, featuring new singer Spencer Chamberlain and bringing to a close several years of lineup turnover. While pleased with the response, they found the sound too poppy, and followed it with 2006’s sinewy Define the Great Line. Bigger than Chasing Safety in every way, it’s louder, tougher and more majestic, deploying its aggression strategically, not unilaterally. Their September release, Lost in the Sound of Separation, continues the evolution, upping the concision, melody and anthemic sweep without diminishing the intensity. They even unveil moments of beauty untouched by screaming or roar, such as the penultimate track, “Too Bright To See, Too Loud to Hear,” with its dreamy shimmer, handclaps and choir of voices asking, “Good God, can you still get us home?”
Sun., Nov. 23, 2008