Underoath's "Lost In The Sound Of Separation": A Review
Posted September 15, 2008
By ChristianManifesto,
by C.E. Moore
I freely admit, I’m not a connoisseur of the hard rock/scream-o sound that Tooth & Nail Records is so apt to flood the market with. I also freely admit that Lost in the Sound of Separation is the first Underoath album I have ever heard, so I may not be the best judge when it comes to their sound. I do not know whether their sound has progressed or if this is more of what listeners have come to love about the hard rock outfit. So, I apologize in advance if I sound like an idiot.
That being said, I liked the album.
Generally speaking, the album has a rather dark tone to it. Not hopeless, just dark. The first track “Breathing In A New Mentality” grinds hard and is actually a desperate prayer to God saying, “There’s been something else talkin’ in my ear/Someone save me/When I speak it begins to decay/I’m not about to bury myself/Oh, God my hands are shaking again/Calm down/Now I can’t feel the floor and my vision takes it’s toll on me/I’m the desperate and you’re the savior…” The next track “Anyone Can Dig A Hole But It Takes A Real Man To Call It Home” follows the same formula. Truth be told, when it comes to the first three tracks of this album, they’re so seamless and so close thematically that you really have to be listening to know the songs have changed. They quite literally crash into each other. Though, admittedly, the third track “A Fault Line. A Fault of Mine” is a bit more melodic than the first two. The second half of the album is where things become a bit more accessible to those unfamiliar with Underoath’s sound. They lighten things up in terms of the scream-o aspect and blend a lot more melodies and harmonies one might not quite expect from a metalcore band. “The Created Void” is my favorite track on the album because it displays the band’s versatility and ability to adapt it’s own sound. The lyrics are strong, the instrumentation bold and haunting, and the vocals full-bodied. “Desperate Times, Desperate Measures” is a nice piece of dissonance and the lead guitar is perfect. The mostly instrumental piece “Desolate Earth: The End is Here” finishes out the album with a rather epic vibe. It is a proper closer to the album and will likely leave fans of their sound pondering the overarching theme(s) of the album and have them clamoring for more.
The main gripe I have with Lost in the Sound of Separation is more a gripe with the style of music in general. While the rock sound is superb, I could rarely understand anything other than the choruses, which tended to be more discernable than the corresponding stanzas. From time to time Spencer Chamberlain and Aaron Gillespie are more comprehensible in their vocal delivery, but for the most part I wish I had access to liner notes. While I appreciate the musicality of metalcore, I am sure the artists intend to convey some sort of message through their lyrics. It should not take 15-20 listens for me to understand what that message is. Also, whether Underoath has progressed or not in terms of their sound, they haven’t done anything to break new ground within the genre of metalcore.
Again, Lost in the Sound of Separation is a great effort by a band that has clearly proven itself to its fan base. While this isn’t normally the style of music I would generally listen to, I am certainly not opposed to it and I feel as if this album has convinced me just a little more of the viability of such a genre. Fans of bands like Emery, Blindside, Thrice, or Norman Jean will definitely gravitate towards this outing.
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from The Christian Manifesto. Click here to visit TheChristianManifesto.com today!
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