Lost in the sound of another band

One of the most critically acclaimed bands to emerge from the metalcore boom of the early 00's has been Florida's favorite Christian bruisers, Underoath. The preachy sextet has canvassed the country countless times since the release of their breakthrough album They're Only Chasing Safety, peddling their brand of Jesus-praising emo metal to the masses and dragging with them a slew of imitators and wannabes that have sullied the Underoath name and dragged Christian metal as a whole through the mud. Underoath, with the help of As I Lay Dying and Norma Jean, legitimized Christian metal as a perfectly viable genre, paving the way for The Devil Wears Prada and all of their clones to tear up stages across the country. Instead of overanalyzing their lyrics and their faith, metal fans all over the country were taking Underoath seriously. After the successful release of their third album, Define the Great Line, Underoath became bankable for headliners the world over. Despite their success, they chose to take their career in a new direction.

Instead of doing what your average band would do and cranking out slab after slab of increasingly poppy swill for the masses, Underoath released Lost In the Sound of Separation; a nasty, haunting chunk of down tuned, thick and grungy metal dredged up from the heart of Florida's darkest swamp with nary a sticky hook in sight. Longtime stickman and clean vocalist Aaron Gillespie faded into the background, giving the barbed throat of Spencer Chamberlain the spotlight. Chamberlain delivered beautifully on Separation, and Gillespie set his sights for pop stardom with his Foo Fighters-esque side project, The Almost.

Tension in the Underoath camp had long been the talk of the Warped Tour crowd, and it all came to a head last year when Gillespie split to make The Almost his full time gig. Underoath surprisingly didn't buckle or stumble under the pressure and simply replaced Gillespie right away with former Norma Jean skinsman Daniel Davison. After the changes, they forged ahead to record Disambiguation, their fifth full length and first without Gillespie on drums. 

There are a few subtle differences you'll notice when you give Disambiguation its first spin. The most glaring and obvious is that Chamberlain now handles all vocals, clean and screaming alike. His voice certainly isn't as pretty or comforting as Gillespie's; his tuneless yelp is simultaneously disconcerting and captivating - less classical training, more raw emotion. Davison is a more than competent replacement, spending the majority of Disambiguation pounding and smashing his way through the new songs. The first couple tracks, "In Divison" and "Catch Myself Catching Myself," are catchier than anything the band has turned out in years, and the album's bookend of "My Deteriorating Incline" and "In Completion" are a fantastic way to close things out, but the album drags a little bit in the middle.

"Paper Lung" is an epic banger of a song, but it also serves to remind the listener of an often forgotten point: for all their critical and fiscal success, Underoath has never really committed anything to tape that hasn't been done (better) by another band. "Paper Lung" sounds like Thrice covering the Deftones, with worse vocals and less imaginative guitars. The most striking crib, however, comes in the form of their lengthy imitations of fellow Christian metalcore soldiers Norma Jean. It wasn't enough to steal their drummer for Disambiguation; Underoath had to take their sound too. The resemblances between Disambiguation and Norma Jean's Redeemer and Meridional records are uncanny. Chamberlain is clearly channeling Norma Jean's Cory Brandan when he attempts to sing and guitarists James Smith and Tim McTague expertly ape the thick, jagged riffs of Atlanta's favorite sons. While they never get the credit or the record sales, Norma Jean has always been one step ahead of Underoath on every album, and Underoath has always parlayed their interpretations into huge sales.

This is not to say that Disambiguation is not a great record. Bassist Grant Brandell receives the most improved award on this outing, somehow elbowing his way in between his two talented guitar players and laying down some truly thunderous bass lines throughout. It's entertaining to hear Davison stretch his wings in his new band, and to be honest Chamberlain pulled through under pressure and sings some real catchy parts over some very doomy backdrops. Underoath also wisely toned down Chris Dudley's electronics this time around, as they were a little overbearing on Separation. Disambiguation is not a new chapter in any book, but it is a chapter worth reading.