Review Summary: A Dark, Haunting, and Powerful Experience. Truly Superb.
When Underoath announced April 5th, 2010 that founding member Aaron Gillespie was leaving the band, fans of the band had cause for concern. Gillespie was the only original member left in the band and had been the only constant member since the bands formation in Florida in 1997. Not only was Gillespie the band’s drummer but he also wrote lyrics and shared singing duties with lead vocalist Spencer Chamberlain. Where Chamberlain would scream and shout, Gillespie would counter him with clean vocals that would often create a feeling of good vs. evil, or light vs. darkness, etc. Despite this, within two months of Gillespie’s departure, Underoath entered the studio with ex-Norma Jean Drummer Daniel Davison, and producers Matt Goldman (who produced the bands last two albums) and Jeremy SH Griffith to record their seventh studio album, and fifth with Tooth & Nail records, titled ‘Ø (Disambiguation)’.
With Gillespie gone, Spencer Chamberlain takes center stage as the bands lyricist and vocalist, meaning he had to scream and sing all while having full creative control of the album, and it’s made apparent right from the start all the way on through the end as he spits outs lyrics dealing with topics such as depression, loneliness, paranoia, and addiction (“A Divine Eradication” and “Who Will Guard the Guardians?” are prime examples). Musically though Underoath haven’t changed much (it’s near impossible to hear any difference in drums); the musicians are still masters at setting the mood for the album, especially keyboardist Christopher Dudley who shows off serious skill giving the album dark textures that adds to the albums apocalyptic atmosphere. Opening track and second single, “In Division”, is simply a masterpiece with its claustrophobic atmosphere and haunting sound effects while Chamberlains slow, moody (moaning) chorus matches the music perfectly giving the listener a feeling of fear, panic, and urgency all at once. It’s the best representation of how powerful this album can be.
Highlights of the album are the previously mentioned masterpiece “In Division” and the epic album closer “In Completion”. Other standouts are “Paperlung” with its melodic first half and heavy finale, and honorable mention “A Divine Eradication” where in the middle section Spencer shouts with great emotion, “Where is my fix?” Obviously an allusion to his past drug addiction. Also “Who will guard the guardians?” And “My Deteriorating Incline” sticks out due to their brutality, especially the latter. The rest of the songs are all solid and the album is best when listened to as a whole.
Now, it’s impossible to compare ‘Ø (Disambiguation)’ to previous Underoath albums because the absence of Gillespie really does make an impact on the sound of the album. It’s still clearly Underoath but at the same time it’s so different from anything they ever did with Gillespie in the band, and it should all be credited to Spencer Chamberlain; his screams haven’t changed much but the increased use of his clean vocals have given the sound a much darker feel, Where Aarons vocals were often clean and melodic, Spencer’s are rough and much less accessible. This is by no means bad, for Spencer is more than capable of handling the clean vocals; it just changes the sound of the band. Instead of being a metalcore band mixed with post-hardcore, they now sound more like an alternative metal band with metalcore tendencies.
Underoath prove to be not only resilient and one of the world’s most popular metalcore bands but also one of its best; they're masters of creating atmosphere, the albums speeds by in under 40 minutes but yet still has the feeling of a dark epic, and Spencer Chamberlain rises to the challenge of taking over all vocal and lyric duties. Some listeners may be disappointed by the lack of accessibility, but for those looking to hear passionate, powerful music, Underoath is as good as it gets.
