Lost in the Sound of Separation — Underoath

Underoath's Lost in the Sound of Separation came out on Solid State and Tooth & Nail on 2 September 2008. It's eleven tracks and runs forty-one minutes forty-three seconds. The band recorded it over six weeks in March and April 2008 at Glow in the Dark Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, with Adam Dutkiewicz and Matt Goldman producing alongside the band, the same team that made Define the Great Line. David Bendeth mixed it at The House of Loud in New Jersey, and Ted Jensen mastered it at Sterling Sound in New York. Spencer Chamberlain sang lead, Aaron Gillespie played drums and sang clean, Timothy McTague and James Smith played guitar, Grant Brandell played bass, and Christopher Dudley handled keys and samples. Leah Helfen added cello on the closer. We give it a 9/10.

How it came together

Define the Great Line had sold nearly a hundred thousand copies in its first week and gone gold by the end of 2006. It peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. Writing for the follow-up started a month after that album landed, but the road nearly finished them. Chamberlain was fighting substance abuse, the band dropped off Warped Tour, and relations inside the group got bad enough that a breakup looked likely. They took a hiatus to focus on family instead. Fans worried Gillespie would leave for his other band, the Almost, whose Southern Weather had already cracked the Billboard top 40.

When they went back into the studio, fans could watch the sessions on Stickam. The title comes from a lyric in "We Are the Involuntary." Chamberlain said it was about people telling you what you can and cannot do, and about sorting that noise. The lyrics dig into the near-breakup. Gillespie's clean vocals sit further back, because the band wrote the music first and felt a lot of it didn't want clean singing. He used big floor toms and a twenty-four-inch kick, chasing a seventies kit sound.

What you're hearing

Critics called it metalcore, post-hardcore and screamo, with industrial and post-metal edges. Comparisons ran to Refused, Relationship of Command-era At the Drive-In, and Cult of Luna on the quieter stretches. Some heard a more experimental Underoath. Others heard a refinement of Define the Great Line. Both readings fit.

"Breathing in a New Mentality" opens rough, then detonates. Dudley said it was the fastest song they had written, done in one practice in a storage unit. Chamberlain's words hint at his own drug use. "Emergency Broadcast :: The End Is Near" leans industrial, draws Nine Inch Nails comparisons, and ends in a long crescendo. The band first called it "Elephant's Stampede" after listening to Led Zeppelin on the road.

"Desperate Times Desperate Measures" is the first single, with Daniel Davison on extra drums. Chamberlain framed it as a man locked in a cellar screaming for help while nobody upstairs can hear him. "Too Bright to See Too Loud to Hear" starts sparse, with Gillespie and Dudley's keys, then builds into gang vocals on "Good God, can you still get us home," a line Jesus Freak Hideout singled out. "Desolate Earth :: The End Is Here" closes on trip-hop beats, piano and cello, with Dudley's parts drawing on John Murphy's film scores.

What the critics said

Metacritic averaged it at 92 out of 100 from four reviews. AbsolutePunk's Drew Beringer gave it 95 percent and said listeners would be shaken by Chamberlain's growls and Gillespie's drumming. Alternative Press's Scott Heisel called it "2008's first perfect record" and said the band had "elevated themselves to a level of their own," while noting Chamberlain's lyrics were brutally honest and at times uncomfortable. Cross Rhythms' Tony Cummings heard "a new spiritual militancy" and moments of calm melody between the ear-splitting riffs. IGN scored it 8.3. Billboard's Evan Lucy heard strides at progression without abandoning the hardcore that made them a household name.

Jesus Freak Hideout's Scott Fryberger was warmer on the faith and cooler on the formula. He said it was still "borderline chaotic, screamy, crunchy, and sometimes brutal Underoath," just with a hint of industrial, and that fans expecting a big left turn should put those hopes away. He heard more redemption than on earlier records, and also said Gillespie's singing kept getting more irritating with each release, even while admitting Gillespie carries most of "Too Bright." Sputnikmusic heard tighter songwriting with the heavier side a little subdued. USA Today compared Chamberlain's screams to battling addiction and Gillespie's melodies to distant daylight.

How it did

It debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200, selling about fifty-six thousand copies in its first week. It topped Top Christian Albums, hit No. 3 on Top Rock Albums, No. 15 in Canada and No. 36 in Australia. "Desperate Times Desperate Measures" went to rock radio in September 2008, and its Walter Robot video, with animation and stop motion, premiered on MTV2. "Too Bright to See Too Loud to Hear" followed in 2009 with a steampunk video that later drew a Dove nomination. The deluxe box set was nominated for a Grammy for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package. Rock Sound put the album at No. 32 on its year-end list. Underoath headlined a Mayhem Festival stage before release, toured the US with Saosin and The Devil Wears Prada, co-headlined Canada with Norma Jean, and spent a summer on Warped Tour.

Where the score lands

Why a nine? Praise this strong is rare for this kind of music. Metacritic at 92, AbsolutePunk at 95, Alternative Press calling it perfect, Cross Rhythms praising its new spiritual fire, and a No. 8 Billboard debut. The singles still work, and the faith lines on "Too Bright" and the opener land without soft-selling the aggression. Why not a ten? Fryberger was right that it is not a radical reinvention of Define the Great Line, and his complaint about Gillespie's clean tone is fair on a full listen. Why not an eight? Because the Atlanta sessions, the chart facts, and the way "Emergency Broadcast" and the closer open the sound past straight metalcore still put this above a very good sequel.

Watch

First is the official video for "Desperate Times Desperate Measures," the lead single from this album. Second is the official video for "Too Bright to See Too Loud to Hear," also from this album.