Underoath consists of (on this album anyway)
Vocals- Dallas Taylor
Drums- Aaron Gillespie
Guitar- Octavio Fernandez
Guitar (bg vox)- Corey Steger
Bass- Mathhew Clark
Keyboards- Christopher Dudley
Underoath started out as a death metalish band and released their first ep Acts Of Depression in 1999. Later they released their second ep, Cries Of The Past. It was a huge step up from AOD. Then, in 2002 after a line-up change they released their first full lenght album, The Changing Of Times. The album explored into emocore, with some metal attached. Then in 2004 they released They're Only Chasing Safety, under a new lead vocalist, Spencer, and another line-up change. This album got a lot of mixed emotions from Underoath fans. But that's not what this reviews about, is it?
|| The Last ||
The album kicks off with some weird effect. A pretty sweet guitar riff creeps up on you. The song builds and breaks off into a pretty cool little section. Then Dallas starts screaming and shows how much they've come along since AOD. Everything is pretty tight and right on the spot. Aaron's drumming is great and doesn't get repetitive. After awhile Corey starts screaming. He has a incredibly low, demonic sound. It sounds like it might be an effect. But I don't know for sure. The song carries on for awhile, and then it fades into a little keyboard riff. A guitar solo takes place, and shows the talent of the guitarists. One thing you'll notice about this album is how incredibly long the songs are. The shortest one is over 7 mins. The song carries on a little longer, with both vocalists taking turns. Song ends with keyboards.
|| Giving Up Hurts The Most ||
I like the intro to this song. Show's off Aaron's talent on the drums. The song carries for awhile with everyone just playing, then transitions into the verse. I really like the guitars in this song. Just constant semi-fast riffs. At about 3:24 there is a nice guitar solo, with some really fast picking. My favorite part of the song is at about 4:27 when Corey and Dallas go back and forth screaming. Then the song transitions into a cool guitar riff. After this the song gets a little boring. It carries on for about another 3 mins. Funny thing is this my favorite song on the album. The song ends with an acoustic outro. Dallas says "My eyes look all around but all they can focus on is you, for in you I find me". I don't know why but it really sticks out to me on this cd.
|| Walking Away ||
I don't like this song as much as the first two. Everything sounds really good, it just seems to carry on. I've noticed that there are quite a few spots on this cd where the song could end, if not for the lyrics. Sometimes it doesn't even sound like it's the same song. The guitars are incredibly fast throughout this entire cd. Song ends with Dallas screaming Yayeah. It's kind of funny.
|| And I Dreamt Of You ||
This song is freakin long. It clocks in at 11:23! I can only imagine how hard it would be to play this live. The song sounds pretty much like the others, with really fast guitars and drums. After awhile the song breaks into an acoustic section. It then picks up again with Corey screaming. At about 4:20 the song takes on a whole new sound. It's much lighter. The guitars are still fast and all, but it just sounds way different. I like it cause it makes the song enjoyable even though it's really long. At about 6:20 Corey comes back in, and the song transitions back into being heavy. At around 7:25 the song again changes tone, with a really cool guitar riff. Then comes some fast tapping. The guitars really shine in this song. I really like this song cause it doesn't get boring. They also don't revert back to stuff played earlier in the song, so it's all pretty much new material. The song ends with Dallas saying, "I love you".
|| Cries Of The Past ||
This is a depressing song describing a car crash. I believe it is an accident that Dallas was in and the woman was his fiance. Then Dallas tells how hard his life has become without the person in it. There is so much emotion pouring out of this song. The song starts off with tires screeching and the sound of a collision. For the first part of the song it's just talking, then progresses into singing. A little keyboard section comes in, and at about 3:00 a catchy guitar riff is played, slowly increasing the tempo. At 4:00 the song changes into more of the dark metal the rest of the album consists of. Keyboard stands out a lot in this song. At about 5:44 you think the songs over, but it picks up again. At about 6:09 the song changes to a guitar riff sounding like nothing else on the album. Then a nice little breakdown follows. I really like this last part of the song cause it sounds nothing like the rest of the album. The song ends with Dallas and the keyboards. Cool outro.
|| Conclusion ||
Well, that's the album. I really like it. Musically, the album is good. Everything is tight and up to par. Nothing extraordinary, but pretty technical if you ask me. Lyrically, this album is incredible. If you don't like underoath's personal beliefs, then the lyrics will be a turn off. Dallas pours his heart out in each song. I think the album as a whole is a testimony. I love the lyrics. This cd is great and is well worth the money.
Album Rating : 8/10
Favorite Songs : Giving Up Hurts The Most, And I Dreamt Of You
Thanks for reading. It was my first review so don't be too harsh ;)
