Review Summary: efficiently complacent
What makes post-hiatus Underoath tick? The brand new full length
Voyeurist provides a more satisfying answer to that question than 2018’s shameful waste of cover art known as
Erase Me, while simultaneously reminding the world that the mid-2000’s metalcore pioneers simply aren’t as good as they used to be. Throughout its ten tracks, vocalist Spencer Chamberlain sounds
spicy and altogether reinvigorated, a far cry from his strained performances of recent times. Sure, he still can’t pull off saying the naughty word ‘fuck’ without making it sound like a forced attempt at edginess, but his tortured yells afford the likes of ‘Damn Excuses’ and ‘Cycle’ some genuinely impactful moments. Yet, the latter track features Ghostemane and showcases
Voyeurist’s primary issue: wasted potential. Rather than using the rapnoisemetal™ icon to enhance the track’s intensities, his screams lead to a disappointing instrumental flatlining rather than a satisfying conclusion. Sure, the expected breakdown arrives after the chorus repeats itself yet again, but it’s too little too late.
Similarly, ‘(No Oasis)’ attempts to recapture the magic of
Erase Me’s experimentally vibe-y standout cut ‘No Frame’, but lacks the uniquely glitchy touches of that particular song. As such, it ends up functioning as little more than a pleasant and mildly overlong interlude in the context of the record. Nonetheless,
Voyeurist does succeed at constructing a cohesive atmosphere: in spite of its many obvious shortcomings, the album rarely feels like it’s intentionally wasting time by presenting filler. Closing cut ‘Pneumonia’ spends most of its seven minutes unsatisfyingly restraining itself, but the subsequent post-metal infused conclusion manages to save the track from total
limpness. In essence, the Underoath of 2022 seems to be content being what they are: highly capable of crafting digestible post hardcore records, but unable (or unwilling) to truly stun. If Breaking Benjamin impressions like ‘We’re All Gonna Die’ ensure the band another three years of headlining slots at festivals, so be it.
Voyeurist isn’t meant to impress, enthrall or
wow; it’s merely a means of postponing Underoath’s status as a legacy act, and if that means getting a fresh batch of decent-ish songs every once in a while, that’s perfectly fine with me.
