Underoath – Lost in the Sound of Separation Review

September 10, 2008 - The guys in Underoath have a little spring in their collective step that was not there just a short time ago. And rightfully so. After recording and releasing

their sixth studio album, they have good reason to be proud.

The band looked to be in full self-destruct mode after releasing their previous effort, Define the Great Line. They abandoned their summer tour midway through, rumors started

to circulate that the band was breaking up and lead singer Spencer Chamberlain was left to confront his inner demons. But the Florida-based post-hardcore band, each

member claiming Christian faith, seems to have channeled the inner peace associated with belief in God. Because the boys came back miraculously strong.

Lost in the Sound of Separation is one of those albums that is filled with songs that can stand independently, but when taken as a collective unit, are just that much better. This

is one of those albums that when hearing a song, even when you hear it in your head, eventually, your mind drifts to the next song on the album, and you end up singing that

song too.

It would be easy to go song by song and explain the virtues of each. After all, when an album captures its listener from beginning to end, that would be a logical way to review

the album. In fact, it is not going to be easy to talk about the album and not mention something about each and every song. Each one is really that good. But the point of this

review is to explain that Lost in the Sound of Separation is not a collection of songs per se. It is a single, cohesive unit that happens to break down sonically into 11 separate

intervals.

The band was able to effectively layer each and every tune so that it led almost perfectly into the next. For instance, the band starts off "The Only Survivor was Miraculously

Unharmed" with a hard-charging, in-your-face song that seems to emanate from the deepest and darkest parts of the band's collective psyche. Chamberlain calls on his most

guttural vocal track to date as the song heads into territories unknown. But mid-way through the song, sudden harmonies and backing vocals take over and the instruments

help build to a crescendo. The song suddenly ends as it hits a plateau and for a split second or two, the listener is left wondering what comes next. But with the start of "We

Are the Involuntary", the band quickly sets the listener at ease as they incorporate both elements of the previous song in the first few second. They then devolve into full-

blown post-hardcore screamo. And all is right with the universe again.

Likewise, the band seems to craft the perfect ending to the album. The 10th song on the album, "Too Bright to See, Too Loud to Hear" is the point where the band seems to

take the rage down a notch and starts alerting the listener that they are reaching the end. After one final spark of attitude late in the song, the band seamlessly pushes on into

the final song, "Desolate Earth: The End is Near", which takes the reverb sound effects from the end of "Too Bright" helps transition into a keyboard-based instrumental.

Underoath have definitely returned to form with this release, an album that takes the band's career to a new level. After six albums, the band has made what is arguably their

best complete effort to date. And that is really the key – the fact that the album is a complete unit. Building on past efforts has given the boys something to be proud of. It will be

fun to see if they can build on this effort, because the results of that would be something to hear.

Download Worthy:
1. "Anyone Can Dig a Hole But it Takes a Real Man to Call it Home"
2. "Emergency Broadcast: The End is Near"
3. "The Only Survivor was Miraculously Unharmed"



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