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Tuesday 6 July 2010

Underoath



When researching a few of my favourite Christian Metalcore bands such as Flyleaf, Fireflight, August Burns Red, The Devil Wears Prada, etc. I found that Underoath was the band that I was most interested in when looking at their history and how they developed in the secular music world.

Here is an interview with two members of the band...






There seems to be a lot of American bands who brand themselves as Christian Rock/Metalcore and as I am a fan of this type of music I find it interesting to see how their success compares to an average rock band in the secular music world. I once read the biography of the band Paramore (another Christian band) and in the biography they stated that they are simply a group of Christians who make up a rock band, not a Christian rock band. I find this an interesting approach to how they advertise their band; perhaps they do not want to minimise their fanbase in any way by declaring their beliefs as their central focus of their music? Perhaps that is the key to their success?



However, a band like Underoath (and bands like Flyleaf, Confide, etc.) are very open about their beliefs and base the majority of their lyrics/music on those beliefs in order to express how they feel. This could just as equally be exaggerated as part of an advertising technique but I prefer listening to this kind of music because the lyrics seem to have more meaning, thought and emotion in them rather than just the generic lyrics about heartbreak, etc.

I have seen Underoath live twice in London. The first time at Give It A Name in Brixton and second time at KOKO. Both times I thought their live performances were brilliant and proved to me that their music was as good as I thought it was. The second time I saw them in Camden, Abbey Road Studios recorded the show and then sold the CDs straight after the gig. Here is the recording of the opening song of that gig that I was at. Even though you can hear the imperfections of their live performance, I still find myself thinking of them as one of my favourite bands because there is something extremely atmospheric about their music...









These are the lyrics for the above song:

Someone has sown me shut
And tied me to a bed
They locked me up, locked me up
Oh, God!
This is where they all
Throw me to the wolves
Dragged behind and trampled on
I can't keep clawing at the jaws of hell
The silence is killing me
Nothing to calm the nerve
Nothing to calm the nerve
Write down my thoughts
And read me my rights
Repeat, repeat, repent and repeat
The cycle never really ends
'Till they admit that it's real
The cycle never really ends
'Till they admit, they admit that it's real
Everything, everything is leaving me wondering
I hate that I'm questioning everything, everything
This is how it seems to me
I've drowned myself in self-regret
This is how I wanna be
This can't be how I wanna be
They just spin in perfect little circles
And that's all that they know
They just spin in perfect little circles
And that's all that they know, all that they know
Nothing's right, just left alone
Sinking in we'll be just fine
None of them will ever know
None of them will ever know
Nothing's right, just left alone
Sinking in will be just fine
None of them will ever know
None of them will ever know
Nothing's right, just left alone
Sinking in will be just fine
None of them will ever know
None of them will ever know
Here is a video of their performance, I'm in the crowd somewhere!






Here is some information on the band's history that I found on Wikipedia:

Underoath is an American Christian Metalcore band from Tampa, Florida. Founded by Dallas Taylor and Luke Morton on November 30, 1997 in Ocala, Florida, subsequently its additional members were from Tampa, Florida. They are currently signed with Solid State Records, a subsidiary of Tooth and Nail Records, and are the label's most popular group.

After several line-up changes, none of Underoath's original members remain with the group. With original vocalist Dallas Taylor, they released Act Of Depression, Cries of the Past and The Changing Of Times. Following his departure, Spencer Chamberlain became lead vocalist. The band then released They're Only Chasing Safety and Define The Great Line, gaining a certified gold rating and the highest-charting Christian album on The Billboard 200 since 1997 respectively. These two albums have given them mopre mainstream and commercial success.

They have received two Grammy nominations in 2007 and 2010 respectively and have recorded a live CD/DVD boxset entitled Survive, Kaleidoscope which was released on May 27, 2008. From late February to early May the band recorded their latest studio album entitled Lost in the Sound of Seperation, which was released on September 2, 2008, and peaked at number 8 on the Billboard 200.

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