Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Underoath - Act of Depression (1999)
Ah yes, Underoath! The band that gained fame for their post-hardcore/metalcore albums, starting with their mid-2000s albums, until later bands took the reign such as Attack Attack! But does anyone know about their deathly metalcore past before going screamo? It's albums like this that would inspire bands like Waking the Cadaver.
Their debut Act of Depression is quite good with a few flaws. Their original vocalist (the one for this album) Dallas Taylor sounds closer to bands like Mayhem. While they fit well with the extreme instrumentation, they often get buried under the melodeath tremolo sections. One of the songs have drummer Aaron Gillespie singing, but he sounds awful here. He was still a teen at the time, but c'mon! The harsh vocals are more excellent. Some lyrics are terrible as well, but we'll get to them soon...
After some strange witch-cackling, "Heart of Stone" starts off the extreme metalcore action greatly. That's what I expect for this album! Then we have a decent 10-minute epic in "A Love So Pure". It starts well, with a wonderful epic tremolo one and a half minutes in, probably the best moment of the album! However, right before I could put this track in my list of album highlights, the last minute and a half has the f***ing WORST part of the album, Aaron Gillespie's aforementioned clean singing, repeatedly singing that he likes Jesus Christ. Underoath is a Christian metalcore band, but SERIOUSLY!?! That's the best you got!? At least it's awful just for one part and not the whole song...
Unlike this cringe-inducing song, "Burden in Your Hands", with horrid lyrics warning about the consequences of abortion. F***, that was a bad attempt at a pro-life PSA! After a brief audio sample from a "Transformers read-along book", this next track "Innocence Stolen" lyrically deals with the atrocities of sexual abuse, but this is a well-done highlight in terms of the extreme instrumentation.
Some of Dallas' best screaming comes from the 10-minute title epic, a much better epic than "A Love So Pure". The lyrics deal with suicide, but the way he screams those lyrics with pain and depression in his voice is the best aspect of the track. Christians normally condemn suicide, but the lyrics tell the story of someone who was bullied (as you can hear from the sound samples at the 7-minute mark). The lyrics are meant to discourage such a tragic action, instead of encourage, and that's what Christians prefer. "Watch Me Die" has an opening monologue that marks some of the most annoying vocals alongside the earlier d*mn clean singing, but the rest of the song isn't so bad. I'm not gonna go into detail for "Spirit of A Living God", just commentary from guitarist Corey Steger (RIP) and more of Aaron's awful singing. I'm glad Aaron has improved since!
All in all, Act of Depression is a decent yet somewhat flawed start to this metalcore band's career. You might enjoy this if you overlook the lyrical atrocities and out-of-tune clean singing. This is for fans of early deathcore/metalcore and any victims of the issues addressed in the album. Please don't give up, there's a better way....
Favorites: "Heart of Stone", "Innocence Stolen", "Act of Depression"