Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Underoath - Lost in the Sound of Separation (2008)
If you can look back at Underoath's past in the couple years before this album in a more outer perspective, you can find the era of Define the Great Line to be the highlight of this band's career, with that album reaching a golden spot on the Billboard. However, I only think most of the second half of that album is good, so they could've just made an EP or something, and that album's future wasn't bright for the band either. They dropped out of the Warped Tour due to Spencer Chamberlain's drug abuse and almost split up. Luckily they stood strong and fought those hard times to unleash one of two more albums, Lost in the Sound of Separation!
This is the second album in a row co-produced by Adam Dutkiewicz and Matt Goldman, but now, helping with the mixing was David Bendeth who had also just mixed Paramore album #2 Riot! (coincidentally, Aaron Gillespie would tour with Paramore during Underoath's two-year split). The 11 songs in this album are probably the most massive I've heard from this band, with wide vibes moving you in different directions. Chamberlain's massive growls shake the speakers alongside Gillespie's improved singing and bombastic drumming. One moment there are soothing calm melodies, and the next has the huge guitar riffing from Timothy McTague and James Smith. Grant Brandell’s booming bass and Christopher Dudley's atmospheric keyboards let the instrumentation really pummel away the so-so-ness of Define the Great Line.
Honestly, "Breathing in a New Mentality" can really take you by surprise by starting with riffs, drumming, and screams in a lower volume before shoving heavy loudness through your mouth and throat. This is a far more powerful opener than that of the previous album. Chamberlain's screaming sound demanding while Gillespie's drumming dominates and the guitar chords cuts more sharply than razor blades. "Anyone Can Dig A Hole But It Takes A Real Man To Call It Home" may waste a bit of review space with its long title, but the song itself never wastes any time. I sh*t you not, this was used briefly in a TheOdd1sOut video, and that restored my music video memories of this band and got me to start listening to them full-time. Lyrics like "We always assume the worst!" and "How can I still be alive?!" show the theme of anxiety on a frantic search for hope. Gillespie's cleans enter to start "A Fault Line, a Fault of Mine" with dreamy verse before a mid-paced yet crushing bridge of soaring harmony between the two vocalists.
The more Nine Inch Nails-ish industrial "Emergency Broadcast :: The End Is Near" is a heavy song, one of the heaviest songs in the metalcore scene! The bassline at the one-minute mark builds up until unleashing the chaos. This is probably the most epic song of Lost in the Sound of Separation, especially that 45-second moment with shiver-inducing guitar, one minute after that bassline. The singing by Gillespie helps level up the song, though that album without him after this one is great too. F***ing amazing! The Cult of Luna-like post-metal influence that they had in Define the Great Line can definitely be found in better form in this sick song. Well done with this slow yet hard anthem, guys! "The Only Survivor Was Miraculously Unharmed" is a furious follow-up, stunning you way hard. Once again, what makes that song a highlight is the drumming by Gillespie. That and his singing keeps better album after album, dominating alongside melodic chanting after all that fire and brimstone. "We Are The Involuntary" starts perfectly with the usual noise-metal/post-hardcore blend before falling out a bit with accessible alternative rock. "The Created Void" redeems the quality with Chamberlain's roars and Gillespie's cleans and incredible drumming. Melodic yet heavy, even changing pace with a gentle outro in contrast to the previous tracks' loud endings.
Another fist-pumping track is the not-so-calm "Coming Down Is Calming Down". The single "Desperate Times, Desperate Measures" levels up the audience's desperation for moshing and headbanging, wilder than a rollercoaster that has left its tracks and ends up driving all over the city. "Too Bright To See, Too Loud To Hear" is the first of two separately stylistic ending tracks, a bit of a jamming near-ballad hybrid. Beginning that track is the calm vocals of Gillespie and the soothing static keys of Dudley for an organic vibe. It slowly builds up starting with Chamberlain taking over on singing in a rough tone and handclapping, before a powerful climax of emotional thunder in the chords and vocals that are now at that growling level. Probably the most unique song by the band back then, showing their evolution while still having their metalcore sound. "Desolate Earth :: The End Is Here" is an unpredictable closer of Dudley's electronics, piano, and strings, to cleanse your mind and hearing with beautiful utopia. Then the guitars spin you through the triumphant heaven of Chamberlain's shouts. Just like their previous album, this one of desperate anxiety ends with a glimmer of hope.
If there's one Underoath album to really hype me up, Lost in the Sound of Separation would be that album. All the previous Chamberlain-era albums' clichés have been wiped out for ear-piercing fury and unpredictable melody. Underoath have once fallen into their own dark ages but manage to climb out and make this album with the moral that you are never alone. Lost in the Sound of Separation has stabbed the bleak darkness of their times and quality with a ray of optimistic light!
Favorites: "Breathing in a New Mentality", "Anyone Can Dig A Hole But It Takes A Real Man To Call It Home", "Emergency Broadcast :: The End Is Near", "The Only Survivor Was Miraculously Unharmed", "Too Bright To See, Too Loud To Hear", "Desolate Earth :: The End Is Here"