Underoath - Lost In The Sound Of Separation (Album)
Covering a wide scope of vibes, paces, and directions, Lost In The Sound Of Separation will move you. You’ll be shaken by the monstrous growls from Chamberlain and stunned by the bombastic drumming from Aaron Gillespie. At the same time, the melodies will sooth and calm you, only to betray you in a split second when the huge riffs, crafted by the guitar tandem of Tim McTague and James Smith, overtake your auditory senses. Add in Grant Brandell’s lively bass and keyboardist Chris Dudley’s sense for the atmospheric, and you have the recipe that that rocks.
Gillespie kicks off A Fault Line, A Fault Of Mine, a mid-paced song that features a nice dreamy pre-verse with vocals from the drummer, which leads into needling riffs and a crushing bridge as the harmony between Gillespie and Chamberlain soars. Underoath gets a bit industrial on Emergency Broadcast/The End Is Near, the pace is slower, but this anthem still hits just as hard. The Only Survivor Was Miraculously Unharmed furiously follows, one of the highlights throughout the album is Gillespie’s drumming. It gets better with each release and just absolutely dominates this track. The cool part about the song is its transition from straight up brimstone and fire to melodic chanting and staccato drumming. You’ll have no choice but to pump your fist. Tracks like Coming Down Is Calming Down and the first single, Desperate Times, Desperate Measures, will keep the mosh pit moving and the heads banging, as each track feels like a rollercoaster flailing off the tracks.
The final two tracks are what separate Underoath from the rest of the pack, though. Too Bright To See, Too Loud To Hear comes off as a hybrid jam song/almost-ballad. It's led by Gillespie’s calming vocals and Dudley’s soothing keys and static noises and carries an organic vibe to it. It continually builds up, featuring a gruff singing verse from Chamberlain and addicting hand claps until it crescendos into the emotional storm of cymbals, power chords, and thundering vocals. It’s the most unique Underoath song you’ll find in their entire back catalog, thus showcasing the evolution of the band while maintaining their core sound. The unpredictability continues with closer Desolate Earth/The End Is Here. Electronic beats and lingering piano chords from Dudley sets the mood, and when the strings kick in, you are encompassed by the stunning beauty of the track, as it cleanses your mind and ears. In an album paced by desperation and anxiety, the final theme and message is hope.
