Press
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - SEPTEMBER 2, 2009 - SKILLET ASCENDS WITH “AWAKE”; LATEST FROM GRAMMY-NOMINATED ROCK OUTFIT DEBUTS AT #2 ON SOUNDSCAN/BILLBOARD 200; “MONSTER” ROCKING ACTIVE ROCK RADIO, WHILE ALSO SCORING HIGH PROFILE PLACEMENTS WITH NBC, NFL, MTV and MORE; “AWAKE & ALIVE” HEADLINE TOUR TAKES OFF ON SEPTEMBER 24TH IN FORT WAYNE, INDIANA
“AWAKE,” the acclaimed new album from Atlantic recording group Skillet, has made a blockbuster chart debut, entering the SoundScan/Billboard 200 at #2, with sales in excess of 67,000. The album is also shaping up as a digital phenomenon, with the Deluxe Version reaching the #1 spot on the iTunes Store’s “Top Albums” chart and “Top Rock Chart” within 24 hours of its release. The “AWAKE” Deluxe Version is currently #3 on iTunes’ “Top Rock Albums” chart. Produced by Howard Benson (Daughtry, Flyleaf), “AWAKE” is highlighted by the electrifying new single, “Monster.” The track is currently approaching the top 20 at Active Rock outlets nationwide, while a companion video will premiere today on AOL’s Noise Creep. Album listening parties are also currently featured on AOL and MSN. In addition, the band’s performance of “Monster” will be heard as the official theme song each week during the upcoming ACC College Football season, as well as on the soundtrack to MTV’s new hit series, Bully Beatdown. NBC recently aired the song during The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania special, and along with “Hero,” will be a part of the video game, WWE® SmackDown® vs. Raw® 2010.What’s more, “Hero” is featured in the promotional campaign heralding the new season of NBC Sunday Night Football. A companion video for “Hero” is also in production, with a premiere date to be announced soon.One of America’s hardest working live acts, Skillet will celebrate the breakthrough success of “AWAKE” with the 50-city “Awake & Alive Tour,” set to launch on September 24th at Fort Wayne, Indiana’s Embassy Theater (see attached itinerary). The headline tour will then travel the country through early December. Skillet’s special guests on the “Awake & Alive” tour will be Hawk Nelson, Decyfer Down, and The Letter Black.Skillet frontman John Cooper and producer Brian Howes recently collected two BMI Music Awards for “The Last Night” and “The Older I Get,” both featured on 2006’s Grammy Award-nominated “COMATOSE.” That album proved Skillet’s most popular work to date, with sales now approaching RIAA gold certification. “COMATOSE” followed the band’s 2003 label debut, “COLLIDE,” which launched Skillet into the mainstream while also garnering their first Grammy Award nomination. For up-to-the-minute news and information, visit www.skilletmusic.com or Skillet on Myspace.
Band Bio
Like that little Pug wearing 3-D glasses on the front cover, there's something instantly lovable about Hawk Nelson's fourth Tooth & Nail album, Live Life Loud. It begins with cheerleaders, ends with the sounds of a party, and in between, even throws a ukulele and bagpipes into its punk rock meets pure pop mix-all while staying on message about the gift and purpose of life itself.
"The phrase seemed to encompass the overall theme of this band," says Hawk Nelson bass player Daniel Biro of the project's in-your-face title. "Along the way things can get a little loud with our music. And we've always wanted to encourage our fans to pursue their dreams-to not settle for second best in life. Be bold. Let your voice be heard."
Hawk Nelson has certainly made a lot of positive noise since first joining together in Ontario. The quartet was named Favorite New Artist by the readers of CCM magazine in 2004, won a GMA Canada Covenant Award for its second album in 2006, and earned a GRAMMY nomination in 2008. And like all good students of life, Biro and his band mates Jason Dunn (vocals), Jonathan Steingard (guitar), and Justin Benner (drums) have not stopped learning or growing. Live Life Loud strikes a wiser balance than ever between the group's two core strengths: kicking out amped up jams and often bringing social and spiritual depth to them.
"We're definitely at a point where we can have fun-a lot of fun-but still go places that are a bit more serious," Biro says. "Contrary to the title, there are more acoustic songs on here, and more deep issues."
A wide range of co-writing colleagues-tobyMac, Matthew Gerrard (Hannah Montana, High School Musical), and Trevor McNevan of Thousand Foot Krutch-also testifies to Hawk Nelson's true artistic versatility.
The fun is perfectly evident on "Live Life Loud," a sis-boom-bah opening anthem well suited to the band's get-this-party-started attitude. Following that good times rush, "Never Enough" starts digging with its muscular rock riffs into life's tougher moments when Dunn sings, I feel so insignificant . . . help me please. Catchy first single "Meaning of Life" continues the search for significance, harmoniously determining to start today for a new beginning . . . find a way to make a change in all of us who need to find the meaning of life.
The meaning is found on "Shaken," the real heart of Live Life Loud; a crystalline tune inspired by Hawk Nelson's compassionate work with Ronald McDonald House Charities, orphans in Haiti, and TOMS (providing shoes to needy children worldwide). Open my eyes and help me see there's a world outside of me, pleads Dunn. Lord, use me; take me where You want me to go.
"We believe that loving and changing this world has to come from all of us," says Biro. "God has given us hearts, so let's open up and use them."To that point, "Alive" creatively celebrates the change that comes from losing one's self and serving others instead, declaring: There's a hope that we know, and we can't let it go. We feel alive inside for the first time. We've got to run not hide from the former life.
In terms of sheer musical performance, there's no denying the exciting step up Hawk Nelson takes track-for-track on Live Life Loud-"Alive" being a great example with its bubbling over of stylistic influences: new wave keyboards, dance floor drums, and gigantic vocals. Throughout the set, Dunn's voice proves a powerfully dynamic instrument that's everything from saccharine ("Eggshells") to scorching ("The Job"), while Biro and Benner play bass and drums with a markedly tasteful blend of subtlety and showmanship. Steingard's guitar work is fluid and always fun ("Never Enough"), some of the coolest playing in modern Christian music.
Commenting on the recording sessions, held in Nashville, Biro says, "I give credit to our producer Steve Wilson, who shares my love of bands like Jimmy Eat World, and to our guitarist Jon who is kind of ‘nerding out' in the studio department lately. I remember leaving for a trip halfway through the process and being blown away by the extra production when I got back."
Listeners may be most taken aback by an unexpected version of the classic hymn "Tis So Sweet" where the band gives a song first published in 1882 a Passion-type arrangement sure to be loved by youth and modern worshipers everywhere. Traditional church organ, emotive Scottish bagpipes, and dulcet guest duet vocals from Jenn Helvering (Sandi Patty's daughter) make a surprisingly great match to Hawk Nelson's naturally more casual rock rendering of the tune, highlighted by a revised, extended chorus: You're the shelter in the storm, the dearest friend I know. Light of the world, carry me home. Oh, for grace to trust Him more.
"I was sitting at church one Sunday when I really felt God nudge me toward suggesting the band record a hymn," concludes Biro. "I cannot listen to this song all the way through without tearing up . . . and I know without a doubt this is my favorite track we have released to date. When something is God inspired, there's just nothing else that can touch it."
For Hawk Nelson, as it should be for all of us, that's what life is all about. Live it loud.
Lifting mattresses and spraying bugs is good, honest work. But those aren't the gigs that keep hard rockers motivated over the long term (even if they are grateful for work that supports families and musical dreams). Now those efforts will go toward the hard work this new rock band will face head-on, as they hit the road, leaving their North Carolina-base and welcome the opportunity to partner with S/R/E Recordings and release their debut, End of Grey, a surefire source of melodic hard rock that unabashedly stands on the side of truth.
The roots of Decyfer Down go back to more of an acoustic outfit than a rock band. Drummer Josh Oliver and guitarist Brandon Mills started the band at a time when each simply needed to renew his life in God. For Oliver, it was a case of being burned out on religion, while for Mills, it was a time to surrender a life of parties and drugs and return to his faith. “We were just trying to crawl our way back into a deeper understanding of God – for him to heal the wounds we had in our own personal lives,” says Oliver. “The music began to change and evolve as our walk with God did,” as underneath the acoustic surface their love of rock music began to take over.
“I always loved rock music; that’s where I came from,” says Mills. “But when I went through that drug stuff, I pawned everything. The only thing I could afford to get out of the pawnshop was an acoustic. As the years progressed, I felt God was giving me the opportunity to get back to what I loved, to start over. I couldn’t have handled getting back to the rock lifestyle before then.”
Eventually, Oliver’s brother Caleb joined the band. “When it became Caleb, Brandon and me, we were more confident spiritually and had good support around us. God was doing amazing things and we knew he called us to do this type of work. We did seem to hit a ceiling though,” says Josh. “Then all the sudden Chris came into the picture and it was a whole new beginning. God took us from that broken, renewal atmosphere to approaching people boldly with the truth.
The addition of metal-driven guitarist Chris Clontz with Caleb Oliver moving out front as vocalist and bass player was the birth of a new band. It gave the band a new sound and purpose. The band found itself playing with mainstream rockers like Cold, Puddle of Mudd, Breaking Benjamin, Theory of a Dead Man, Smile Empty Soul, Authority Zero, Crossfade and Adema. New audiences, a new identity and a bolder sound made for the right time for a new band name. “I kid you not…I opened the dictionary and there’s the word decipher,” Clontz says. “We have three pages of names and I open the dictionary and find this word.”
Decipher means “to interpret,” and the moniker Decyfer Down fit perfectly, as the band aimed to interpret truth based on God’s Word while stripping it down from religious traditions and terms. States Josh, “We’re simply out to give a positive message of hope that has truth streaming all the way down the middle of it.”
Its focus made clearer, Decyfer Down resolved to be black and white about truth and captured the confusing parts of their pasts in an album of songs appropriately titled End of Grey. “The album represents the places we’ve been and struggles we’ve gone through, and interprets that,” says Caleb, the band’s primary lyricist. “All the songs go back to a theme of being real and honest, and not being ashamed of talking about the truth.”
Passionate, powerful ideas are placed inside the thick, heavy rock of Decyfer Down. Intense meaning alongside the grooves and riffs certainly becomes cathartic to listeners and band alike. “The song ‘No Longer’ is almost therapy for me as I can tell myself that I don’t need to worry any longer about things in the past that I’m not so proud of,” Caleb notes.
A common theme in Decyfer Down’s music is one of crying out and fighting to reach that place of overwhelming passion for God, as heard in “Bring Back the Sun” and “Life Again.” One step to reaching that passion is found in killing one’s own desires, and the band battles honestly with such struggles in “Break Free” and “Walking Dead.” “We’re supposed to be dead to ourselves and ‘Walking Dead’ talks about killing your own desires, intentions and self-nature, so that you can walk for that Person that brought you back to life,” says Caleb.
The successes of Decyfer Down make the song “Vanity” timely and important to the band. “This song is self-checking. It’s about not letting the things in our lives and career dictate how we’re going to treat other people and how other people are going to treat us,” says Caleb, “that we’ll stay humble and remember what God has brought us out of. People on the outside looking at us might think, ‘Oh, they got signed; they probably think they’re untouchable, like rock stars.’ Which is totally ridiculous because we’re anything but.”
A mission to reach people burned by religion leads Decyfer Down to play clubs, while its desire to provide churched kids with solid rock music with a genuine message keeps them on Christian stages as well. Band members would attest that it’s only God’s plan that could bring the band to this point in its career. “God gave us favor with rock deejays, national bands, the whole mainstream scene where we live. They know we’re Christians. We don’t act any different in any club than we do in any church,” Clontz says. “People come up uninitiated and admit that they used to attend church. Mainstream bands know that we are believers and they embrace us.”
“Their views of Jesus are pews and singing hymns and dressing a certain way,” says Mills. “Then they see us and they know we’re believers and that this is a God-driven band. They see us in a bar, not partying, but connecting with them anyways, and suddenly, their views of Jesus change.” And it’s times like these that Decyfer Down knows that it must be strong in its purpose – living the truth of God while emitting solid rock music on whatever stage it finds itself.
Formerly Breaking the Silence
The origins of Tooth & Nail’s latest hard rock acquisition The Letter Black actually dates back to the members time in Breaking the Silence. After forming in 2006, the group entered the studio independently with Travis Wyrick (P.O.D., Pillar, Disciple), followed by an impressive streak of 150 shows a year including a last minute call from the T&N to serve as a substitute for a broken up band on the otherwise successful Five 4 Five Tour alongside Dizmas and Children 18:3 (with just two weeks notice). Between constant contact with the label through that all-star producer and their new manager, the Uniontown, Pennsylvania-based band turned their backs on other label offers and signed by the dotted line.
Upon making it to the major label ranks, the group stumbled upon a similarly named mainstream band and soon shifted from Breaking the Silence to The Letter Black after a suggestion that stemmed from a joke between legendary Helmet front man Page Hamilton and Manager Danny Hill. Outside of having a curious ring to it, the new moniker better encapsulates the band’s aggressive instrumental onslaught and literate lyrical disposition.
“All of us go through different chapters in our lives,” suggests guitarist/co-songwriter Mark Anthony. “In these chapters we write letters of good and bad times. Some letters in our chapters, we are happy to share. Others, we are not so proud of. The Letter Black reminds us of the past mistakes we have made and helps us remember to not keep making the same mistakes.”
On the aptly titled Breaking the Silence EP, the group expounds upon those poignant reflections, encapsulating back breaking rhythms within universally relatable themes to both believers and the world at large. “Believe” points to having faith in anything bigger than yourself, which in the case of the band’s perspective is clearly Christ, but also seeks to be a spiritual introduction to the unchurched. “Best of Me” revolves around making the most of the talents and gifts given here on earth, while “Hanging By a Thread” and “Up From the Ashes” go hand in hand, respectively crying out in desperation and finding resolution through perseverance.
All the while, the band evokes the aggressive likes of Sevendust, Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace, Linkin Park, Red and Disciple, coupled with the classic sensibilities of Aerosmith and Guns N’ Roses. Add in blistering production from the legendary Toby Wright (Alice In Chains, Korn, 3 Doors Down), and it’s a riveting amalgamation of female fronted ferocity, meaty melodies, gritty guitars and a thundering rhythm section.
“I remember being a grungy kind of kid whose world revolved around Metallica and Nirvana, but I never felt embraced by Christians and found some of them to be hypocritical, getting drunk with me at parties on Saturdays and then running to church to pray on Sundays,” Mark mentions of the opposite upbringing from the group’s singer/co-songwriter Sarah, a pastor’s kid who’s now his wife. “Ironically, I wound up being asked to help direct music at a church and I agreed because I was looking for outlets to play, but would always show up drunk or hung over. But the associate pastor never condemned me or put me down. He just gave me Jesus the best way he knew how and everything flipped from there.”
As a result of that unconventional conversion, The Letter Black insists upon presenting a listening ear rather than a preachy disposition, which is just as apparent on the Breaking the Silence EP as it is after a concert (which includes an upcoming slot on Skillet’s highly anticipated fall tour). The group often hangs out until the last person leaves, which is a tangible example of members’ sincere interest in impacting their audience that often yields inspiring results.
“Our songs are not always happy, but rather about real life situations,” notices Mark. “Thank goodness God allows us to go through them and share them on the road because hopefully that will help someone else who is struggling instead of being that Christian band that’s telling them they’re going to hell. The whole point is kids don’t want to be preached at and usually don’t want to have you give them an answer to their struggles immediately. They mostly just want you to listen because that actually means you care. If you’re not listening and just throw out some line like ‘Jesus can do this,’ you probably don’t really care because most of the time they just want to vent. At that point, you can then share advice and see the Holy Spirit do its job from there. We don’t always have the answers, but we can still offer to listen, give the best guidance we know how to and pray with you about it if you want us to.”
Are you accused or beaten down?
Want to dream again? Reach your destiny?
DO NOT BE AFRAID.
Faith is moving without knowing.
No one can touch you, nothing can stop you.
You are UNBREAKABLE.
All you need to do -- is trust
Strong words, yet these are the very thoughts behind the title track of Fireflight’s latest offering
Unbreakable. And they just might be on to something. Who among us hasn’t felt the need to dream
again? To move past the things that beat us down, to feel (dare we say it?) unstoppable? It’s these
daring sentiments that urged music execs at the NBC network to license “Unbreakable” for its fall
promos of primetime TV show “Bionic Woman,” making the inspiring soundtrack into one of the
definitive rock anthems of the popular hit series.
“Unbreakable,” based on the classic gospel story of the adulteress set to be stoned, examines
the woman’s empowered mindset after the tables are turned on her accusers.
“The people in charge were ready to kill her, and Jesus speaks up for her, changes their
minds and makes them feel ashamed for accusing her,” explains Dawn Michele, the group’s fiery
lead singer. “How would you feel if you were the woman? She knows she’s guilty, and yet she’s
suddenly free and given a second chance.” True to Michele’s resoluteness, lyrics from the band’s
sophomore project capture that same spirit of renewed strength.
“Unbreakable,” which also serves as the title track single for Fireflight’s new Rob Hawkinsproduced
album, epitomizes the disc’s duality. The band possesses the youthful exuberance of
fellow female-fronted acts like Paramore and the Distillers, yet Dawn’s commanding vocals recall
such bold proto-punk icons as Patti Smith and Runaways-era Joan Jett. From exceptional
musicianship to melodic and passionate vocals, the band creates sonic tension that seesaws between
anger and remorse, strength and vulnerability, fear and faith. While the production is crisp and the
melodies undeniably catchy, the music barely contains the gritty emotional energy that bursts from
every note.
“‘Unbreakable’ best represents the new album and the differences between this album and
the last,” says bassist Wendy Drennen, whose husband Glenn plays guitar in the band. “The song is
about overcoming a defeated mentality and finding the power to remain strong amid the landscape,
not allowing fear to hold us back from having victory over the things that used to control us.”
Like the title track, Unbreakable addresses the many trying circumstances that can strike
one’s soul. “The Love We Had Before” examines the disagreements that can swallow a relationship
whole, while “Brand New Day” addresses the traps of depression and the power to move past them.
“Forever” takes a more somber tone with admissions of loneliness and isolation, yet “You Gave Me
a Promise” exudes defiant hope against a backdrop of Siamese Dream-like guitar layers. “Wrapped
In Your Arms,” the album’s acoustic closer, ties all the themes together with one final statement of
faith and triumph.
-moreFireflight,
which self-released an album and EP before debuting nationally with 2006’s The Healing
of Harms (Flicker), spent years as tireless road warriors on the concert circuit. While they are
straightforward rockers, the Sunshine State band learned to ramp up its live show to play alongside
heavier acts as well. “We push it as heavy as we can without being metal,” says guitarist Justin Cox,
yet the band’s natural melodic touches helped Harms score Christian rock No.1s with “Waiting”
and “You Decide” (also Top 10 at CHR). The band, rounded out by drummer Phee Shorb, skillfully
used their road miles to inject more live energy into Harms, but by actually writing Unbreakable on
tour, Fireflight found an even greater wellspring of inspiration.
“It almost felt like things were out of control,” says Dawn. “We’d gone through a difficult
year as a band with a lot of emotional ups and downs. We basically lived together in a van while
writing the new album, and that put us in a pressure cooker. All the stresses were magnified because
you’re completely out of your comfort zone, and it really does crank up the intensity of the writing.
We poured all of our hope, sorrow, anger, dreams and fears into the music.”
Justin adds, “This year, everyone in the band has been through a ton and this album really
touches on what we’ve each been through personally.”
Among the tough times between albums, Justin suffered through the end of a long-term
relationship. Since the band was on tour nearly the entire time, everyone missed the security of
family and friends, and emotions intensified as they had a front-row seat to Justin’s heartache.
Nevertheless, the band found a way to channel these feelings into songs that inspired them as much
as they now inspire their fans.
“These songs intimately share raw emotion because the band truly experienced the moments
we wrote about on Unbreakable,” Dawn elaborates. “Lyrically, we’ve broken things down to the
base feelings and described situations that everyone in the band has faced. If you write from what is
real, songs can be catchy without being superficial.”
Music aside, Fireflight is very real about putting their passions into action. The group
actively supports causes like To Write Love on Her Arms, which addresses issues like cutting, and
they’re currently championing The Legacy of Hope International.
“My brother, his best friend and his wife started the organization,” Wendy remarks. “They
are building an orphanage and school in Cambodia to house abandoned children and victims of the
sex slave trade, which is sadly still strong there. Our friend’s wife is Cambodian and they’ve made
this their life cause. We’ve adopted their vision for helping the Cambodian people.”
At home, Fireflight passionately embraces the cause of one-on-one outreach. The group
manages its own MySpace page and personally responds to all messages. Likewise, band members
hang out after shows to talk with anyone needing help.
“The heart of the band is to develop relationships with people,” says Wendy, who uses the
word “approachable” as a defining trait of the band. “We want to meet people and impact them on a
relationship level, not just on a music level.”
Dawn, whose rocky childhood included the tragic loss of her little brother, adds, “I
understand what it’s like to worry about what everyone thinks. I know how it feels to be depressed
and to go through hard times, but I also know how it feels to wait it out and snap out of it. I made it
through those situations and now I can help others. So many kids are hurting, and we let them know
there’s someone who cares and wants to listen and believes they have a huge amount of value.”
Fireflight’s music offers a haven for the accused and beaten down and an inspirational spark
to trust and dream again. Seeing the faces of the fans they’ve touched and watching the impact of
their new online support community, Iamunbreakable.com, the band knows their message is
getting through. As the title track proclaims, for all those who are broken and have lost their way,
there is a hope and love that is Unbreakable.
As the final notes ring out on “Lost In The Sound Of Separation,” it’s evident that the six men of Tampa, FL-based Underoath, who’ve built their career on being both heavy and experimenta, have delivered their most ambitious and accomplished disc to date. Succinct and resolute, there’s little denying that the 43-minute, 11-track follow-up to 2006’s rapturously received and gold-certified “Define The Great Line” is a hard music masterpiece.
Underoath, whose last three albums count combined sales in excess of one million copies, has worked diligently to reach this creative apex while building what may be the biggest metalcore following in the world. Through incessant touring and with a reputation for unrelentingly intense live shows, chronicled to perfection on the 2008 concert disc and DVD “Survive, Kaleidoscope,” - the band has forged an unbreakable bond with its fans. That allegiance earned the group a startling #2 debut for “Define The Great Line” on Billboard’s Top 200 Album Chart for first week sales exceeding 98,000 copies and marking the highest chart debut for a Tooth & Nail artist. On top of that, the band earned a Grammy nomination for “Best Short Form Music Video” for the surrealistic video for the album’s lead single “Writing On The Walls.” Critical acclaim for its thrilling mix of mayhem and melody, catharsis and experimentation came from both music and mainstream press alike. Alternative Press called the album “transcendent.” The Los Angeles Times took note of how “the album delves into new sonic territory, exploring phasing and untried guitar sounds…” And USA Today was unbridled in its praise of how “…singer Spencer Chamberlain howls against jagged riffs and rhythms that shift so suddenly he sounds like he’s walking an active fault line.”
Those same dedicated fans and enlightened scribes will undoubtedly embrace “Lost In The Sound Of Separation” based on audience reaction to the new material on UO’s summer 2008 trek headlining the Hot Topic stage on the Rockstar Energy Mayhem Tour, alongside the likes of Slipknot, Disturbed and Mastodon.
***
Inside the cinder block exterior of a non-descript, Northern New Jersey industrial park, the six men of Underoath have congregated at House of Loud Studios for the final playback of the album. And as “Lost In The Sound Of Separation” unfolds, the band is clearly elated.
“Breathing In A New Mentality” launches the record with an ingenious false start that ultimately gives way to an innovative ferocity. Beyond exceptional, it’s a breathtaking, brain-rattling affirmation that Underoath, Aaron Gillespie, Tim McTage, Spencer Chamberlain, Grant Brandell, Chris Dudley and James Smith, have taken a huge creative step forward. By trusting their instincts, pushing their songcraft to the limit and meticulously perfecting it with Adam Dutkiewicz (Killswitch Engage) and Matt Goldman (Copeland, The Chariot), the producers of its aforementioned, gold-certified 2006 disc, the band has soared to new artistic heights.
“We wanted someone to hear it and have a first impression like, ‘Man they must have cut a lot of corners’,” guitarist McTague explains of the disc-opener. “And then it kicks in and your entire car, like, blows up. We wanted to come out, blow them away. Just shut people up. And in doing that, we’ve made the beginning of the record very memorable.”
The song also takes a subtle cue from Led Zeppelin, according to drummer Aaron Gillespie. “It reminds me of John Bonham, when he would go in and record the drums on one side and then go back and record it all again. I wanted to bite off of that a little bit. If you listen to it with headphones, it really makes a statement. And then, when Spencer starts singing, it all comes together.”
If Chamberlain’s distinctly coarse vocals put a focus on new beginnings via sentiments like “Let me start again,” the sextet’s tense delivery is underpinned by intrinsic melodic guitar lines that continue to further distance Underoath from the metalcore pack. When the blistering, forceful “Anyone Can Dig A Hole But It Takes A Real Man To Call It Home” takes over, the collective roar is heightened by Spender’s throaty proclamation: “Oh how the plot thickens!”
“I really like that vocal line,” McTague says enthusiastically. “Plus I think that’s one of the best musical pieces that we’ve ever done, in that each part introduces another unique part.” Living up to that lyrical promise, the dichotomy of “A Faultline A Fault Of Mine” follows, balancing Chamberlain’s abrasive voice with Gillespie’s lucid delivery. “That song progressed naturally,” Spencer explains. “And it felt right. There were a few times on this record where I said to Aaron, why don’t we try to switch off of each other?”
So while scathing song-beasts like “Emergency Broadcast: The End Is Near” or “Desperate Times, Desperate Measures, the maniacally sonic catharsis of “The Only Survivor Was Miraculously Unharmed” and the invigoratingly brutal “We Are The Involuntary” all live up to Underoath’s reputation as the world’s pre-eminent metalcore troupe, material like “The Created Void” offers a melodic reprieve.
“Naturally we’re a heavy band and we want to put our best foot forward in that respect,” McTague says. “I love The Created Void,’ one of the most melodic songs we’ve ever done. But the bottom line is everything sounds the way it does on the record because we agreed that’s how it should sound, whether it’s heavy or melodic.”
“We’ve had to work hard at being open-minded about our own art and let it flow naturally, McTague continues. We love melodies, but our instincts usually go in the other direction. Anyone familiar with our band knows that Aaron is a big lover of melodies and I think he’s a huge reason why certain songs sound the way they do. But we definitely proceed with caution to ensure that we’re being true to Underoath.”
“We all love a ton of different music,” Gillespie adds. “That’s what makes Underoath what it is. Regardless of whether it’s Spencer singing or me here and there, Underoath is the sum of its parts. And at this point, if one guy were to leave, we’d suffer greatly.”
Defying the band’s patented approach, the uplifting “Too Bright To See, Too Loud To Hear” is a beautiful, near-ballad lighter destined to become a fan favorite.
“I originally wrote the music without intending it to be a quote-unquote accessible song,” McTague says of the memorable soundscape. “It was a slow paced, slowed down jam-out song. We were actually out to dinner one day out by our practice space and Aaron pulled out his iPhone and he was thinking about that song and he said, ‘I wrote these lyrics’. And what he wrote was so meaningful. It was this huge statement.”
Citing the lyric “Good God if your song leaves our lips/if your work leaves our hands/then we will be wonders and vagabonds,” the guitarist continues, “Our band has always been this Christian band and we’ve always been open about what we believe in, but there comes a certain point where a lot of the messages in our songs are very ambiguous. And that was so bold and straight up, talking about how we’re all people but without purpose we can feel lost.”
Yet with such a diverse musical display coupled with the input of six opinionated souls, the completion of “Lost In The Sound Of Separation,” thanks in part to the skilled mixing hand of rock veteran David Bendeth, is an epic achievement. “We laboriously toiled over this record,” Gillespie admits. “Even when we’re in the studio, I don’t know if we’re all ever totally happy. There’s constant change until we’re done. I think we should always push ourselves to make the best music imaginable.”
To call the men of Underoath perfectionists wouldn’t be far from the truth. “The writing process, when it’s fresh and spontaneous and ideas are flowing, is great,” Tim says. “But the initial excitement is pretty short lived, followed up with a lot of scrutiny. It can be intense. Getting six people on the same page is virtually impossible. But without that input and criticism from everyone to serve as a filter, I don’t think we could ever come up with the same songs. It’s a really hard thing to deal with, but it’s a very, very valid thing. That’s also the only way we know how to write as a band.”
For principal lyricist Chamberlain, who penned the bulk of the disc’s revelations, the singer truly embraces his craft. “I’m the kind of guy who is always writing, whether it will end up being on a record or not,” he explains. “Writing in a book about yourself can be therapeutic. Having met a lot of people over the two years since ‘Define The Great Line,’ it’s been really interesting to see how our fans can relate to some of the things I’ve been writing about.”
Perhaps most notable of all the lyrics is the heartfelt sonnet that closes out “Lost In The Sound Of Separation.” At first stark, the largely instrumental, and keyboard-steered “Desolate Earth: The End Is Near,” initially imagined by Chris Dudley, possesses a cold atmospheric feel until a cello elevates it. Shifting into a vibrant crescendo of McTague and Smith’s guitars, Brandell’s bass and Gillespie’s drums, Chamerlain sings:
“…You said there was nothing left down here
Well I roamed around the wasteland
And I swear I found something
I found hope, I found God
I found the dreams of the believers
….Oh God, Save Us All”
“When we got done, that song made me feel a certain way,” Spencer says. “I just wrote something down and put the mic down a hallway, because I wanted it to have a feeling of despair. Originally we were going to put it in the beginning but it feels right at the end.”
“It gave such a strong closure to the record,” Tim adds. “Being lost, searching for answers and finding hope, we really felt like it summed up the whole record.” If it’s arguably the most artful moment in metalcore to date, it’s the kind of unique statement that explains how inspirational Underoath has been to its fans and vice versa.
“It’s really cool that people accept it and I don’t know why because this is just as therapeutic as it is for us as it is for anybody else,” says Gillespie, beaming with pride over what he and his bandmates have crafted with “Lost In The Sound Of Separation.” “I hope they find healing and some way in life and truth. I hope that for this or any record that I’m ever a part of.”
