Rhap Session: Underoath

Debuting once again on the top 10 of the Billboard 200 with Lost in the Sound of Separation, Christian metal trailblazers Underoath have expanded upon their foundation and waged a sonic war on the lyrical search for self. With a darker, heavier record, the Adam D./Matt Goldman-produced album is a stylistic shift for the once-dubbed-screamo  Florida sextet. Rhapsody checked in with bassist Grant Brandell to learn about what went into the new record, and where these lost twentysomethings find themselves as a band in 2008.

 

On sonic goals for Lost in the Sound of Separation
We were really happy with our last record [Define the Great Line], but after reviewing it, it [sounded] [pauses], I guess "produced" is the word. Not in a bad way, just as far as editing and sound quality –- a big thing was the mixing, so we went with David Bendeth this time. We wanted to have more of an organic sound, like the live sound we put out. That’s pretty much what we were going for.  

On the last record, when Aaron [Gillespie, drums/vocals] sings sometimes, there’s a double track where he sings harmonies on top of himself. When you listen to the vocals on this record, they are way more crystal clear and sharper. No one did anything they can’t do live. If Aaron sang a part, he sang a part –- if there’s a double over that, Spencer [Chamberlain, vocals] sang it. If they both sang a part together and there’s a harmony, Tim [McTague, guitars] sang the harmony, so it was just like you would hear it live. I think that definitely made the biggest difference. And it came out heavier than I think we all expected it to; but that’s not a bad thing, that’s just how it came out. 

On more screaming, less singing
We write the music first. We’re not trying to force clean or catchy vocals over parts that it doesn’t fit in; it’s pretty much what’s best for the song. We went to the studio for recording and Aaron had a lot of lyrics and parts that he wanted to put in that just didn’t fit. So, since this record was heavier, it just makes sense that the vocals were going to be heavier too. I think it's cool; it’s not like we’ve done the whole “scream/sing” combo really equally on a lot of our records. Aaron wasn’t going to be singing every chorus of every song or anything, but this one definitely isn’t that way –- it’s grittier. We all love that about it. Like I said, it’s what came out: a heavier, darker record.

On their influences showing through
We definitely all love Botch and Isis and Radiohead, so that’s going to come out in our music. Whatever people interpret and hear it as, that’s cool, but I think, for us, it wasn’t a conscious thought. Some people hear it as our heaviest, darkest record ever, some people hear it as experimental. It’s cool, just like anything else, people have their own opinions. It doesn’t change who we are or what we stand for or anything like that.  

On the album's title
The title is actually lyrics from a song, but basically, in a nutshell, it means living your life and making decisions and just trying to figure out through each experience what kind of person you are. In general, everyone feels lost at some point in their life –- at many points probably –- and once you’re given that choice, you’ve got to pick one way or the other. That’s usually what it comes down to. If you’re lost in something, you need to choose, and that kind of defines who you are at the same time. 

On track titles and lyrical themes
They all go along with the theme of being lost and growing up and making decisions and accepting who you are and where you are. Spencer writes all the lyrics, and there’s two that definitely streamline –- track four, “Emergency Broadcast: The End Is Near” and the last track “Desolate Earth: The End Is Here.” As far as lyrical content, those two go together. In the last song, the lyrics are how he found hope, and in track four, all the lyrics are basically about how we, humans, are the cause for everything evil in the world. We bring it upon ourselves. You can’t really look around these days and not see how humans have had an impact on the earth in a negative way. And a lot of it for us, being a Christian band, is just the spiritual aspect of it too. How as a baby, you’re completely innocent – you haven’t made any wrong choices, and by the time you’re someone my age [26], you’ve made so many mistakes and screwed up so many ways, but [there’s] still hope. I think, for us, without God you can’t find that hope, you know? That’s kind of what we view it as, and at the end of that [song], he found hope.

And “Breathing in a New Mentality,” relates pretty good with where we are as a band now. Spencer went through a lot of problems dealing with drugs, and he’s been clean and just got his life a lot more straight since then, so it’s kind of like starting a new page. It's perfect for the first track on the record.

On having full creative control
We’ve always been that way. I think maybe now it’s more evident. What’s the point of being in a band if you can’t control what you do? If you’re having someone else write your songs and tell you what’s okay to put on the radio and what’s okay to edit and what’s okay not to play, it just takes the joy out of creating music.

I think that after They’re Only Chasing Safety everyone expected us to put out a super screamo/singing/pop record, and we didn’t want to do it. We’re not the biggest band in the world or anything, but we’ve definitely been blessed and had a lot of success and I think that people, especially our record label, understand that we have a good head on our shoulders. We know what we want to do so we’re going to do it and they’re cool; they support us and we work together – we’re not jerks about it. We obviously understand there’s compromises with everything, but for the most part, they’re awesome and they help us out creatively and it works out well. 

On the band’s evolution as a solidified line-up since 2003
I think there’s definitely way more comfort now – on a positive side and a negative side. We’re way more open in telling another guy in the band if that part is awesome or if that parts sucks. The more you get in the studio, the more you become comfortable with the whole process, yourself and your own instrument. You want to try and push the boundaries and try new things. We’ve definitely evolved as a band, and hopefully, we show that musically in the record. We try to push ourselves and the more records you do with the same people, the more you know what the other person’s thinking and what you can and can’t do. 

There’s always kids coming up to me saying, “Why don’t you play this old song or that old song?” We’re not the same band we were four, six years ago, you know? We want to play what we want to play, just like we want to write what we want to write. Sometimes kids might get bummed out on that, but the record’s there. You can listen to the record and enjoy it, but this is what we want to do, and we’re going to do it. And for the most part, people are cool and supportive of that.

On expectations for the new album
Honestly, I think I’ve already achieved all my expectations. There’s the whole thing with Sound Scan sales and all that crap, but this is a record more than any other record where I don’t really care about that stuff. Our last record was a huge ordeal like that, but for us, we’re genuinely stoked with the record we put out. I think it’s the best record we’ve ever done. I love the songs on it and I’m happy with it and I don’t care if it sells ten copies or 10 million; I’m just stoked on what we did. Regardless of how it does in the business aspect, as far as my expectation level, we’re going to be fine. We’re going to play the songs we’re going to be playing in front of 50 kids or 5000 kids. Either way, it’s going to be awesome.