Live Review:
The Rebirth of Underoath
Review and photos:
Bryan Rolli
Last year at this time, nobody would’ve expected metalcore giants Underoath to reunite—least of all the band members themselves.
“I never thought I'd be up here again with my best friends in the whole world,” vocalist Spencer Chamberlain told the sold-out crowd at San Antonio’s Aztec Theatre on Wednesday. “But you know what they say: sometimes you gotta take one step back to take 10 steps forward.”
Underoath has never been a band known for its stability. Each evolution in the creative process was fraught with personal turmoil and friction among bandmates, eventually resulting in the departure of every original member. Three years ago, the band embarked on a brief farewell tour that only spanned half the country, and with that, they ceased to exist.
Now, they’re back on the Rebirth Tour (with original drummer/clean vocalist Aaron Gillespie in the fold), and they’re celebrating by playing two of their classic albums, 2004’s They’re Only Chasing Safety and 2006’s Define the Great Line, in their entireties. This sort of tactic can often seem like a cash grab for an artistically bankrupt band, but nothing could be further from the truth here. Underoath is giving diehard fans exactly what they want, and from the sound of it, they’ve never believed in these songs more than they do now.
“I never thought I'd be up here again with my best friends in the whole world,” vocalist Spencer Chamberlain told the sold-out crowd at San Antonio’s Aztec Theatre on Wednesday. “But you know what they say: sometimes you gotta take one step back to take 10 steps forward.”
Underoath has never been a band known for its stability. Each evolution in the creative process was fraught with personal turmoil and friction among bandmates, eventually resulting in the departure of every original member. Three years ago, the band embarked on a brief farewell tour that only spanned half the country, and with that, they ceased to exist.
Now, they’re back on the Rebirth Tour (with original drummer/clean vocalist Aaron Gillespie in the fold), and they’re celebrating by playing two of their classic albums, 2004’s They’re Only Chasing Safety and 2006’s Define the Great Line, in their entireties. This sort of tactic can often seem like a cash grab for an artistically bankrupt band, but nothing could be further from the truth here. Underoath is giving diehard fans exactly what they want, and from the sound of it, they’ve never believed in these songs more than they do now.
The band started the night with Safety, ripping into “Young and Aspiring” as hundreds of fans screamed along with Chamberlain, “So let’s not even TRY!” By default, the setlist had no surprises, but the band’s enthusiasm and the thrill of hearing these songs live (some of them for the first time on this tour) was more than enough to keep things fresh. The singing/screaming interplay between Gillespie and Chamberlain was spot-on, adding an extra melodic and emotional dimension to the songs.
One of the most impressive things about the set was the seamless transition between albums. Whereas Underoath echoed many of their emo/screamo contemporaries on They’re Only Chasing Safety, they adopted a more metallic sound and flirted with more electronic and atmospheric tones on Define the Great Line. But the songs fit together like puzzle pieces on Wednesday, each striking the perfect balance between melody and aggression.
(If I had one gripe about the band’s set, it’s that they skipped Safety’s final track, “Some Will Seek Forgiveness, Others Escape.” Maybe they had a curfew? Or thought the song was too soft for the rest of the set? Either way, I was bummed, but every song they did play sounded perfect.)
One of the most impressive things about the set was the seamless transition between albums. Whereas Underoath echoed many of their emo/screamo contemporaries on They’re Only Chasing Safety, they adopted a more metallic sound and flirted with more electronic and atmospheric tones on Define the Great Line. But the songs fit together like puzzle pieces on Wednesday, each striking the perfect balance between melody and aggression.
(If I had one gripe about the band’s set, it’s that they skipped Safety’s final track, “Some Will Seek Forgiveness, Others Escape.” Maybe they had a curfew? Or thought the song was too soft for the rest of the set? Either way, I was bummed, but every song they did play sounded perfect.)
For better or for worse, one of the biggest conversation points about Underoath is the spiritual themes pervading their music, though their lyrics are often vague enough to avoid easy classification. Their set did nothing to change that, as there was no attempted evangelism or even a mention of Christ—though the onstage visuals were just evocative enough to intrigue anyone paying attention. On a screen above the stage, mountains trembled and the earth fissured. Faceless bodies waded through the ocean, battered by the waves. The most affecting visual was a circular tower made of human bodies that spiraled toward the heavens. The tower was split, and bodies scattered in every direction. A reference to God scattering His people at the Tower of Babel? Maybe, maybe not. But it sure made me think.
Still, none of the nondescript bodies onscreen could distract from the live bodies hurling themselves across the stage all night. Chamberlain whipped his hair in every direction, bellowing into the mic and dropping to his knees at the front of the stage, where he high-fived fans in the front row and crowd surfers who made it over the barricade. Meanwhile, Timothy McTague spun his guitar around his body and mercilessly attacked his strings, giving the opening riff to “In Regards to Myself” a brand new vitality. When he wasn’t twisting knobs and laying down heavy, textured chords, keyboardist Chris Dudley banged his head in time with the drums, cupped his hands and shouted lyrics at the crowd until the veins in his neck popped. It was all evidence of a band that was genuinely thrilled to be playing their best songs again.
It’s always hard to tell what Underoath has planned. Given their tumultuous past, it’s a miracle they’ve even made it to this point. They could cash out after this tour and most fans would probably be satisfied. But given the rapturous applause that followed Chamberlain’s declaration—“This is the rebirth of Underoath!”—it hardly seems likely.
It’s always hard to tell what Underoath has planned. Given their tumultuous past, it’s a miracle they’ve even made it to this point. They could cash out after this tour and most fans would probably be satisfied. But given the rapturous applause that followed Chamberlain’s declaration—“This is the rebirth of Underoath!”—it hardly seems likely.