“It’s sad to say that we feel like it’s time to close this chapter, but we have never seen things more clearly,” says vocalist Spencer Chamberlain. “These have been the best years of my entire life, and I owe that to every single person who ever supported this band along the way. This wasn’t a quick decision by any means. It’s just time for us to move on.”
"Over the past decade or so of our lives, we have been able to live a dream traveling the world, playing music that excites us, and meeting more amazing people than we could have ever fathomed," says keyboardist Chris Dudley. "This couldn't be a more bittersweet moment for us. We have accomplished more, met more friends, seen more places and have just done more than we could have ever imagined, and we really wanted to just go out on the highest note possible. That's why we have put together a group of great friends and musicians for what will be our final tour ever. We are taking every moment of this tour as an opportunity to say goodbye to you all, as well as celebrate what has taken place over all these years. The love we have and the debt of gratitude that we owe to all of you is not able to be measured in any way."
The band released their debut effort Act of Depression in 1999 on Takehold Records, selling over 2,000 copies. Their next effort came out a year later, Cries of The Past, selling more than its predecessor with 3,000 copies. Both of these albums are no longer in print and are hard to come by. The band signed with Solid State Records in January 2002 and released their next effort, The Changing of Times that year. This is the album that put the band on the forefront with the jarring single, "When The Sun Sleeps". The band officially hit the big time with their most lauded and commercially successful release, They're Only Chasing Safety in 2004. The album sold close to 500,000 copies, was certified gold, and included songs like "Reinventing Your Exit" and "It's Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door". The band continued their string of success with "Define the Great Line" in 2006, debuting at #2 on the Billboard 200 album chart, and producing massive and gut wrenching tracks like "Writing on The Walls" and "In Regards To Myself". The album was certified gold and became one of the band's finest efforts up to that point. The band continued to churn it out with Lost In The Sound Of Separation, released in 2008. The album, while not as commercially successful as the ones that came before it, contained solid tracks such as "Desperate Times, Desperate Measures" and "Too Bright to See, Too Loud to Hear".
In early 2010, longtime drummer Aaron Gillespie announced that he would be leaving Underoath to focus on his side project The Almost and pursue a solo career as well, releasing his debut effort Anthem Song in 2011. Underoath meanwhile, released what would eventually be their final album, Disambiguation in 2010, containing such tracks like "In Division" and "Paper Lung". The band will be releasing a career spanning greatest hits set titled "Anthology 1999-2013" on November 6th via Solid State Records. The set also features 2 brand new tracks culled from previous recording session titled "Sunburnt" and "Unsound". The band will also be embarking on a farewell tour taking place in 2013 with venues and tour dates being announced sometime next week. “We don’t take this very lightly and it’s heartbreaking for all of us,” Chamberlain says of the band’s announcement, “but all good things must come to an end. We love all of you and hope to see you again soon.”
The band's influence on my initial foray into metal music has been immense to say the least, and their lyrics have really opened up my eyes as to what metal music sounds like and when Aaron was with the group, he became my musical hero and is still to this date one of the best drummers I've ever heard in my lifetime. I wish all the best for the members of the group and hope to see them continue to be involved in music in some capacity further on down the road.
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