Artist Profile: Underoath

Today's Artist Profile is one of my favorite metal bands that I listen to quite frequently, Underoath. Underoath were formed in Tampa, Florida in 1997 and the band consists of Spencer Chamberlain on lead vocals, Grant Brandell on bass, Daniel Davison on drums, Chris Dudley on keys and synth, Tim McTague on lead guitar and backing vocals, and James Smith on rhythm guitar. The band was initially fronted by Dallas Taylor and had Aaron Gillespie on drums (who would go on to be the band's longest serving original member.) The band got their start performing a string of festival shows in the Florida area, slowly attracting a large and loyal fanbase in the process. In 1999, the band signed with Takehold Records and immediately began work on their debut release, The Act of Depression which was released in 1999 and has sold 2,000 copies to date and is currently out of print. Chris Dudley officially joined the group a year later, and they immediately buckled down to begin work on their five song EP Cries of the Past, which has sold 3,000 copies to date and like the former, is out of print and hard to come by these days. Eventually, Takehold Records was bought out by Tooth and Nail Records and Underoath were signed by their subsidary label, Solid State Records. The first release on their new label, The Changing of Times saw the light of day in 2002 and produced a memorable track in the form of "When The Sun Sleeps". The band embarked on an extensive touring schedule and in 2003, Dallas Taylor was asked to leave the band citing personal issues, and the band quickly recruited Spencer Chamberlain who was the lead vocalist of This Runs Through. After finishing their touring cycle, they immediately began work on their landmark breakthrough release, They're Only Chasing Safety released in 2004. The album was a monster success, producing gravitating tracks like my favorite Underoath song of all time "A Boy Brushed Red Living In Black and White", "Reinventing Your Exit", and "It's Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door". The album has sold close to 500,000 copies to date and has outsold all of their previous releases combined. The band embarked on a healthy touring regimen, making appearances on the Vans Warped Tour among others.

In early 2006, the band began work on their new release Define The Great Line, which was released towards the end of that year. The album was a monster success, debuting at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 98,000 copies in its first week on its way to another gold certification by the RIAA on the strength of such gritty and resonating tunes like "Writing on the Walls", "In Regards To Myself" and "A Moment Suspended In Time". The band went on a series of tour dates after the album's release, attracting a large contingent of fans and most of the dates were warmly received by them as well. The band 's next release Lost In The Sound of Separation came out in 2008, debuting in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart at #8, selling 56,000 copies in its first week and giving way to such raw tracks like "Desperate Times, Desperate Measures", "Too Bright To See, Too Loud To Hear" and "Breathing In A New Mentality". The band toured heavily to support the album and took a little breather before settling down in late 2009 to begin work on the follow up. In April 2010, original drummer Aaron Gillespie announced that he would be leaving the group to focus on his pop/rock side project The Almost, and the band recruited a brand new drummer by the name of Doug Davison, who helped with their latest release, Ø Disambiguation released just last year. Some standout tracks from this release include "In Division" and "Paper Lung". I don't consider myself to be a metal fan by any means, but Underoath have a certain raw dexterity to them that I closely identify with and can't be matched by any other band out there. Spencer's raw and passionate vocals and the bands' positive lyrical outlook have a left indelible mark on my life and have helped me broaden my musical horizons substantially.