June 15, 2004 - They're Only Chasing Safety

On the same day as my last several releases and a little over two years since their last album "The Changing Of Times", Underoath released their fourth album "They're Only Chasing Safety" on June 15, 2004. There's a lot of turnover since that last album with half(!) of the band now gone. Bassist William Nottke was only around for one album and is replaced by new bassist Grant Brandell. Original members Octavio Fernandez and Dallas Taylor are also gone and they are replaced by new rhythm guitarist James Smith and new lead singer Spencer Chamberlain. That's a lot of turnover! Underoath continue to move away from their progressive death metal beginnings and build off their more radio-friendly previous album, while still being plenty heavy. Let's check out the latest from Underoath!

The album kicks off with "Young And Aspiring" and they jump right into a hard-hitting and heavy main riff led by some pretty cool lead guitar by Timothy McTague. We hear Chamberlain's voice for the first time and he has one hell of an epic scream! His higher screams are still very audible and actually kind of pop-y and his lower screams sound very powerful and epic, he seems like a great fit! He shows us that he can sing as well in the chorus as he very nicely mixes up some solid pop-y singing and screaming, all overtop a pretty catchy chorus riff. This definitely continues the progression from their last album, but I think they've improved on both the heavy side and the pop-y side! A pretty cool first song! Up next is "A Boy Brushed Red Living In Black And White" and it starts off super pop-y with a pretty simple guitar riff and Spencer singing in a high pop-y voice that isn't my favourite but it's definitely not bad. Things do get a bit heavier as Spencer mixes in some nice screams amongst the mostly clean vocals on this one, and everything sounds very smooth and upbeat. I'm surprised this song wasn't a single; I found it very accessible while still being some cool hardcore metal. Track 3 is "The Impact Of Reason" and they dive right into a solid main riff with some cool bass by Brandell in the background and McTague continuing to play tons of solid and fairly catchy guitars. Chamberlain screams a pretty epic verse overtop with lots of high screams and they shift to another pop-y and catchy chorus riff as Chamberlain switches to his smooth pop-y singing. This seems to be their template on this album, but they are doing a great job at both aspects and I of course love the heavy parts! The next track is the album's only single and it's called "Reinventing Your Exit". Aaron Gillespie plays some cool drums on this one as they dive into another typical(ly solid) main riff and Chamberlain is singing at first in a powerful and pretty good voice. In the chorus he once again does a good job of mixing in some well-timed screams amongst the mostly singing and this is a no-brainer of a single with such catchy and smooth guitars and vocals! Christopher Dudley is finally noticeable for the first time as he adds some cool piano to the mix as well and this is probably the least heavy full song on the album, but it's an expertly done single. Track 5 is "The Blue Note" and it's a less-than-a-minute interlude with some quiet drums and guitar that is really just setting the stage for the next song. It leads right into "It's Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door" (which is a quote from "The Hobbit"!) and they kick right into a heavy and sweet main riff with more cool guitar by McTague leading the way and Chamberlain sounding great screaming overtop. It's a slower paced song and the chorus is super pop-y with Chamberlain sounding very pop-y and not my favourite, but things are still solid. After a couple rounds they quiet things down, a choir of voices come in singing in the background, then Chamberlain screams overtop in an interesting new section. This song is a little too much on the pop-y side, making it a lesser (but still good) song for me. Track 7 is "Down, Set, Go" and it's another typical(ly good) mix of heavy guitars and a smooth and solid rhythm section with Chamberlain screaming a nice verse. As the template goes the chorus is pretty pop-y with Spencer singing more, but he continues to do a nice job of mixing in some screams among the singing. After another catchy and solid round they go super quiet and soft for a brief few bars, which makes the damming return to the heaviness hit nice and hard as McTague plays some sweet lead guitar. These guys are certainly improving upon last album by making this new pop-y sound still sound very metal. The next track is "I Don't Feel Very Receptive Today" and it too fits the template, but as usual the good stuff more than outweighs the slightly bland pop-y parts. The heavy guitar parts are headbangingly cool but also pretty damn catchy and Chamberlain screams the whole chorus on this one, which of course I think sounds pretty awesome! This is easily one of the heavier songs on the album with minimal singing and plenty of awesome guitars... until things take a big left turn for the final minute. After all that awesomeness they decide to end the song with a minute of boring piano and light drums. It's not terrible, but it's definitely not necessary and a huge letdown to what was otherwise probably my favourite song! Track 9 is "I'm Content With Losing" and Spencer overlays his vocals so that we hear him screaming and singing the same lyrics simultaneously. It sounds pretty solid and interesting and it's a nice change even though it can't really be done live. This song has a very light and happy vibe to it and Chamberlain's singing is pretty solid, and his screaming is excellent. It's mostly singing on this one but he holds a few great long screams! All the overlaid vocals sound really cool at the end and this was another pretty cool tune. The final song on the album is "Some Will Seek Forgiveness, Others Escape" and it's unlike any of the other songs as they jump into a light and super space-y main riff with dreamy keyboards by Dudley, some mechanical-esque drums, some light guitar and some super soft but epic singing that makes for a very atypical main riff. Gillespie adds backing singing as well and this is a super sappy closer to the album that doesn't really fit with the rest of the album at all! It's even another level further than their usual pop-y stuff, and they do a pretty good job at it honestly even if it's easily the worst song on the album for me because of the lack of heaviness for the most part. After almost three minutes Spencer does add some long epic screams to the mix that spice things up for sure, but it's still not what I'm looking for from these guys.

That is the end of "They're Only Chasing Safety" and I thought it was largely a pretty good album from Underoath. Some of the pop-y parts aren't my favourite but most of them are still solid and the heavier parts are all pretty sweet! Spencer Chamberlain is a fantastic new singer that I like way more than Dallas Taylor and even though there are no shades of their progressive death metal past they seem to be forging a pretty solid new identity. I think it's easily better than "The Changing Of Times" and I even think it surpasses their debut "Act of Depression", but "Cries Of The Past" remains a pretty awesome album so this new effort will have to settle for second place. I look forward to hearing Underoath continue to evolve!