September 5th, 2008 
James Shotwell 
Band: Underoath
Album: Lost In The Sound of Separation
Genre: Metal
Label: Solid State
Tracks:
1. Breathing In a New Mentality
2. Anyone Can Dig A Hole, But It Take A Real Man To Call It Home
3. A Fault Line, A Fault of Mine
4. Emergency Broadcast :: The End is Near
5. The Only Survivor Was Miraculously Unharmed
6. We Are The Involuntary
7. The Created Void
8. Coming Down is Calming Down
9. Desperate Times / Desperate Measures
10. Too Bright To See, Too Loud To Hear
11. Desolate Earth :: The End is Here
Anyone in the scene knows that when Underoath drops a new record, hordes of people will flock to the record store and a near equal amount will begin to complain about how the band is overhyped. Over the course of now 4 full length album, Underoath has set themselves arguably on top of the Christian Metal market and won over countless non believers as fans on their music. Their last release, Define The Great Line, was hailed by many as a perfect album and such words set the bar quite high for any follow up that could come out. Well, two years, 4 dvds, and a live album later, Lost In The Sound of Separation has been released. This disc, which plays like a tighter more thought out DTGL is an album of massive sound. From the intense production, to the great drum work, this album is certainly a stunner at first spin, but I’m not sold on it’s lasting ability versus its initial strike..
UO did a lot of experimenting with mic placement, tuning, and vocal techniques on this disc and it’s instantly noticeable upon first hearing, “Breathing In A New Mentality.” The two and a half minute track beings with speaker directed drums that sound as if they were recorded through a wall and then greeted by a distant sounding Spencer before it all kick in with top notch rock. Much like the first track on DTGL, this one is an addictive explosion of noise that just pulls you in and beats you into submission. There’s a point where Spencer screams, “Oh God I feel it racing through my veins, I fear there must be some kind of mistake, I fear I’m in over my head again,” and it’s so perfect that it automatically leaps from the album and sets the bar for metal to come. the second track, “Anyone Can Dig…” starts off right as the first song ends with a single snare hit to fill the void before pummeling out with no refrain at all. This is the first time, in my mind, we see how hard aaron Gillespie has pushed himself on the disc. If you recall, when we spoke with Aaron last month, he told us he really tried to really develop the drum parts on this disc and I’ll be shot down if he didn’t. everything has the intensity and technicality of a band with multiple percussionists, but this is just one man who also manages to sing while doing all this on his own. The new vocal ideas work quite well in this song, especially switching from very hollow vocals to perfect produced sound room ones to show intensity and importance.
“A Fault Line, A Fault of Mine,” feels like it could be a continuation of the previous track which is a little off setting, but the digital synth and sample work sets it apart. There’s more of a dual feeling in the vocals and it shines as well as the lyrics. “Bare with me/bare with me/ this is all that I have left” is destined to be engrained in your head for days. Add some coir-esque vocals in the bridge and you’ve got the best heavy song on the entire disc. No questions asked, this is simply great.
There’s a near seamless fade into, “Emergency Broadcast :: The End is Near.” This track feels like it should be a call to arms of sorts from the pounding tom work and thick synth, but Spencer comes across as too intense for it to have that affect. Also, it builds and builds only to slow way down and stay brooding. I get the attempt to be darker that the band seems to be going for, but something just doesn’t feel right and leaves you awaiting the next track with much angst. Luckily, “The Only Survivor,” comes out he gate with the fury of a pack of hungry wolves. Aaron’s technical drum work once blows us out of the water. Also, though there’s a lot of open strumming and breakdown parts, the guitar work is noticeably tighter than on previous album here. The bridge is quite solid, but the song itself feels like a midway track meant to bridge a gap and it doesn’t stand too well on its own. IF that’s the case, it does flow quite nicely into, “We Are The Involuntary,” which, though subtly at the start, takes and interesting heavy, yet flowing verse segment that is quite engaging. Also, this thick dischord type breakdown that includes the title of the disc in the lyrics and swirling spoken word under perfectly produced drums will leave you with your jaw on the floor. this is not the same band that gave us They’re Only Chasing Safety. No, these are men with a set gameplan of where they want to take their band. However, the track after this, “The Created Void,” falls flat on its face. spencer mixes near speaking singing to crazed screams without much effort and the track itself tries to be epic, but it feels so forced.
Things speed up again on, “Coming Down is Calming Down,” which, has the youthful feel of their 2nd release, but with the aggression of years more experience. I sound like a broken record, but Aaron shines once more on this song, but more so on vocals than before. I can’t even explain it, but vocals don’t even play a part in why this song is so good really, it’s just able to create this atmosphere you want to stay in forever. “Desperate Times Desperate Measure,” would be nothing more than passable, but the breakdown and sheer technicality of the guitar parts are hard to refuse. There’s also a crushing finish to this track you won’t want to miss as it takes you to what I’d consider the brink of heavy music and then turns everything way down for the softer number “Too Bright To See Too Loud To Hear.” If you’ve been waiting for another, “Some Will Seek Forgiveness, Others Escape,” this is the closest you’ll probably ever get. Simple guitar greets Aaron’s undeniable voice which is accompanied by some solid electronics from Chris Dudley. For me, this is the most pivotal track on the album in both design and execution. It flows with such a heavy album, but slows everything down and the last minute will stay with you for a long time. From handclaps to an eruption of everything the band has to offer, this is the track that will outlive anything else on this album. This then leads us into, “Desolate Earth :: The End Is Here,” which is an obvious closing track based solely off the feel from the get go. Everything is subtle and deconstructive, like the band is musically tearing down the album they’ve created and leaving us with some closing remarks. It’s beautiful, but I’m not sure many will repeat it. however, make sure to listen to the very end as everything picks back up once more for a closing moment of power before ending that is equally wonderful to the rest of the track.
If Define The Great Line was Underoath’s opus, Lost In The Sound of Separation is their opera. It’s epic and takes you on a journey of life, searching, need, want, and desire. It’s not perfect, but elements of it are. For starters, the production is so precise and glorious that it easily shines out more than any other album this year. Also, Gillespie’s drum work has no equal in this scene. However, outside of this, everything else has moments, but seems to fall short just as often. The idea of the album, searching for God and not being able to find him due to distractions and such, is a solid idea, but I think Underoath loses their way due to the same thing. They just get too caught up in certain sounds that it gets dull for us as a listener. Is this album better than DTGL? By miles and miles and miles. It is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the best work the band has done with their technical metal sound to date and I have no idea how they will top it.
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*Written By: James Shotwell*
GRADE: 8/10
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