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This is definitely not the Underoath who released “They’re Only Chasing Safety” in 2004.
Gone are the melodic guitar riffs and catchy choruses. In their place are tight, technical guitar licks and angst-ridden, guttural screams. While it certainly will be classified as hardcore, the album seems to come off as the pretentious product of an emo band trying to gain credibility, especially when placed side by side with other, more established bands of the genre.
The band has certainly matured musically, and the opening riff on the album is a signifier as to how far they have come from incessantly strumming power chords and pedantic solos.
The layout of the album itself seems a bit off, teetering back and forth between brutal assaults, such as the opening “In Regards to Myself” and the more tempered, even-paced “A Moment Suspended in Time.”
It becomes obvious as you move through the record that Underoath is most definitely trying to make a statement. It becomes difficult to determine what that statement is. While fans of the band’s first CD, “Changing of Times” will welcome the band’s return to more hardcore metal, casual listeners will be hard-pressed to find the album approachable, much less enjoyable.
-Dennis O’Neill
