In the months leading up to 'Lost in the Sound of Separation' underOATH has been stirring excitment among fans. The band stated that the record was going to be me "epic and at the same time "way heavier" than their last album, 'Define the Great Line'. 'Lost in the Sound of Serapation' brings a tighter sense of songwriting and more experimentalism with their sound and srong structure, although the band seems ot lck the "heavier" nature promised.This album succeeds greatly with its short, catchy songs. The first two tracks, “Breathing In a New Mentality” and “Anyone Can Dig a Hole But It Takes a Real Man to Call it Home” contain progressive metalcore sections. “Breathing…” features a part which reminds me of Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, a band hailing from the same city as Underoath. The only song that truly fits what Underoath had described before the album came out is “The Only Survivor Was Miraculously Unharmed”, a song that shows a true sense of Underoath’s music, as it transforms from a heavy blast of older-Underoath inspired metalcore into a tension building segment that just simply ends. It is unfortunate that after the excellent first half of the album, the next few tracks are quite a disappointment.
The 3 songs that follow, “We Are the Involuntary”, “The Created Void”, “Coming Down is Calming Down” that are absolutely unmemorable, Along with “A Fault Line, A Fault of Mine” , the songs are forgetable to say the least. They sound the same and just contain standard Underoath songwriting. It’s on these tracks the lack of heavy sections is obvious, and while there are interesting moments throughout them, there is nothing that catches the listeners attention. Lost in the Sound of Separation does still succeed despite these weaker tracks. The “ballad” of “Too Bright To See Too Loud” is actually quite beautiful, with the chorus of members singing “Good God, can you still get us home”. It also contains one of the most impressive moments on the album, as after the chorus, Spencer breaks in with a scream of “How can we still get home?”, sounding more pained and unhappy than ever.
The album proves Underoath’s growing up not only as musicians but as people, as we’re getting a deeper look into them than we ever have. If the album was more consistent and had more memorable parts in it, it would be a fantastic album. However, when Underoath hits it they hit it well, and Lost in the Sound of Separation is still a very good record despite its faults.
By Jamie Nairn
