Walking the Line

I don't like to label bands or tack a genre to them, it all feels too cliché. So I tend to cringe when I say that I listen to a band that popular culture labels as "screamo." Screamo…see, I like screaming, but the other half, the "emo" part of it, I can definitely do without. But a band like Underoath seems to execute rather well what comes out of a genre where every band is a blatant cookie-cutter of the last one, and fashion and popularity replace originality and talent. Underoath is not one of those bands…\nUnderoath have been around for a good seven years, but have just recently found critical success since the departure of their first singer Dallas Taylor (now with Maylene And The Sons Of Disaster) . Define The Great Line is their fifth album, their third on Christian hardcore label Solid State Records. This record is a culmination of everything Underoath has put out in their solid career, and let me tell you, it sounds rather amazing.\nWhen you hear the first track on the album, "In Regards To Self," you know that this record is definitely going to rock. There's blistering guitars and bold and brutal screaming; the elements that made old Underoath great. As the album progresses, their new sound is present as well. "You're So Inviting" is heavy and melodic. "Salmarnir" is a haunting instrumental accompanied by cryptic Icelandic musings and chanting, followed by three beautifully stirring, yet epically heavy tracks ("Returning Empty Handed," "Casting Such A Thin Shadow" and "Moving For The Sake Of Motion"). The remainder of the album speeds up the pace a bit, with some more catchy and thrashing tracks.\nDefine is so much more than I have come to expect out of this band. With 2004's They're Only Chasing Safety (which was still pretty damn good), I thought Underoath had become one of those generic MTV screamo bands that had sold out. Well, I was wrong…they are much more talented than that and they have taken that risk by adding to their successful formula and making things heavier and less accessible at the same time. The variety of the tracks isn't terribly widespread and chaotic, but there is enough emotion on both ends of the spectrum to keep things interesting and distinguish this album from others of the same genre.\nUnderoath have grown a lot as a band since their last outing, and they have put out their best material in their career with Define The Great Line. If you like metal whatsoever, you will enjoy this. They get a bad rap for being a Christian hardcore band, but if you can see past this, you will be blown away by a heartfelt, brutal, honest album. They could have screwed it up and disappointed, but they have pulled through and put out something a hundred times better than I could have imagined. Brace yourself…