R.I.P. Underoath

Earlier this week, metal kings Underoath played their last show in their hometown of Tampa, FL. Many fans of metal, and rock music are still mourning at the fact the band is done. So, if you don’t listen to rock, you are probably wondering why this band leaving the rock scene is such a big deal? Well, let me try to paint a picture that is a little more relatable to people. Lets say Lady Gaga calls it quits. The world of pop music will be shaken up monumentally. So many pop artist and up and coming musicians see her as a huge inspiration, so of course people are going to be sad. Everyone from fans, to her musical peers will be affected. It is not at the same level of pandemonium that Lady Gaga quitting would be, but that is a good way to how the rock scene has reacted to Underoath saying they are done.

Underoath is one of those bands that somehow found a way to resonate with everyone. You might not know it, but you might have heard an Underoath song before. They are one of the rare metal bands that had people liking them who usually hate metal music. They managed to do this in a couple of ways.

1. Incredible live shows - If you have seen Underoath live, consider yourself a lucky soul. The amount of energy put into Underoath’s live performances is something unparalleled not only in metal, but in music in general. The sheer amount of energy that went into each performance by the band was something that I still have not seen replicated by bands not only in the rock scene, but bands and artist who have made it big.

2. Amazing, relatable lyricism - More than likely, you can relate to one song in Underoath’s incredible discography. No song is the same in the Underoath catalog.  It is something special that many people appreciated about the band. Even if you don’t like metal, you could probably find a song that you could appreciate from Underoath from a lyrical standpoint.

3. Unbelievable Musicianship. That point about no Underoath song being the same lyrically, that same mentality goes for musicianship. No Underoath song SOUNDED the same. Every song you were getting something unique and different. Each album is easy to differentiate, and each song on that album you can tell real quickly what it is. This is in part because of the true talent that each member of Underoath had with their instruments.

Underoath is a band that is going to be missed in the rock scene for a very long time. I can always remember the first time I heard of the band. After my friend was so excited to get their album Lost In The Sound Of Separation, I asked her who they were. She told me that they were a band that couldn’t be described, you just had to listen to them. Taking her advice, I listened to Lost In The Sound Of Separation that night and was blown away. To this day, that still is one of my most favorite albums of all time. I am always grateful of the fact I got to see them live, and I hope people will still discover their fantastic music for years to come. Chris, Tim, Grant, Spencer, James, Daniel, Aaron, and to any other former members of Underoath, you guys have no idea how many lives you touched. How many bands and musicians you have influenced. Your music will always be remembered by a lot of people, and hopefully more. We’ll all miss you guys.

I leave you guys with my favorite Underoath song. The atmospheric and incredible “Too Bright To See Too Loud To Hear”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63EetspU6Is