Have Underoath reproved themselves with "Voyuerist?"

 

Despite what Spencer Chamberlain says, Voyuerist is the ninth full-length album from Florida ex-Christian metalcore titans Underoath. It is the follow up to 2018’s Erase Me, which saw mixed reaction from fans. It was easy to see why though, as the band had come back from breaking up and was doing things they didn’t normally do. Chamberlain was cursing, they were using more traditional song structures and even renounced that Christianity that they had built certain circles with by writing songs about losing one's faith. For me, personally I was very much sold on Erase Me and was eagerly awaiting a follow up and I had a lot to mull over. There were four singles to this ten track record released over four or five months due to vinyl push backs even the first and last tracks were put out before release day.

I had a good initial impression of the first single, “Damn Excuses.” Sonically it feels very Define the Great Line, just listen to the instrumentation and presentation around the line;

“God, can anybody hear me?”

Toward the end. (Not that a line like that wouldn’t have flown on that record.) It’s an intro but it never feels forced nore is it even really trying to be heavy, it's just a band having a good time and then bridging to the next track. This song immediately sets a precedent for something that I admire about the entire album and that’s the overall energy presented. This track feels like it was recorded directly from a practice space. None of this is to say it’s a masterclass, however the song itself is only kind of alright overall. That and, while I wasn’t against the use of “fuck” in Underoath’s music to begin with, it really feels like Chamberlain is focing it here, he drops two f-bombs within half a minute of the album opening.

The second single, “Hallelujah” I was actually hotter on than the first and it still remains my favorite of those first four initial tracks. A lot of the songs on Voyeurist don’t really feel perfect in an almost intentional way. There’s a certain charm to things like screaming;

“This is fucking Hell.”

Near out of the time when a church choir kicks back in. (And see that f-bomb? Effective!) Underoath doesn’t feel so tight they feel more like they’re in freeform mode, like they actually are giving you a lot of these ideas right from the room they wrote them in. The church choir I mentioned earlier is what a lot of the songs groundwork is built on and reminds me a lot of “Holy Roller” by Underoath’s current tour mates, Spiritbox. Not that that’s at all surprising, when your peers are doing something that sounds compelling and really works you’re going to start to see those ideas inspire the smaller and even the bigger bands. As a writing tool;

“Cut the lights, face yourself, we aren’t dreaming this is Hell.”

Is placed in the exact same way that;

“Holy roller sits in the garden we fled, blood into wine take my body instead.”

Is. It’s even repeated in the same ways, it’s even brought back to usher in a breakdown the same way.

The third single “Pneumonia,” I had some bad first impressions with and my issue sort of remains. It’s a compilation of the records overall ideas and I just wish that I didn’t hear the closing track as a single, especially one that’s seven minutes. I can’t help but feel like this moment would have felt special if I was allowed to feel it organically. Having the first and last track of a record out months before release date to me always felt like it was souring the experience. Yes, you could read the first and last chapter of a book then all of it together to see how you bridged the two narratives present but wouldn’t you rather arrive there as the story intended, at least the first time?

The final single was “Cycle” featuring Ghostemane, which I also didn’t feel too strongly about upon dropping. To me Ghostemane is both over and under utilized. The entire song sounds it could fit at home on a Ghostemane record yet he barely delivers half a verse. Underoath isn’t really a band that brings in features (I think this is the second one ever) and to me this one feels like he had too much of a writing opportunity without really being there. Of course, I could be totally wrong, this song could have been written before the thought of having a guest was even spoken about. Other than that, this song feels like a Define the Great Line track structured like a cut from They’re Only Chasing Safety. It has the chaos, but it also has a verse-chorus structure. The record is messy, and I’ve really come to appreciate that, this track however almost feels like too much. I feel like if one more thing were out of place here I would skip it on future listens entirely.

Moving into the deep cuts, I understand exactly what “I’m Pretty Sure I’m Out of Luck and Have No Friends” was going for but I don’t think it works on me. I can respect and recognize that it is likely Chamberlain talking about his own history and darkness with drug abuse but the thing just feels like a long interlude to me. The entire first minute of the track feels like a colossal waste and while there’s a lot of interesting things going on instrumentally, however things like a 9-1-1 pickup that’s vocal chopped is just weird. Even when it does kick in fully it still sounds very interlude to me. None of this is new territory for Underoath, we had long extended breaks on Lost in the Sound of Separation but, to be honest, it didn’t win me over on that record either. I like it instrumentally, bass and keys especially are a highlight here, but it’s an abuse of a moment that I ultimately feel could have been cut short or at least rethought.

Similar to “Cycle,” “Thorn” almost feels like too much. The beginning of the track is just fine and at five tracks in it’s nothing we haven’t heard yet. After that, though, there’s an almost industrial break as Aaron Gillespie chants;

“I wish that you could see what I do.”

At the top of a momentary peace. Right at the end of the track the two ideas, which are not that strong on their own, come together in a big way that makes for a really impactful moment.

I kind of take issue with the transition from “(No Oasis)” to “Take a Breath.” In a good seamless transition there is some sort of indicator that one idea is over and we have moved onto the next regardless of how much of a single thoughts the track appear to be. Here there is a lite percussion then almost mid-note “Oasis” disappears. Which, is really disappointing because as a song I think “Oasis” goes off really well. Chamberlain’s vocals feel strong here, it’s lofi in a way that doesn’t feel messy. It’s a nice ballad break what is basically the dead center of the record, which, is welcomed amongst the intensity it’s in between. To have it just vanish is a little strange. “Take a Breath” as its own idea feels like the Underoath that both the listener and the band want. It’s heavy in all the right places. Both vocalists feel like an echo of one another. There’s production techniques present here that I don’t think has ever been present on an Underoath song. Even if I don’t feel like it’s a top Underoath track as a whole, it’s a band collectively at the top of their game.

“We’re All Gonna Die” is unique in that it doesn’t really call back to any specific Underaoth era, it’s just very Voyeurist. Messy, yet quant, metalcore veses. A huge screamed chorus. Chamberlain and Gillespie firing on all cylinders with Gillespie sort of channeling his Stick Figure Cowboy delivery. Everything about this song is huge and right there in the forefront and it's become my favorite from the record so far, it just feels so special and self-contained.

Getting toward the end of the record, “Numb” just sort of blends into everything else. The intro with the bassdrop and the vocal lowered effect is cool and I’m happy that a band of this age and reputation isn’t afraid to do some different things that are certainly old enough to be tropes but they themselves haven’t done in their career.

Overall? Voyeurist is an Underoath record, I didn’t like it and it grew on me. That’s always been the relationship I’ve had with this band. I know Erase Me was a hard sell for most people but that worked on me right away, Define the Great Line and on I always needed a few listens to really digest it. Here the band is trying new things while also revisiting their past in new ways. The record itself isn’t really a collection of moments, it presents better as a body of work in which I honestly think the second half goes over much better than the first. This may not be my favorite Underoath effort, but I walk away still a fan.

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