Great hardcore cd. A lot different than their new cd, which isn't bad either. And to clear the air, underOATH IS a christian band. I recently saw them in concert for the Taste of Chaos tour. They made it very clear to everyone of their christian beliefs.

I've got disappointing news for Daniel Cano: Reliance on categorization is a tool of the undereducated. Ironic that this "education" you've claimed is one which falls far short of many more intelligent listeners.

A more sophisticated approach than "categorization and condemnation" is to break each band down until you hear and understand how their unique combination of styles fits together. To prove my example, what would you think of someone who lumped all "heavy metal" together, and distinuished good old "rock and roll" from that "screaming and loud noise that all sounds the same". As fans of heavy metal we know that they haven't listened enough to discern a difference. Its like self-centered white kids thinking that all black or asian people look the same(or vice versa).

As for Underoath, I think that they have accomplished finding a niche in the area of metal which I really don't have other bands. And its an appealing niche to me. I think this band probably does fit the emocore moniker, but I don't listen to most of the bands that are classified as such and can't say that they are standard "emocore". All I know is that they're heavy and light at the same time, that the emotion really flows through in a way that doesn't seem whiny despite the reputation, and the songs must be well written to stay in my head (a welcome stay - unlike that damn Price is Right theme that won't go away).

I should mention that the singer on this album is not as appealing to me as their new singer. I don't like how he stays in the same high pitched range, but they still have good background vocals and its not enough to really damage them. You can look at it as a more raw and hard edged sound too - something in the vein of Poison the Well's opposite of december being great despite the improvement in vocals of the new album (if you can agree with that in the first place).

So as most reasonable reviews should end, you must hear for yourself. I think most open minded metal fans would like them, I know I do.

The changing of times is much different from they're only chasing safety and thier first two albums as well.
Losing thier touch with a more metal sound and combining odd yet a intersting sound from keyboards. Althought i liked very much Cries of the past as well Act of depression, thier debut album with solid state is in fact a very good approach to a new music direction.Thier lyrics are more to the means of emo as many believe but still in many songs have a positive message.
The songs are more catchy to fans, there isn't much i can find wrong with this album except two things.Thier now former lead singer dallas taylor does a very good job on vocal's but has a very bored scream it seems. Second upon listening to it i believe they could have done a better production job, dallas's voice is most of the time ran over by the instruments but you learn to love it anyways.

The songs are well played i must say. My favorite song on the entire cd is alone in december. If you listen to the song just once you become taken. you get a taste of some samples of the old style with songs like a message for adrienne and angel below as well never meant to break your heart. Which i might add have very nice breakdown's included in them.
I recommend this cd to anyone who has never heard underoath i would start with this album instead of they're only chasing safey which has a very pop emo sound to it but still pretty good.

I wasnt too sure about them at first, i downloaded a few songs, then saw them live and that pushed me to hear more. Once i gave the CD a chance it blew me away. Bands with a keyboardist arent really that great (to me) but they pull it off. The vocals sound great, from the screaming to the clean vocals. I definitly suggest you pick this one up.

Most of the reviews for this cd are so ignorant and immature it's sickening. If you like real hardcore (not from autumn to ashes or any of that crap) then you will love this cd. The lyrics are amazing, the music is amazing... Their new emocore stuff is ok, but it's absolute crap by comparison. Dallas' screaming may grate on your nerves at first if you're not used to a wide range of screamers, but once you are broken in, it's perfect. Every one of the songs are great. I highly recommend this cd to anyone who likes to dance hxc and to people who know the difference between awesome music (like As i lay dying) and garbage music (like Slipknot).