Tagged with Underoath

Listen: Sleepwave – “Rock and Roll Is Dead and So Am I”

Sleepwave Press
Sleepwave is a brand new band, launched last week via two cryptic Youtube videos (which can be viewed here and here), featuring former Underoath frontman Spencer Chamberlain and his long time friend Stephen Bowman. Together the two have recently released their first song, entitled “Rock and Roll Is Dead and So Am I.” The song is available for download free on their website.

Regarding the free download, Chamberlain says, “I’ve been dying to share this music with the world and I don’t want kids to have to pay to find out what Sleepwave sounds like, so this one is free for everyone who has stuck it out with me- thank you.”

Alongside the free download, Sleepwave have announced four intimate shows this November. Tickets are already available online and can be found on the same page as the music download, while tour dates are listed below:

November 16th– State Theatre, St Petersburg, FL.

November 17th– Masquerade, Purgatory, Atlanta, GA

November 20th– Santos Party House, New York, NY

November 21st– North Star Bar, Philadelphia, PA

“We decided to play these shows in smaller, more intimate rooms,” Chamberlain says of the upcoming tour.  “Before this record comes out and I’m back behind a barricade or on some festival, I really want to get in a room with some excited people, get face to face and meet every single one of them.  Something special, something different, something to be remembered.”

If you were an Underoath or simply a fan of rock in general, be sure to download the song. Also like them on Facebook and subscribe to their Youtube channel! This rock duo have already started out strong and will no doubt continue to produce amazing tunes in the near future.

Review: The Color Morale – My Devil In Your Eyes

The Color Morale – My Devil In Your Eyes

Released: March 8, 2011

Label: Rise Records

Purchase: iTunes | Amazon

When we think of the more prominent names in the metalcore scene, we think of bands like Underoath, As I Lay Dying, and The Devil Wears Prada. Five-piece metalcore/post-hardcore group from Rockford, Illinois, The Color Morale, is definitely a name that does not comes to mind. As a part of the infamous Rise Records roster, The Color Morale has struggled to make a name for themselves and stick out amongst the plethora of similar band emerging, even with their debut record We All Have Demons displaying a step in the right direction for the band. With their second Rise release titled My Devil In Your Eyes, The Color Morale takes this established sound, and push it a little bit further.

As the low growls of Garret Rapp in opener “Nerve Endings” commences the album, Devil starts off on a rather dull note as the hectic screaming along with much unfavored chugging guitars plainly crawl along, and then transitioning into a rather predictable melodic song section. Devil stays true to this trend throughout the first frew tracks. Flat chugging accompanoied by monotonous screams and sudden shifts to melodic singing and guitar-work. “Human(s)being” resembles an awkward Bullet For My Valentine knock-off while the common structure and overall derivative sound of “Be Longing Always,” makes for a rather tedious listen. It is not until track five that the album starts to pick up, and The Color Morale sport their true colors.

“Walkers” sets the pace for the rest of the album as the interesting guitar lines of Ramon Mendoza and John Bross entice the listener, and the charismatic vocal delivery of Rapp keeps the attention of more casual listeners. “Demon Teeth” unleashes a raw intensity and delivers a certain heaviness that The Color Morale are able of accomplishing while “This Lost Song is Yours” showcases well-developed melodies accompanied by a strong singing performance by Rapp. A strong mixture of intensity and resonance makes for a variety of enjoyable songs that makes up the latter half of this album, leading up to the soft, slow closer. “fill;avoid” ceases the album in a rather strange fashion as Rapp repeats the line “You made me from dust, and not dirt” over and over (and over and over and over) again. As calm programming backs the soft vocals all the way to the end, “fill;avoid,” I believe, is aptly named as it adds nothing but filler, killing the mood of what was a momentous album.

In the end, The Color Morale still offers nothing new to the scene. But what they do accomplish is taking a sound that has been done to death numerous times, and altering it into something can not only be enjoyed, but appreciated. Something that you can’t honestly say for most of The Color Morale’s labelmates.

7.2

Standout Track: “Walkers”

Review: Underoath – Ø (Disambiguation)

Underoath – Ø (Disambiguation)

Release Date: November 9, 2010
Label: Solid State Records
Purchase: iTunes | Insound | Amazon

With zero, count ’em, zero original members in the band, some longtime Underoath fans will be bold enough to say that this Underoath just isn’t truly the Underoath that originated in 1997. Some radical fans went as far as saying they should change their name or just call it quits, which was the exact thing suspected to evidently happen by vocalist Spencer Chamberlain, who had doubts about the band’s future after the departure of the band’s sole original member, drummer/singer Aaron Gillespie, in early 2010. But with the recruitment of former Norma Jean drummer, and long-time friend of the band, Daniel Davison, and a refreshed state of mind, Chamberlain and his fellow bandmates decided to press on with the Underoath name and record a brand new record, marking the point of new beginnings for the six-piece Florida-based metalcore band.

The new album titled Ø (Disambiguation) shows just how much Gillespie’s presence was holding back the band. With complete control over vocal duties, Chamberlain doesn’t hold anything back. Unleashing an incredibly dark and eerie singing variation, while transitioning beautifully into utterly menacing screams, it is quite clear that this is Chamberlain’s band now, and nobody is going to stunt his creative control.

Lyrically, Chamberlain has never been more vulnerable in his career. Knowing his past struggles with drugs, and his current passion and faith for the lord, Chamberlain weaves a thick, yet shallow web of words that undeniably seeps from the very depths of his dark memory. As he repeatedly shouts “Where is my fix?” in “A Divine Eradication”, one can’t help but feel the passion and emotion that flows up and out of Chamberlain’s throat.

Not only is the vocalization stunning in the newest edition of Underoath, but new stickman Davison also delivers a style of drumming that flows smoother than ever, yet hits you harder than anything Gillespie has ever accomplished on previous releases. The guitar work of Timothy McTague and James Smith continues to keep the same intricacy and experimentation, staying on par with the two previous Underoath’s releases,Define The Great Line and Lost In The Sound Of Separation. Also, the atmospheric delivery of programming, graciously provided to the listener by longest tenured member, Chris Dudley, on Ø (Disambiguation) is about as prominent as it has ever been, creating the illusion of floating adrift at sea in each and every song (most present in “Paper Lung” and “Driftwood”) of this undoubtedly water-themed album.

From the heaviness of the tracks “Illuminator” and “My Deteriorating Incline” to the ambient, Radiohead-esque feel of and “Driftwood”, Ø (Disambiguation) is a huge step forward for a band that has already progressed so far in their musical endeavors. With no end in sight (crossing my fingers!), Underoath has proven they are one of the top dogs in today’s declining music scene, always creating something fresh and intricate to rejuvenate the slow downfall of the state of music.

8.7

Standout Tracks: “Catch Myself Catching Myself”, “In Divison”, “Vacant Mouth”