CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

I figured this thread should have been made sooner or later and when I searched this band I found nothing. To put it simply, underOATH is one of the most interesting bands to follow. Not ONE band member of the ORIGINAL underOATH remains. A lot of people believe Aaron Gillipsie was present throughout the entire band's existence, but that's not true. There were numerous demos before Act of Depression with drummer Scott Nunn (who is now in Maylene and the Sons of Disaster) that never were published (if that's the proper term) by a record company. This was all in 1998.

In 1999, the band was signed with Takehold Records and Scott Nunn was replaced by Aaron Gillipsie prior to the recordings. This is when Act of Depression first came to be.

1.) Act of Depression- While it only sold 1000 copies, this CD is nothing short of an excellent metalcore album dabbling in grindcore elements as well as melodic death metal. There was a hidden track titled "Spirit of a Living God" on this title, that was purely a worship song with nothing more than an acoustic guitar and vocals provided by Corey Stegar, and Dallas Taylor sharing his faith as well as saying a prayer in the song. An excellent album indeed.

Soon, underOATH released another album titled Cries of the Past which is when Chris Dudley ( underOATH's keyboardist, not to be confused by the NBA player ) stepped in and truly gave underOATH a unique sound.

2.) Cries of the Past- My personal favorite of the underOATH albums. The recorded quality is superior to the previous work, and the keyboards truly act as an excellent backround sound and the new guitarist Ocatvio certainly helped. This album also hosts my favorite track from them: "The Last."

You can hear songs prior to their third album here: http://www.myspace.com/dallastaylorowns

Soon, underOATH made their debut album that was the first to sell well titled The Changing of Times


3.)The Changing of Times- My second favorite album in which I find superior to Act of Depression. It contains their first hit single "When the Sun Sleeps". This was the first album in which Aaron Gillipsie had a vocal role which IMO affected his drumming, but regardless, in my mind, this album really flows nicely with the exception of their hit in which stands out. The band switched from metalcore to screamo which explains why this album is titled "The Changing of Times". I like this album alot yet I wish they stuck with their old stuff.

A music video for "When the Sun Sleeps" can be viewed here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFmVqunMIJU

Soon after, Dallas Taylor dropped from the band due to personal issues and was replaced by Spencer Chamberlain which changed the band's sound even further.

Spencer's presence in the band affected the band's image and style so much that I consider this new underOATH similar. The only thing that connects They're only Chasing Saftey to Act of Depression is the band name and the presence of Aaron.

4.) They're Only Chasing Saftey- This album doesn't stem that far from the previous album, but very different from the first two albums. Aaron and Spencer both have almost equal vocal-times which can make drum playing harder. Being a drummer, I see his weakest point of drum playing was this album because he was just getting used to singing alot (well, live at least, I can assume he recorded his voice seperatley from the drums). I find this to be the worst album with the name underOATH associated with it, but when NOT comparing it to previous work, it isn't a bad album at all. Just different. Plus, there's a treat for Copeland fans at track 10.

Then, this past year, they're newest release came to play:

5.) Define the Great Line- The new Underoath established a brand, new sound. I'd say this is a combo of the old and new style merged together that really works and Spencer's vocals are far less scratchy and he even deepens his voice like Dallas once did. The only song I didn't care for on this album was Writing on the Walls, plus it had a horrible music video.

Now that we have established the old from the new, discuss!

((For those who liked Dallas Taylor better than Spencer check out:
-The New Tragic
-Everette
-Maylene and the Sons of Disaster

(Source: Wikipedia)

I just bought Define THe Great Line and I wasn't thrilled with it...I prefer their low-scream stuff.

By "low" do you mean the vocals?

I was surprised how good "Define" was because I expected another "They're Only..." from the new band calling themselves underOATH, but they pulled off.

I'm one of the few (non middle school girl) people I know that likes new UnderOath better than their older stuff. I mean "Act Of Depression" and "Cries Of The Past" are great albums but I just can't really get into Dallas's voice. And to be perfectly honest Spencer has a better range and has much more diversity in his screaming (DTGL) than Dallas had. So I love both old and new but I just like Spencer's voice better.

Spencer's voice was improved greatly in DTGL, but I still like Dallas' vocals in Cries of the Past.
He seriously polished up his vocals in the second album.

It sucks he switched to his old style in the Changing of Times.
The Changing of Times was a good album, but Dallas didn't switch to his awesome death metal growl that often (the only one I caught was the one in A Message for Adrienne, which seemed like their older style).

The Changing of Times I believe had the best instrumentals and I would probably have to say that my favorite song in that album is "Alone in December", probably because I've heard "When the Sun Sleeps" so many times, it's aggravating. XD

It seemed like in TCOT, Dallas' vocals sounded like Zao's vocals from their song 'The Rising End."

Okay, sorry to double post but I've got some stuff from Spencer, Aaron, and Dallas.

As much of you probably know, Spencer had a band before he joined UnderOATH.
Now, I've been known to dislike Spencer since he took Dallas' place so I never gave This Runs Through a chance. Well, that's a mistake on my part.

I find Spencer's vocals in his past band a lot more soothing to my tastes here:
http://www.purevolume.com/thisrunsthrough

For Aaron, a lot has progressed with him and The Almost. Check out their pure volume as well to see updates:

http://www.purevolume.com/thealmost

For Dallas, it appears he's having fun being in Maylene even after his departure from both UnderOATH and The New Tragic. Well, he has a side project to Maylene out called "Everette":

http://www.myspace.com/theeverett

They have a 4-song EP due out before March.

Hey!

I liked Writing on the Walls.

But I will agree that the video wasn't all that great.

They could have made it better.

I greatly enjoy Define the Great Line. I think it's just good. All of their stuff is at least "good" though.

I agree.
In my book, UnderOATH fits the description of "decency" perfectly.

As I said, I think their new stuff sucks in comparison, but it's good for what it is.

Ah, Shadowchild, good to see you.
I too greatly enjoyed the song "Writing on the Walls" but it was overplayed and by my friends was considered the "only tolerable song by underOATH".

I personally found Writing on the Walls to stick out in sound as far as Define goes. It seemed more like Safety material.

Also, I find Dallas a far better songwriter than Aaron. =D

Dallas is definitely a better lyricist, but I don't think they suck in comparison. I think the new stuff is very, very good. define the Great Line is a great CD. It's so much better than Safety was.

I think it's just good

I think the new stuff is very, very good. define the Great Line is a great CD

Kkun, either you just contradicted yourself or there is another Kkun.
I'm going with the latter.

Hm....I must ask a question that only Kkun could answer and I'll shoot the imposter.

A question only Kkun could answer....

hm.....













What band made the CD Life, Kisses, and Other Wasted Efforts? XD


I so totally agree.
Define beat Safety but I listened to Safety recently and it ain't that bad.
It's just not "underOATH" good.

Tom Dincht wrote:Kkun, either you just contradicted yourself or there is another Kkun.
I'm going with the latter.

Hm....I must ask a question that only Kkun could answer and I'll shoot the imposter.

A question only Kkun could answer....

hm.....



What band made the CD Life, Kisses, and Other Wasted Efforts? XD


I so totally agree.
Define beat Safety but I listened to Safety recently and it ain't that bad.
It's just not "underOATH" good.

I didn't contradict myself. By "just" good, I didn't mean "only" good, I meant "purely" good. As in, "That's just cool." or "That's just awesome." as I use the word "just."

And Safety isn't terrible but it doesn't touch Define the Great Line.

I'm utterly *Moo* confused by your logic.

However, the line about Safety is in agreement to my current opinion.
I still think Spencer sounds like a little girl having a temper tantrum in Saftey.

But yeah, I like This Runs Through more than the current UO.
Go ahead, shoot me.
It's true.

I really like Underoath, and after watching their DVDs that came with their albums, I think I've grown to like them even more. I think that their song writing really shines in that they have a unique structure to them.

I enjoyed both of their new albums, but I think I like "They Only Chasing Safety" quite a bit better than "Define the Great Line." I can tolerate the high pitched screaming, and I think the energy level is higher in most of the songs in They're Only Chasing Safety, which is something I enjoy a lot and feel is missing in Define the Great Line. Even though some of the songs on their newest album are fast, I don't find them nearly as catchy as the songs on their previous album. That's just my humble opinion, though.

Does anyone else own the special edition of Define the Great Line with the DVD?

My friend does.

Have you heard any of their old stuff?

Tom Dincht wrote:I'm utterly *Moo* confused by your logic.

However, the line about Safety is in agreement to my current opinion.
I still think Spencer sounds like a little girl having a temper tantrum in Saftey.

But yeah, I like This Runs Through more than the current UO.
Go ahead, shoot me.
It's true.

It's not a problem of logic, it's a problem of you not being able to understand my intonation and the way I would have said it in person. Whatever. Take the second one. I really, really think Underoath's new album is really, really good.

I love Underoath, old and new.. Personally, I like DTGL best, but all of their cds are enjoyable..

Syreth wrote:Does anyone else own the special edition of Define the Great Line with the DVD?

Yup. =) I pre-ordered it in May.. (^_^)

Tom Dincht wrote:My friend does.

Have you heard any of their old stuff?

Yeah, a little. I wasn't too terribly impressed since it was considerably less melodic than their newer stuff. I know some people like that, but I don't really -- I get bored when there's too much screaming.

The reason I ask about the DVD is because of the "secret movie" on it if you move the cursor over the guy walking over the hills. I found it quite funny and random.

Hey since Kkun didn't answer your question about who made the CD "Life, Kisses, And Other Wasted Efforts" I shall. And my answer is Showbread. Was I right Dincht?

You most certainly were, That Dude.

I guess that was an imposter and it turns out That Dude is in reality Kkun.

You're no longer welcome here, Imposter. XD

Haha. I figured that was just a joke. Dear Lord.

I'm the real Kkun? Well that explains why I've had the urge to listen to Regina Spektor and find out what she's like...

That Dude wrote:I'm the real Kkun? Well that explains why I've had the urge to listen to Regina Spektor and find out what she's like...

You can listen and you can love her and you can love her music, but you can't have her. I'M going to marry her. We'll work the religious differences out later.

Do you think a sign saying "You + Me = Vegas?" will give her the hint easily enough?

Kkun wrote:Haha. I figured that was just a joke. Dear Lord.

You figured right.

Have a cookie.