WEEKLY OFFERINGS

Highlights and reviews of new releases and publications

Underoath

Lost in the Sound of Separation | 5 stars out of 5

While Christian rock is now readily accepted, hardcore metal remains a genre a lot of listeners have a hard time seeing as a product of faith. How do you find the message in music where the vocalist sounds like he or she is retching and the music sounds so angry?

There have been times I've walked away from a metalcore set, say at Ichthus, thinking the fans are hearing something I don't get. But when you sit down and talk to a lot of these groups, hardcore describes their faith as well as their music.

For several Underoath albums though, there has been no doubt where they're coming from, and the Tampa band's latest disc, Lost in the Sound of Separation, is a masterpiece of faith-based metal.

One of the things Underoath is credited with is finding melody in the madness, a trick largely credited to drummer Aaron Gillespie, who had a hit of his own in 2007 with the debut of his side act, The Almost. And melody certainly is an aspect of the band's sound, which makes it accessible to people unwilling to endure 45-minutes of punishing sound to find a message. Even in Underoath's accessible world, their music is still an acquired taste.

But more than melody, Underoath finds majesty in how it pairs melody with howl, the firmness of the rhythm section of Gillespie and bassist Grant Brandell, and the intricate harmonies and melodies the rest of the band lays on top of their base.

Most of all, this album finds majesty in a deeply explored theme of searching for God in the midst of despair and loss. That is ultimately what makes Lost in the Sound of Separation a Christian rock masterpiece, and it puts to rest any question whether metalcore can convey a message of faith.

RICH COPLEY,

rcopley@herald-leader.com