Underoath
Underoath is an American rock band from Tampa, Florida. It was founded by lead vocalist Dallas Taylor and guitarist Luke Morton in 1997 in Ocala, Florida; subsequently, its additional members were from Tampa, including drummer, singer and last remaining original member Aaron Gillespie. The band's current lineup consists of Gillespie, keyboardist Christopher Dudley, lead guitarist Timothy McTague, bassist Grant Brandell, and lead vocalist Spencer Chamberlain. Originally, the band identified as a Christian group; they have since distanced themselves from Christianity.
The band's lineup shifted frequently during its early years. Taylor recorded Act of Depression, Cries of the Past, and The Changing of Times with the band and remained with the group until his departure in 2003; Chamberlain replaced him as lead vocalist, and the lineup has remained mostly stable since. The band then released They're Only Chasing Safety and Define the Great Line, and both earned gold certifications by the RIAA. These two albums remain their most commercially successful releases, and provided them with mainstream status; the latter of the two holds their highest Billboard 200 entry, peaking at no. 2. Following their sixth studio album, Lost in the Sound of Separation, which also reached a top-ten peak on the Billboard 200, Gillespie left the group and was replaced by former Norma Jean drummer Daniel Davison. Their seventh album, Ø , was released in 2010; Chamberlain and McTague provided more prominent sung vocals in Gillespie's absence. On October 2, 2012, Underoath announced that they would be disbanding in 2013; they played their final show that January.
On August 17, 2015, the band announced they had reunited; in doing so, Gillespie returned to the lineup. After performing at A Day to Remember's Self Help Fest in 2016, Underoath announced their eighth studio album, Erase Me, would be released 2018. It was their first album in 8 years and their first in 10 years with Gillespie; the band also publicly abandoned their Christian musical approach starting with this record. The follow-up, Voyeurist, was released in January 2022, and their tenth studio album, The Place After This One, came out in March 2025.
History
Formation and ''Act of Depression'' (1997–2000)
On November 30, 1997, Underoath formed with Dallas Taylor and guitarist Luke Morton in Ocala, Florida. Morton devised the name Underoath "from somewhere in the Bible." Drummer Aaron Gillespie was then asked to join when Morton’s father visited Gillespies church; hearing Gillespie play. Gillespie agreed, and the group recruited guitarist Corey Steger and bassist Octavio Fernandez; the band members were all in high school.After a year of playing at festivals and touring the area around Florida, Underoath signed to Alabama's Takehold Records in 1999. Around this time Luke Morton had left the band without appearing on any of their formal recordings. They released their debut Act of Depression that July, and it sold over 2,000 copies.
''Cries of the Past'' and ''The Changing of Times'' (2000–2003)
In 2000, keyboardist Christopher Dudley joined Underoath, and the five-song, forty-minute long record, Cries of the Past was released, quickly selling 3,000 copies. In 2001, Corey Steger left the band; he died in a car accident on March 17, 2021. Takehold Records was bought out by Seattle's Tooth & Nail Records and Underoath was subsequently signed to the label's subsidiary, Solid State Records. In January 2002, bassist Grant Brandell joined Underoath. The band then began working on their Solid State debut, The Changing of Times, with Cries of the Past producer James Paul Wisner. The album was released on February 26, 2002, and produced one single: "When the Sun Sleeps". Dallas Taylor explained that the lyrics on The Changing of Times were about "people playing with other people's emotions and how it can leave you bitter" and "struggling through life's hardships and trying to find God in all of it."In 2003, Underoath supported the album's release with their first inclusion on Warped Tour, however their participation in the tour came to an end when Taylor was asked to leave the band. Dudley explained at that time that Taylor could no longer tour with Underoath for various reasons and left on his own decision. Under speculation of a potential breakup, the band then went on a supporting tour with Atreyu in August 2003 with Matt Tarpey as the temporary lead vocalist, while at the time being a part of Winter Solstice. In October 2003, at the CMJ Fest in New York City, the band reappeared with Spencer Chamberlain, formerly of the band This Runs Through, as the new lead vocalist. Chamberlain had toured with Underoath when fronting his former band and at one time was roommates with Dudley; their previous friendship with Chamberlain was considered when making him lead vocalist. Gillespie explained that before Chamberlain had been in the band, the group members "didn't really get along", however, after Chamberlain joined "everything was just normal, we clicked". After Chamberlain became a permanent member, Underoath discussed the possibility of changing the name and becoming a new band. Ultimately, the members decided to remain as Underoath.
''They're Only Chasing Safety'' (2004–2005)
After taking the end of 2003 off from touring to begin working on an album, the band scheduled time in February 2004 to begin recording.During the early months of 2004, Underoath returned to the studio with Chamberlain as lead vocalist and producer James Paul Wisner. They're Only Chasing Safety was released on June 15, 2004, and proved to be a more commercial success for the band, going onto outsell the previous three albums combined. The album sold close to 100,000 copies in its first week of release and was certified gold by the end of 2005, selling more than 487,000 copies. With Gillespie being the only original member, They're Only Chasing Safety had been a vast change in sound and rhythm from what they performed earlier on. "Reinventing Your Exit" and "It's Dangerous Business Walking out Your Front Door" were released as the album's two singles and both songs spawned music videos that received frequent airplay on MTV2 and Fuse.
In March 2005, Underoath participated in the inaugural Taste of Chaos tour, and shortly after, embarked on their first headlining tour. The band premiered two brand-new songs during the length of the tour. They played a part of the Warped Tour, but declined to perform for the entirety of the tour in order to take time to record another album. Underoath made their first covers of national magazines appearing on CCM Magazine in July 2005 and then Alternative Press in September, and in October, They're Only Chasing Safety was re-released in a two-disc set with four formerly unreleased songs. Also included was re-mastered album artwork by Jacob Bannon of Converge, and a DVD with over two hours of footage of the band touring in support of the album. As of 2005, They're Only Chasing Safety has sold more than 218,000 copies, with the re-release selling an additional 279,000 copies, making a combined sales of more than 500,000 copies in the US alone.
''Define the Great Line'' (2006–2007)
The title for their fifth album, Define the Great Line is presented upon the theory of an individual having "to find that line and that way to live your life." The band had been writing for the album two weeks after the release of They're Only Chasing Safety. Matt Goldman, who produced albums for Copeland and Norma Jean, and Adam Dutkiewicz, guitarist for Killswitch Engage, enlisted as producers. Chamberlain noted that the vocals for the album would sound less like an imitation of former vocalist Taylor, but more like the vocals of Chamberlain's former band. The lyrics were also meaningful to Chamberlain because they had been written about "things that have molded him into who he is today".An unfinished version of the album was leaked onto BitTorrent websites and P2P services months before the release date. Drummer Aaron Gillespie, during the short time after the recording of Define the Great Line, recorded the debut album for his side-project The Almost, which was produced by Seattle producer Aaron Sprinkle and was released April 3, 2007. In April 2006, the band had been courted by several major record labels, instead re-signing with Tooth & Nail Records because they felt that major labels "don't get heavy bands" and "we don't really agree with a lot of the business practices major labels employ sometimes." On April 21, Underoath flew to Sweden to work with Popcore Films, to create music videos for "In Regards to Myself" and "Writing on the Walls"; the latter was chosen as the lead single for the album and was later nominated for the 2007 Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video. Dudley commented that the videos were "high-energy videos and more intricate than any video we've ever done."
Released on June 20, 2006, Define the Great Line sold 98,000 copies in its first week and debuted on the Billboard 200 Chart at No. 2, the highest debut for a Christian album since 1997. With the debut of Define the Great Line, Underoath simultaneously released a special edition version of the album featuring special artwork and a DVD that includes another behind-the-scenes movie and a "making of" video. Define the Great Line was certified Gold by the RIAA on November 11, 2006, representing 500,000 shipped units of the album. The album was also released on vinyl however, this edition was limited to only 3,000 copies.
File:Underoath Warped06.jpg|thumb|right|Guitarist Timothy McTague and vocalist Spencer Chamberlain performing at 2006's Warped Tour in San Diego, California.
The band was scheduled to spend June and July 2006 on the main stage of the Warped Tour, but on July 28, 2006, it was announced that Underoath was dropping off the remaining dates of the tour. A statement from the band stated that the members "felt it necessary to take some immediate time to focus on our friendship, as that's more important than risking it for the sake of touring at this time." In an Alternative Press cover story on Underoath, Michael "Fat Mike" Burkett told the magazine that Chamberlain had confided in him that Underoath's band members had been "having a lot of arguments over their religious beliefs." Burkett admitted to Punknews.org that he had poked fun at the band for their beliefs, but emphasized that he befriended Underoath's band members at the start of the tour and had a personal policy of not making jokes on-stage about anyone he was not friends with or did not like personally. It was also spread that the band's withdrawal from the tour was due to Chamberlain's rumored drug problems and time spent in rehabilitation, to which Gillespie responded, "If there was something serious going on like that and he was in rehab, we'd have to tell the press. But it's just not true." Underoath toured extensively throughout Europe, Australia and Asia in the late 2006, from February to April in 2007 toured with Taking Back Sunday and Armor for Sleep.
Underoath shot videos for the songs "You're Ever So Inviting" and "A Moment Suspended in Time" in February 2007; both videos have been released and "You're Ever So Inviting" won MTV's Battle of the Videos on May 23, 2007. Underoath performed a Canadian tour followed by the Taste of Chaos World Tour, and also played at the 2007 Cornerstone Festival. On July 17, 2007, Underoath released their 777 DVD to the US market. Underoath also played the Warped Tour 2007 from July 24 to August 9, and in August 2007, toured Australia and East Asia. During a tour with Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, Poison the Well, and Every Time I Die, Gillespie went through emergency surgery on an infection in his hand. Instead of cancelling shows, Underoath recruited Kenny Bozich, the drummer of Gillespie's band, The Almost.
Underoath lead vocalist Spencer Chamberlain was featured on the cover of the Warped Tour 2008 Tour Compilation album.