Underoath
The Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth
2007-12-18
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We caught up with Underoath frontman Spencer Chamberlain while he, along with the other five-sixths of the Florida melodic metal outfit, sat in on the mixing sessions for their new record, Define the Great Line, with all-star mixmaster Chris Lord-Alge. Define the Great Line, the follow-up to the band’s breakthrough disc, They’re Only Chasing Safety, already comes with a hefty pedigree, having been produced by a tag-team combination of Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz and Matt Goldman (Cartel, Copeland). But as Chamberlain relates, the real defining factor on Define the Great Line is that Underoath as a whole are coalescing into a single-minded musical machine. Coupled with a newfound free reign in the studio, this maturity will help the band continue to do what has brought them this far: stay one step ahead of those trying desperately to pigeonhole the band as Christian hardcore, cookie-cutter screamo, or any number of ill-suited simplifications. Set to release Define the Great Line in time for the band’s run on this year’s Warped Tour, Chamberlain took a minute to give up the goods on Underoath’s latest masterpiece.
How’s everything sounding?
Way better than we could’ve ever dreamed.
How so?
It all started with, I guess, the writing process. We matured a lot as a band. I mean, I know that’s a very cliché thing to say, but we started off just as young teenagers in a van. Now we’re all anywhere from 22 to 24, and we’ve grown up a lot together. So the comfort level has increased and each other’s tastes have worn off onto each other. We’ve been writing this record slowly over the last, I don’t know, year-and-a-half. And, this time around, we didn’t really want someone to produce us…
You just wanted someone there to turn knobs and hang out.
Yeah, and someone who was our friend, so we went with Adam from Killswitch. He was someone who we were on tour with a lot while we were writing some of this stuff, and he was really stoked about it. He’d come up to us during soundcheck and be like, “Yeah that stuff’s awesome!” And someone like that behind the boards when you’re doing vocals or guitar or whatever, it makes it a lot more comfortable. And for us, we’ve learned that that is what makes a good record, when you’re having fun and you’re excited and everyone’s having a great time, because a recording should be fun. He pushed us to make things perfect, but it wasn’t in a way that felt weird like it did the time before. It was like, “This is my friend who knows how good I can do this, so I’m gonna do it,” you know?
So people who are expecting the same type of stuff as the last record are in for a surprise?
It’s definitely way different.
How so?
It’s heavier, it’s more thought out. There’s a lot more layers. And, I don’t know, it sounds dumb to say this, but it’s so much more mature. We spent so much more time focusing on the music. We were like, “Hey man, if I decide to not sing anything on this song, is it gonna be cool enough for people to listen to?” And that was our motive behind this record, that the music has to be just as important. It’s not about a hook, or the way the vocals are patterned. That’s all important, but we just spent a lot more time on the music.
Was there a certain amount of pressure to repeat the success of the last record?
I feel like that if a band writes what they’re happy playing, that’s what a success is. Kids can see through all the BS. If we were thinking about pressure, and thinking “We gotta have a single!” and all that crap—and we don’t. It was just like, let’s just do exactly what we want to do, and work our tails off until we’re completely happy with every single part. I remember getting out of the studio last time and hating some of the songs, all of us. This time it’s not that way at all because we didn’t let anything go, let anything slide. This is the record we wanted to make.
So are you stoked to get out on the Warped Tour and play these songs live?
I can’t wait for all the people to hear it, man. We’re all really happy with it. This is the first time I’ve ever come out of the studio and been like, “Yeah dude, we did what we should’ve done. This is awesome.” I’ve been playing in bands since I was 12 years old and that’s never happened before.
How’s everything sounding?
Way better than we could’ve ever dreamed.
How so?
It all started with, I guess, the writing process. We matured a lot as a band. I mean, I know that’s a very cliché thing to say, but we started off just as young teenagers in a van. Now we’re all anywhere from 22 to 24, and we’ve grown up a lot together. So the comfort level has increased and each other’s tastes have worn off onto each other. We’ve been writing this record slowly over the last, I don’t know, year-and-a-half. And, this time around, we didn’t really want someone to produce us…
You just wanted someone there to turn knobs and hang out.
Yeah, and someone who was our friend, so we went with Adam from Killswitch. He was someone who we were on tour with a lot while we were writing some of this stuff, and he was really stoked about it. He’d come up to us during soundcheck and be like, “Yeah that stuff’s awesome!” And someone like that behind the boards when you’re doing vocals or guitar or whatever, it makes it a lot more comfortable. And for us, we’ve learned that that is what makes a good record, when you’re having fun and you’re excited and everyone’s having a great time, because a recording should be fun. He pushed us to make things perfect, but it wasn’t in a way that felt weird like it did the time before. It was like, “This is my friend who knows how good I can do this, so I’m gonna do it,” you know?
So people who are expecting the same type of stuff as the last record are in for a surprise?
It’s definitely way different.
How so?
It’s heavier, it’s more thought out. There’s a lot more layers. And, I don’t know, it sounds dumb to say this, but it’s so much more mature. We spent so much more time focusing on the music. We were like, “Hey man, if I decide to not sing anything on this song, is it gonna be cool enough for people to listen to?” And that was our motive behind this record, that the music has to be just as important. It’s not about a hook, or the way the vocals are patterned. That’s all important, but we just spent a lot more time on the music.
Was there a certain amount of pressure to repeat the success of the last record?
I feel like that if a band writes what they’re happy playing, that’s what a success is. Kids can see through all the BS. If we were thinking about pressure, and thinking “We gotta have a single!” and all that crap—and we don’t. It was just like, let’s just do exactly what we want to do, and work our tails off until we’re completely happy with every single part. I remember getting out of the studio last time and hating some of the songs, all of us. This time it’s not that way at all because we didn’t let anything go, let anything slide. This is the record we wanted to make.
So are you stoked to get out on the Warped Tour and play these songs live?
I can’t wait for all the people to hear it, man. We’re all really happy with it. This is the first time I’ve ever come out of the studio and been like, “Yeah dude, we did what we should’ve done. This is awesome.” I’ve been playing in bands since I was 12 years old and that’s never happened before.
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