The new Underoath album, ‘Ø (Disambiguation)’ is a powerful showcase of intelligent hardcore, bustling with a creativity and subtle progression which has been gradually working it’s way in to the band’s records since their 2006 release ‘Define the Great Line.’ Even so, the audience tonight has a surprisingly youthful feel about it, suggesting that the Floridian Sextet may still have a little while to go until all ties are severed to their 2004 release ‘Their Only Chasing Safety,’ which saw them catapulted into the hearts of every floppy fringe in the emo community.

Although the 2004 releases’ relevance to the current stage in their career may be wearing thin, it was inevitable that the songs from it would get the biggest response. ‘Its Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door’ and ‘A Boy Brushed In Red..’ send the crowd ballistic, with Spencer Chamberlain’s words resonating around the venue in a choir-like fashion. Songs from the excellent ‘Define the Great Line’ have a similar impact, with ‘In Regards to Myself’ and ‘Writing On the Walls’ opening and closing the set to the crowds delight, and ‘Moving for the Sake of Motion’ pulsating with stop-start dynamics and pounding rhythms.

Anyone in the audience would be forgiven for thinking an earthquake had hit the building when tracks from the new album were unleashed. Botch-inspired jagged riffs collide with reverb-drenched atmospherics to form an experience that can only be described as apocalyptic. The off-beat rhythms contained on ‘In Division’ and ‘A Divine Eradication’ confine the audience to a more reserved head-nodding kind of appreciation, as frontman Spencer Chamberlain throws himself around the stage in a schizophrenic frenzy of blurry-dreadlocks and winding tribal dances.

Upcoming single ‘Paper Lung’ and ‘Who will Guard the Guardians’ provide impressive cinematic soundscapes which bring a welcome break to the fury, allowing some breathing space before the carnage continues. Although they have moved on somewhat from the more accessible anthems on ‘Their Only Chasing..’ and ‘Define the Great Line,’ the overall feeling in the crowd is that of anticipation for the older material, which has the crowd excitedly bouncing and reaching for the microphone pointed towards them. Underoath are a band in transition, and their live show is very much a juxtaposition of old and new. After tonight, the new has its stamp of approval.

Concorde2, Wednesday 20th April 2011
Words by Joel Carr
Photos by Jazz Chandler