History

Early Years

In 1998 Underoath formed in the bedroom of then-vocalist Dallas Taylor in Ocala, Florida. The band was signed to takehold Records in 1999 and the same year released their debut, Act of Depression. This album was followed a year later by the five-song, forty-minute Cries of the Past; both albums are currently out of print. The band's lineup during this time changed frequently and bears little resemblance to the current band. Likewise, the band's music was far heavier in those days, dabbling in grindcore and melodic death metal, along with periodic structure and time changes and electronic elements. These first albums brought Underoath a small but devoted fanbase.

In 2001, Takehold Records was bought out by Tooth & Nail Records; Underoath was subsequently signed to Tooth & Nail Records's heavier subsidiary, Solid State Records. The band, which was now a sextet, worked with Cries of the Past producer James Paul Wisner (Further Seems Forever, New Found Glory) on their Solid State debut, The Changing of Times, which was released on February 26, 2002. Frequent lineup changes were the main cause of a slightly more accessible sound for the band; shorter songs and more melodic structures replaced the epic twists and turns of their earlier records. Though the change in style caused some long-time fans of the band to criticize the album, The Changing of Times went on to outsell both of their previous albums combined.

In 2003, Underoath supported The Changing of Times through their first stint on the Vans Warped Tour but their participation in the tour came to a screeching halt when lead singer Dallas Taylor, under controversial conditions, left the band. The reasons for Dallas leaving the band are explained in Alternative Press [#219]. Taylor was asked to leave Underoath by the current bassist Grant Brandell after a disagreement within the band. Taylor is now the lead singer for Southern metalcore outfit Maylene and the Sons of Disaster.

Underoath dropped off the rest of the Warped Tour and the band's future was in considerable doubt. However, the band then went on a supporting tour with Atreyu that fall with Winter Solstice vocalist Matt Tarpey as the temporary vocalist. Then later in the year, at the CMJ Fest in New York City, the band reappeared with new lead vocalist Spencer Chamberlain, formerly of This Runs Through.


They're Only Chasing Safety

During the early months of 2004, the band hit the studio again with Wisner to record their second record for Solid State and their first album with Spencer Chamberlain on vocals. They're Only Chasing Safety proved to be a breakout success for the band, going on to sell about 350,000 copies. Underoath moved even further away from their metal roots; drummer Gillespie made as much of an impact with his singing on the record as Chamberlain did with his screaming. "Reinventing Your Exit" and "It's Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door" were the album's singles; both songs spawned music videos that received airplay on MTV2 and Fuse.

They're Only Chasing Safety debuted at #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart and later charted well into the Billboard 200. Following the release of the album, the band played a number of Warped Tour dates. In the Spring of 2005 the band was asked to participate on the inaugural Taste of Chaos tour. Shortly after the tour, the band embarked on its first headlining tour. The band premièred two brand-new songs during the length of the tour.

The band landed on the cover of Alternative Press magazine for the first time in September of 2005, and in October of 2005, They're Only Chasing Safety was re-released in a two-disc set with four unreleased songs, new artwork by Converge's Jacob Bannon, and a DVD with over two hours worth of footage of the band touring in support of the album.


Define the Great Line

Underoath entered the studio in January 2006 to record their fifth album. Matt Goldman, a founding member of Blue Man Group, and Adam Dutkiewicz, guitarist for Killswitch Engage, worked with the band in producing the album, which would come to be titled Define the Great Line. The album combined the melodic tendencies of They're Only Chasing Safety with a return to the band's metalcore roots.

An unfinished version of the album was leaked onto BitTorrent websites and P2P services months before the release date. Members of the band released a statement saying that the leaked version was an unmixed & unmastered, raw copy of the album which lacked certain elements and the finished product would sound much different.

The band flew to Sweden in the spring of 2006 to make videos for the new songs "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. When Define the Great Line released on June 20, 2006, it sold 98,000 copies in its first week and made it's début on the Billboard 200 Chart at #2,[8] the highest debut for a Christian album since 1997.[9] In its first four weeks on the chart, it stayed in the top 50. It debuted at #1 on the Christian, Christian/Gospel, and Rock charts.

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. It is the first album in Solid State history to reach that distinction.

Underoath toured extensively throughout Europe, Australia, and Asia in the fall of 2006 and is on tour with Taking Back Sunday and Armor for Sleep from February to April in 2007. The band also shot videos for the songs "You're Ever So Inviting" and "A Moment Suspended in Time" in February 2007; the former will be released some time soon, the latter some time later in the year.[10]


Drummer/vocalist Gillespie recorded solo material with Seattle producer Aaron Sprinkle under the name of The Almost shortly after Define the Great Line was recorded; The Almost subsequently was signed to Tooth & Nail and released its first record, Southern Weather, on April 3, 2007. Gillespie plans to tour with The Almost whenever Underoath is not on tour.

Multiple rumors have flown around by word of mouth and through the internet of Underoath breaking up, members leaving, and rehab stories. Underoath released a statement confirming none of this was true and they followed through by doing their Canadian tour followed by the 'Taste of Chaos World Tour'. It has now been confirmed that Underoath will be playing again on Warped Tour 2007 from July 24th to August 7th. As well, Underoath have also announced a tour of Australia and East Asia. This is scheduled for August 2007. They will also be performing at Cornerstone Festival in June 2007, along with As I Lay Dying and many other bands.

Departure from Warped Tour and NOFX controversy

Underoath was scheduled to spend the summer of 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."[11].

Rumors to the contrary, however, flew that the band had actually left because NOFX frontman Michael "Fat Mike" Burkett had made fun of Underoath and their religious beliefs on-stage. These rumors were debunked when Burkett told PunkNews.org in a statement of his own that Underoath's claim of needing a break was indeed true.[12] Burkett did admit to poking fun at the band and criticizing their stance on gay marriage, but emphasised that he befriended Underoath's band members at the start of the tour, had very civilized conversations with various members right up to the band's departure, that he had a personal policy of not making jokes on-stage about anyone he wasn't friends with or didn't like personally, and that there were never any hard feelings between himself and Underoath's band members.[12] Burkett also revealed on the August 2006 Fat Wreck Chords Podcast that internal troubles amongst the members of Underoath started after Spencer Chamberlain had indulged in a couple of cans of Bud Light with Burkett backstage a few nights prior to Underoath's sudden departure.[13]

In an Alternative Press cover story on Underoath, Burkett told the magazine that Spencer Chamberlain had confided in him that Underoath's band members had been "having a lot of arguments over their religious beliefs."[14]. In a sidebar of the same article, Burkett stated that he was "not calling Underoath homophobic, but they're against homosexual people having the same rights that straight people do. I find that to be bigoted."[15]

Tim McTague admitted that "90 percent of what [Fat Mike] believes in and thinks is wrong about our country and our government, I agree with... [my] opinion doesn't align with the conservative church or the extreme leftist liberal side, either."[15]

In a January 2007 interview with Ultimate-guitar.net, Tim McTague stated the following when asked about Fat Mike's involvement in Underoath's departure,

"That wasn’t an issue. I mean, that was an issue on the tour in the sense of like there were some things that were said that probably shouldn’t have been said by him. But it never really got to the point where it affected us. That wasn’t the breaking point really for us at all. I think he definitely played a role in making a lot of our stuff public and exaggerating a lot of our beliefs and a lot of our conversations that we had to him. So he definitely loves to stir the pot, and I’ll give him that. But beyond that, we shouldn’t have been on Warped Tour to begin with. It definitely wasn’t a Fat Mike thing." Interview with Tim McTague


Current Members

Spencer Chamberlain- Lead Vocals
Aaron Gillespie - Drummer/Vocals
Tim McTague - Guitar
James Smith - Guitar
Christopher Dudley - Keyboardist
Grant Brandell - Bass

Former members

Dallas Taylor - Vocals (Currently in Maylene and the Sons of Disaster)
Matthew Clark - Bass (Currently in Sleeping By The Riverside)
Octavio Fernandez - Bass/Guitar (Currently in At the Wake)
Billy Nottke - Bass
Scott Nunn - Drums (departed prior to Act of Depression)
Corey Steger - Guitar (departed after Cries of the Past)
Rey Anasco - Bass (Original Bassist)

Albums

Release Date Album Cover Title U.S. Billboard Peak Other Notes
July 4, 1999 Act of Depression DNC About the band's views on Christianity

July 4, 2000 Cries Of The Past DNC Has the band's longest song at 11:23.

February 26, 2002 The Changing of Times DNC First album released on Solid State records.

June 15, 2004 They're Only Chasing Safety 107 Also Charted #1 on Heatseekers and #7 on Christian Charts
Special edition released on October 4, 2005

June 20, 2006 Define the Great Line 2 Also Charted #1 on Christian Charts
Certified Gold by the RIAA
Special edition CD/DVD released