Tampa Florida band Underoath, has unleashed a much different album. Previous records were more raucous, with more focus on rallying sounds to the limit. This time around, the band has focused more on lyricism, words which hit like a hammer to a nail. These lyrics deliver on all fronts, giving listeners an insight into the world of this forward thinking unit of musicians who have felt hardship and feelings of melancholy. Voyeurist is a dark take, a record pinpointing inner conflicts and lack of light, an opus built to last and make people ponder.

The album fits perfectly into the rock genre. The band has been described to lean on other genres, but with this particular record, they’ve stripped themselves from their emo roots. This is not a band thing, as it works in their favour. And Voyeurist is still a hard-hitting album, one not bubbling in excess, but one fitting for the chaser of something real and meaningful. Underoath has built a fanbase over the years too, and it’s because of their integrity and sincerity.

There’s still screams evident on this album. It isn’t totally clean, it has its moments of bashfulness, pouring out, but it seems calmer and collected. Hallelujah is a song which showcases cleaner vocals, bursting with ferocity when it needs to. It is a statement. Thorn roughly bares its soul and so do the band members, and the track holds in until everything splits. The riff opens up avenues of creativity. Take A Breath shudders, with those screams complementing the riff and percussion with ease. Lyrically, the main protagonist has been dragged through the dirt.

Underoath has showed that they’re a band managing to keep it fresh after so many years. This record may not be as loud as previous LP’s, but it does hit strides.

Founder’s Second Opinion: This record hearkens back to the Disambiguation era, and is quite satisfying to listen to musically. I do, unfortunately, have to agree with some of the hot takes floating around Twitter though. There should always be a place for brutal honesty, especially in heavy music, yet Underoath’s lyrical approach in a few songs comes across as a little immature. In their defense though, we all sometimes can act a little immature at our lowest points – that’s just how it comes out sometimes, so I give them credit for being authentic. Finally, the album closer “Pneumonia” will please fans of “Casting Such a Thin Shadow,” a song which challenged my perceptions of what heavy music could be in high school. -RG

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