Underoath The Changing Of Times

Tracklist:
01. When The Sun Sleeps
02. Letting Go Of Tonight
03. A Message For Adrienne
04. Never Meant To Break Your Heart
05. The Changing Of Times
06. Angel Below
07. The Best Of Me
08. Short Of Daybreak
09. Alone In December
10. 814 Stops Today

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Underoath are a band notorious for having distinct phases. Their first album, Act of Depression, was a sloppy death influenced metalcore outing that lacked anything noteworthy, and Cries of the Past was more of the same but with keys and more of a prog influence. Fast forward to They're Only Chasing Safety and you get run-of-the-mill post hardcore with terrible harsh vocals and mediocre cleans. It was Spencer Chamberlain's first recording with Underoath since leaving his band This Runs Through, and not only was it obvious he was still trying to find his place in the band, but Underoath also decided to totally reinvent themselves with that album, going for an extremely poppy post hardcore sound. These two factors helped contribute to the mediocrity of TOCS. Then it was time for the next album. The guys in UO said the same thing every band in heavy music says about their upcoming album. "It will be heavier. It will be more mature. It will..." It just so happened that Define the Great Line fulfilled those very promises and then some: Spencer's screams and growls had improved greatly and Aaron didn't whine nearly as often!

Now, those four albums, the two old and the two new, are the only UO I was familiar with. Dallas Taylor provided growls for death metal Underoath, and Spencer Chamberlain provided teh screamz for poppy post hardcore Underoath. So what about the album in between? All I knew about The Changing of Times was it was Taylor's last outing with the band and that it's their album most famous for the keys. What kind of sound did this transitional album contain? Which Underoath made this album, the death metal UO or poppy post hardcore UO? Turns out, the answer is both.

The Changing of Times doesn't like to stay in one genre very long. It ventures into familiar (at the time in UO's career) territory with crushing riffs, double bass onslaught and low growls for portions of songs in the middle of the album, between tracks 2 and 9. However, the beginning and end of the album feature songs that go in a different direction. "When the Sun Sleeps", "Letting Go of Tonight" and "Alone In December" opt for an extremely more poppy sound, one that would foreshadow the band's sound on later albums. On those songs, it's pretty much super simple drumming, power chords, occasional (and sometimes silly) keys, and generic screaming.

That's a major downfall of the album: when Dallas Taylor screams, it's very generic and weak. But when he growls, it's very good and satisfying, particularly within the genre. He's certainly no Mikel Akerfeldt or Lord Worm, but his growls are executed better than Spencer, especially his work on TOCS. To paint a picture of his voice, think of a more....er, pussy version of Jacob Bannon. Rip Bannon's balls off and you get Dallas Taylor.

Another thing that hurts the album is the production. The only time the bass is noticable is for a short riff on the title track. The vocals aren't loud enough, but the volume level may not be a bad thing if you don't like Taylor's screams. If you do, the vocal mix is perfect. Drummer/vocalist Aaron Gillepsie throws in his trademark whining clean vocals every now and then, but they always strangely fit the dark mood of this album.

With that said, the music is suprisingly good and pretty original. The song structres are clever enough to keep you guessing on first listen and keep replay value for all other listens. The usually smooth mix of pop rock, post hardcore, metalcore, death metal and even techno on the album is a big help in the replay value department. What the album is genre wise more than anything else is probably metalcore, but to only leave it at that would be misleading. You want furious metal? Throw on "A Message for Adrienne" or the title track. You want post hardcore? Scream along to "When the Sun Sleeps" or the very emotional "Alone In December". The album is like a buffet for scene kids. Eat up, kids, so you have energy to hxc dance!

In the end, The Changing of Times is a memorable listen. It shouldn't disappoint most heavy music fans as long as they can get past super generic screams. Musically it is very solid, however, and Gillepsie's drumming shines. The album boasts some of Underoath's most creative material, but suffers from generic screams and subpar production.

Recommended songs: When the Sun Sleeps, A Message for Adrienne, The Changing of Times, Alone In December