UnderOaTH - Define the great line (Review)

Define the Great Line (Solid State/Tooth & Nail)

Released June 2006

Sounds like … a stronger, more visceral version of My Chemical Romance, Hawthorne Heights, Senses Fail, and other representatives of the emo-screamo canon.

At a glance … Define the Great Line not only redefines the sound of Underoath, but also has the potential of redefining the hardcore emo genre.

It's still too early to say if Underoath will truly become this generation's P.O.D., but one thing's for sure—their new album, Define the Great Line, has all the makings of a blockbuster effort, much like 2001's Satellite was for P.O.D. Co-produced by Atlanta-based producer/drummer Matt Goldman and Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz, Define the Great Line simply sounds huge, far removed from the tamer and thinner feel of its predecessor. Once recording wrapped, the disc was handed off to mixing guru Chris Lord-Alge, today's authority in mixing rock music. The results show.

Regardless of what you think of the hardcore emo-screamo genre, Define the Great Line unquestionably transcends it as an album discontent with simply staying put in a single subgenre. Thus, it represents the best chance yet of appealing to listeners beyond Underoath's core audience, assuming of course that they can stomach the intensity. There's something primal, ferocious and grandiose about it, as if this was the mother of all lesser albums that predate it, including this band's own material. In a genre that has become as ubiquitous and indistinguishable as late '90s teen pop, kudos to Underoath for raising the bar and setting precedent in both Christian rock and beyond.