{"id":98520,"date":"2025-03-27T11:00:48","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T11:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/?p=98520"},"modified":"2025-03-26T21:17:19","modified_gmt":"2025-03-26T21:17:19","slug":"review-underoath-the-place-after-this-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/review-underoath-the-place-after-this-one\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Underoath – The Place After This One"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"UnderoathIf you\u2019re like me, you probably discovered Underoath<\/strong><\/a> through their mid-2000s classic \u2018They\u2019re Only Chasing Safety\u2019.\u00a0<\/em>A quick browse through the band’s subreddit megathread for their new album,\u00a0‘The Place After This One’<\/em>, suggests that every album since has left some fans yearning for the past. That\u2019s not to say everything the Florida group put out over the last 20 years – despite an eight-year gap – has been a total misfire. After all, Underoath\u00a0<\/strong>are still going strong, albeit at times inconsistent. However, 2022’s ‘Voyeurist’<\/em> was praised for its versatility, but can its follow-up build on that momentum, or does it fall victim to their more erratic tendencies?<\/p>\n

‘The Place After This One\u2019 <\/em>captures Underoath\u00a0<\/strong>at their most industrious. ‘<\/em>Generation No Surrender’<\/em> bursts out the gate, serving as a rallying cry against discontent before Timothy McTague’s guitar unleashes a crushing breakdown. <\/span>‘Devil’<\/em> is equally bombastic, yet it highlights one of ‘TPATO’<\/em>s nagging issues as it rears its head. While on the surface, Underoath<\/strong>‘s delivery is energetic and driven, their tendency to throw layer upon layer into the mix can feel overwhelming rather than refined.<\/p>\n

Take previous single ‘Teeth’<\/em>, as an example. The use of EDM beats alongside jarring, dense metallic blasts is sure to draw comparisons to Bring Me The Horizon. However, its execution feels disorientating rather than dynamic. Another recurring pitfall is Underoath\u2019s tendency to produce ineffective, run-of-the-mill metalcore. ‘And Then There Was Nothing’ <\/em>sees\u00a0Underoath<\/strong> at their most intense and heaviest, yet its fiery delivery falls flat. Likewise, the atmospheric album closer, ‘Outsider,’<\/em> drains the ravenous energy built up throughout the album. In contrast,\u00a0‘Shame’<\/em> avoids this fate, partly thanks to its pentrative drumming, infectious chorus and chaotic bursts of aggression.<\/p>\n