Photo credit: Dan Newman
With eight years having passed since we last heard new music from Underøath, that near decade-length absence weighed heavily upon music lovers’ hearts. When you consider all of the bands that formed using their idiosyncratic power and texture as blueprints (and then hearing those pretenders fail anyway), you can clearly see the hole Underøath left behind. Whatever real-life worries, psychic baggage or other concerns plagued Spencer Chamberlain, Aaron Gillespie, Tim McTague, Chris Dudley, Grant Brandell and James Smith at the time of their 2013 farewell tour, Underøath’s collective consciousness has been fortified by a renewed commitment to their art. And more importantly, themselves. Never was an imposition more on point: On their Fearless Records debut Erase Me, Underøath have added another crucial chapter to their formidable legacy. When the band went in the studio in the summer of 2017 to record their sixth album with producer Matt Squire (Panic! At The Disco, 3OH!3), they knew exactly what they wanted to do as well as what they needed to do. Having already established themselves both as melodic songwriters (2004’s RIAA-Certified Gold record ‘They’re Only Chasing Safety’) and as ambitious power merchants (2006’s stentorian, gold-selling Define The Great Line and its majestic follow-up, 2008’s ‘Lost In The Sound Of Separation’), the evolution detailed on ‘Erase Me’ finds them using the sonic dialects they’ve crafted to reveal where they are now.
At 2018’s Carolina Rebellion we had the opportunity to speak with Underøath’s Tim McTague and Chris Dudley prior to the bands performance. We talked about the making of the album, additional exclusive songs released through Target, their goal of not saying “That’s Not Underøath enough” during the recording process, their upcoming touring plans and also stepping away from being labeled a Christian band. You can hear the entire interview below, check out all their remaining tour dates and make sure to pick up a copy of ‘Erase Me’ which is out now via Fearless Records.
Nø Fix Tour dates:
May 12 Niagara Falls, NY Rapids
May 14 Des Moines, IA Wooly’s
May 15 Sauget, IL Pop’s
May 16 Ft. Wayne, IN Piere’s
May 18 Columbus, OH Rock on the Range
May 19 Lexington, KY Manchester Music Hall
May 20 Springfield, MO Gillioz
May 22 Corpus Christi, TX Concrete Street Amphitheatre
May 23 Houston, TX White Oak Music Hall
May 24 Dallas, TX Bomb Factory
May 25 Little Rock, AR Metroplex
May 26 Pryor, OK Rocklahoma
June 2 Kansas City, MO RockFesst
June 15 Paris, France Download Festival Paris
June 16 Amsterdam, Netherlands Melkweg
June 18 Wiesbaden, Germany Schlachthof
June 19 Bologna, Italy Zona Roveri Club
June 20 Milan, Italy Magazzini Generali
June 21 Dessel, Belgium Festivalpark Stenehi
June 22 Neuhausen Ob Eck, Germany Southside Festival
June 22 Scheessel, Germany Hurricane Festival
June 23 Dessel Belgium Graspop Metal Meeting
June 27 Budapest, Hungary Dürer Kert
June 28 Prague, Czech Republic Aerodrome Festival
June 29 Madrid, Spain Download Festival Madrid
June 30 Ysselsteyn, Netherlands Jera on Air
July 12 Cadott, WI Rock Fest
July 13 Oshkosh, WI Rock USA
July 16 Burgettstown, PA Vans Warped Tour
July 17 Toronto, ON Vans Warped Tour
July 18 Cuyahoga Falls, OH Vans Warped Tour
July 28 Montreal, QC Heavy Montreal
July 29 Bangor, ME Impact Music Festival
August 24 Reading, UK Reading Festival
August 25 Leeds, UK Leeds Festival
