Underoath has always been a respected band in the hardcore music world. With each release, their fan base grows stronger, wider, and perhaps even wiser. Their latest record, Lost In The Sound Of Separation, has become an instant staple of any metal, progressive, hardcore, or screamo fan’s music collection.
Lost In The Sound Of Separation sums up the talents of
Underoath. While listening to the record, it’s very easy to get lost among the heavy grooves, intriguing sounds, and varying time signatures. To top it off, drummer
Aaron Gillespe sings moving hooks over the top of the music and fills in the gaps.
Upon the release of their latest record, Underoath completed a world tour and embarked on a large US tour. I caught up with Gillespe on the phone, prior to the sixth date of their tour, to talk music. Here’s what he had to say.
UG: Where are you guys at right now?
Aaron Gillespe: Ummmmmmm… Baltimore
How’s this tour going, it just started right?
It started on the 14th
So you’re what, like five days into it?
This is the sixth show.
Sweet, how’s the response so far?
It’s been the best tour we’ve ever done.
Is this the first tour that you’re doing on your new record?
Yeah this is the first tour we’re doing off this new record, so it’s kind of a cool thing. We’re really excited about it.
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| "We all were on the same page and we knew what we wanted to do and went in and did it." |
Are you playing a lot of new material in your set?
Yeah, four or five songs.
Cool and people are digging them?
Yeah it’s been great.
Let’s talk music, what have you been listening to lately?
I listened to the new Jonzetta, the new Coldplay record. If I get a chance to listen to something, I listen to it straight up. I’ve been listening to a lot of Country music.
Not even close to what I expected.
I think when we get interviewed people expect that we listen to Cannibal Corpse and Hatebreed. That’s all well and good but we don’t listen to music like that and never have.
Who’s the hottest band on the scene right now that everyone should know?
Well I don’t know. I don’t know any new bands. We’re always on tour so I don’t get to see a lot of shows. Kenny from The Starting Line is in a new band called Person L which is pretty amazing. That’s pretty awesome. They’re actually opening on a leg of this tour. East Coast it’s POS, Midwest it’s Person L, and West Coast it’s this band called The Scenic. We switch it up about every three weeks so it’s kinda cool.
What was the most difficult part about crafting Lost In The Sound Of Separation?
There’s a lot of weird time signatures. We did a lot of snare rolls when tracking drums. Pretty much making this record was the easiest one so far. We all were on the same page and we knew what we wanted to do and went in and did it.
Was the writing process very natural or was it like “alright, we need to sit down and write a record?”
No it was really natural. I think we start writing about six months after a record comes out. After a record comes out we just write for two years. We don’t like to rush ourselves. We were never like “oh we need another song.” We just basically made the record we wanted to make over the last two years. At about 9 months or 8 months before we said “let’s start really writing songs” but we never really pressured ourselves, you know?
Has it really been two years since Define the Great Line?
Yeah over two years. When Lost in the Sound came out it was just over two years.
What was different from writing and recording Define The Great Line?
We had fun really which is interesting. We took the approach of making it as raw as we could and as real as we could. We really took that approach alst time. In production there were a lot of different approaches in terms of how things were recorded with mics and all that stuff, but I don’t think we took much of a different approach at all when we came to our end.
There’s one track where it sounds like you’re playing two snare drums and one is panned all the way to the side
That’s “Emergency Broadcast: The End is Near.” That’s actually two completely different drum tracks. I kind of played the same thing on purpose, like 70’s style a few times in the song and they’re both featured, so that’s why it’s panned.
Who’s idea was that?
Um, some of it was mine, but most of it was Matt Goldman’s.
What significance does the title have to you?
It speaks about how everyone is kind of separated from God in one way or another, and we have to kind of get back to that. We’re all kind of lost in that separation.
So it’s a religious reference?
I wouldn’t say that. If you called Spencer, he’d be the one to answer that question for you, it wouldn’t really be me.
Gotcha. Does Spencer write most of the band’s lyrics or do you play a hand in that?
It’s definitely a cooperative effort. He writes more than I do obviously because he sings more than I do. But when we’re collaborating, we help each other out.
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| "For me it’s important for us to get out and play shows and talk to kids and all that." |
The religious references seem to be much more obvious on this record than the last one; to what do you owe this?
I don’t think we consciously go “okay, this record is going to be significantly more Christian than the last record.” We wanted to make a record that was honest and real and where we were at the time. That’s who we are, and that’s who we’ve always been. That’s what just came out at the time. It’s what needed to be said.
You guys just did a world tour, what was it like seeing the world? What was your fave spot? And what city had the best reaction?
It was awesome. We saw South Africa, and Australia. We’ve been to Europe and Austrlia before, so South Africa was cool. We’ve never been there. When you go somewhere that’s really foreign it’s kind of cool. Touring overseas for me is hard because it’s such a separation from your home and everything you know. Having the opportunity to be there is really cool but it’s really hard.
Is it weird going to a different country and having a bunch of people know you?
It’s more than weird, it’s humbling. It’s kind of awesome. Being part of a crew, and people not thinking you’re just a dumb band that’s showing off is really awesome.
What’s the main thing that has made this album successful?
I don’t’ know man. God? It’s hard for me to understand why people latch on to a particular band. There are so many amazing bands that don’t get credit and don’t get popularity, and don’t get records put out and nobody knows why. There are bands that I’m not interested in at all, in my opinion, that have sold millions and millions of records that have personal bartenders on tour. That’s a phenomenom.
Do you care about selling records? Or are you more concerned about getting your band’s name out and people hearing your music?
Records don’t sell anymore. In general people don’t buy music, they steal it. It’s not about that for us. For me it’s important for us to get out and play shows and talk to kids and all that. Putting records out is what starts things. People don’t buy records anymore. Unless you’re a country artist or a rapper it’s pretty much out of question.
What do you guys do to compensate?
Tour, man. We’ve been very very fortunate that we still sell records for some reason. We just play our heart out. There’s so many bands that draw a crowd of a million people but only sold 85,000 records.
I’m sure the internet plays a big hand in it…
The internet is what drives the industry this day and age.
It’s true. Well, I look forward to catching your band on the road.
See ya there, have a good day!
Interview by Brandon Weiss
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