Underoath proudly publicizes the fact that every member of their band is a Christian. They have released six albums since their formation in 1997. Of those six, their most popular album They're Only Chasing Safety was certified gold in 2004 and Define the Great Line (2006) became the highest-ranking Christian album on the Billboard top 200 since 1997.
While certainly not a widely popular band such as U2, Coldplay, Green Day, etc., Underoath has experienced their fair share of success appearing on multiple major tours including Warped Tour and Taste of Chaos. A few of their singles have also appeared on MTV2 and Fuse. Not only are the members of the band Christian, but they promote their faith through their music. In an interview with MTV entitled Underoath Rock Like Slipknot, For God's Sake band member Timothy MacTeague said,
"The ideas we address in our songs and the overall spiritual foundation of our band are very real and powerful. There's a lack of realness to a lot of the music in our scene. There's a lack of emotion and actually feeling like God is alive and love is alive. There's a huge battle every day between doing the right thing and the wrong thing, and our job is to get it out there in a way where kids can feel something."The band's faith is evident in the songs on their first record Act of Depression. For example:
The Christian message in their first album is immediately apparent on every single track. However, in their later albums (the more successful ones) their songs notably shift towards more secular lyrics and themes. While the band claims the messages are still there, it is far from obvious.
Their song Writing on the Wall is perhaps one of the band's most popular songs. Listen to the song either at the link below or the video I have embedded. Pay close attention to the lyrics and see if you can pick out the message.
You can watch the real video here.
Or just listen to the song right down here:
(Sorry about the lack of the real video. All the official versions of the video have disabled embedding.)
Did you get the message? If not, I didn't either. Even upon reading the lyrics,
I was still unable to discover a clear cut Christian message.
Despite the shift in music lyrics, Underoath still maintains they are a Christian band. The MTV interview also says,
"Some Christian rockers let their words speak for themselves. Underoath also want their actions to reflect their faith...As for the lyrics [in Define the Great Line], expect more pained, passionate words that, on first listen, don't even sound like they're coming from a Sunday-morning sermon. Of course, closer examination will reveal the band's higher goals. We just want to encourage people to live clean, clear lifestyles and more loving and uplifting lifestyles. Hopefully God will continue to use us to shine his light in a dark place."
So my questions are:
- After listening the the band, do you think this style of music promotes worship, Christianity, or the Spirit? (Please note my selection of song is rather tame compared to most of their music.)
- Are the true meanings of the band's lyrics lost in their extreme musical presentation (ie all the screaming)?
- Does their music accomplish the band's goal of "shining His light in a dark place"? Or do most of their fans just like the style of music but not the message?
- Can Underoath's increased record sales on later albums be attributed to their shift away from overtly Christian themed music?
- In light of Underoath's shift away from straightforward Christian lyrics, has the fact that Underoath portrays themselves as Christian increased their publicity as compared to similar bands of the same genre (screamo)?
- Why might this type of Christian music be powerful, meaningful or a form of worship to some people?
~Rachel Finley
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ReplyDeleteWhen I was in high school, I was (shamefully) heavily involved in the Christian screamo scene. My friends were not Mormon, but held many of the same beliefs throughout my high school years because the music they liked promoted such (no drinking, drugs, or promiscuous sex). I attended a Christian youth group with them several times which merged the ideas of popular culture (music, etc) and Christian values and created a great environment for Christian adolescents to go and reaffirm their standards. As such, I strongly support groups like this. Although their form of worship may be very different and even uncomfortable for us LDS members, but I'm sure we would all agree that anything in popular culture that promotes high standards and good values for the youth of this day is of a positive nature.
ReplyDelete-Aubrey Evans
I personally had to strain to hear the lyrics amongst the screaming, an effort I usually don’t bother putting forth. The screaming was so irritating and distracting that I quickly turned it off. If someone manages to handle such noise and can decipher the lyrics and miraculously be inspired to follow a prompting from the Spirit that usually does not attend such noise, then perhaps there can be a benefit found in such a presentation.
ReplyDeleteI have always felt that light comes in the company of other good things, things of class, elegance, beauty, etc. I feel that light resides in places that invite the Spirit. I think that this music makes the listener numb to feeling the Spirit and is in such an unpleasant format that it would not be in the company of light.
I suppose the only way to truly know if Underoath's increased record sales on later albums be attributed to their shift away from overtly Christian themed music would be to 1. ask the fans why they started liking/ listening to the music, and 2. go back to the original format and see if the band still continues to sell their albums. Otherwise, it is all conjecture.
For many, the idea of successful worship is to feel something powerfully. This music can elicit a powerful, emotional response, something many confuse with feeling the Spirit. I would argue that it does not invite the Spirit, the which inspires to do good. So while it may have them thinking about God more than usual, it does not inspire a conviction sufficient to lead them to action. Therefore it is something of a vain worship, in my opinion.
I saw Underoath perform at Warped Tour. I had never heard them previously so when my friend told me that they were Christian, I was interested in seeing how they would fit in with the dozens of clearly non-Christian bands showing that day.
ReplyDeleteMy first impression was an obvious one. Their music was heavy, their lyrics were difficult to understand, and their attitude was hard. I even had to question my friend to make sure she got her facts straight.
However, at second glance, the crowd caught my attention and I started to think about things differently. Although the mood wasn’t spiritual at all, it was nice to think that these fans, most of them young, were being exposed to a band that openly identifies itself as Christian. Typically musicians in this genre of music promote a dark, rebellious tone as “cool.” It was actually very encouraging to see kids idolizing artists who not only live clean lifestyles, but in a way are making it “cool” to believe in God again.
I'm Christian, and I listen to screamo bands like Underoath, Haste the Day and Inhale Exhale, all of whom claim they are Christian (I think?). My mother would rather cut her head off than listen this music, and even wanted to cut mine off when I first got into it. I'm only allowed to listen to it through headphones so no one else in my family can hear it. She says it will "corrupt" my younger siblings and she says it's "Satan's music".
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I think one of the problems is that screamo was originally created to glorify Satan (I think?). Like, even THAT bothers me. That whilst Underoath may be a Christian band, the fact that screamo was originally created for the purpose of singing against Christianity is disturbing. I still listen to Underoath because I love their music, but you're right, I don't hear much of any message in their lyrics.
It doesn't mean I won't listen to them. I think all Christian bands have this problem. If they call themselves Christian, people may not listen. If they don't, we say they are ashamed of their faith. When they do, they are constantly being examined by Christians like us, who are trying to confirm/deny the fact that they are Christians.
So, what ARE they supposed to do? The Underoath members are Christian. Look at this photo:
www.flickr.com/photos/30366654@N03/3329210630
They're praying before a concert.
So nice. :)
My thoughts on this issue can be found here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.lds.net/forums/531134-post23.html
I have felt the Spirit strongly while listening to this style of music. However, it isn't reverent, and I feel that this sort of music (as with any other loud music) should be set aside during the Sabbath. Music on the Sabbath should be both spiritual and reverent.
well underoath use to be my FAVORITE band until Aaron left and Daniel came in and they released Disambiguition Ø. now their merchandise has a lot of "illuminati" looking stuff for example, on some of their shirts they have a pyramid with an eye in the middle. nd one song in their new album is called "Illuminator" which I know can be referring to as God but idk... I still wonder if they're REALLY Christian...for example, "As I Lay Dying" is NOT Christian!! idk how they even dare to claim they're Christian! but oh well..
ReplyDeletenow I listen to "For Today" more than Ø. for today has clear, obvious lyrics! u can definitely tell that they are christian! CHECK EM OUT!!!
Very awesome list! I enjoyed picking a lot of Screamo bands/artists here. Thanks! http://www.ranker.com/list/screamo-bands-and-musicians/reference
ReplyDeleteWhether you join one or several different Christian sites to interact with others, you will find that you finally have a place that you can turn to for great conversation, advice and maybe even some meaningful relationships. Christian chat
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