When the album begins it presents you with a low end and almost muted start that would make you that the guys in Underoath had run out of cash when suddenly the fire and fury of an over the top production rattles your speakers. It's quite a misleading tease on this super-powered Metalcore release that has more changes and breakdowns than many of the other bands of this type. Lost In The Sound Of Separation is an interesting release from an equally interesting band because you see the six member band while delivering some truly powerful Metal mayhem as also a Christian band. That being said we find them delivering their message in the music that they are playing with each and every track. You might miss that just a little bit unless you are reading the lyrics and while there is a positive theme to their composition they seem to be about a person coming to grips with failures and frailties in his life and how is choosing to move on and address them by pronouncing his deeply rooted faith. Heavy stuff in the mental sense and also very heavy stuff in the musical sense as the guys truly perform like gangbusters on tracks like "Breathing In A New Mentality" and "A Fault Line, A Fault Of Mine" to name a few. One does not have to be on board with the message the band is delivering to enjoy what is going on musically here because there is just so many changes and breakdowns and grooves to sink your teeth into that will keep you busy enough. The band is fronted by Spencer Chamberlain (vocals), and comprised of Tim McTague (guitar), Grant Brandell (bass), Aaron Gillespie (drums), Christopher Dudley (keyboards) and James Smith (guitar). Some of the cool musical interludes we get on this one are felt on "Emergency Broadcast: The End Is Near" which slows down to a slow head banging crunch that might find you seeking better footing for the circle pit that I am sure these guys inspire. I really enjoyed the fact that there was a lot more music going on than in the last crop of Metalcore themed bands that I had been hearing and perhaps this is why Underoath is considered one of the tops at the game of it all. Chamberlain doesn't always keep to the growling thing either and soars to the heights with a great melodic clear tone during tracks like "Coming Down Is Calming Down", and this one is perhaps my first favorite on the release. I understand that drummer Aaron also acts as the bands singer but I had to say that I was not sure where exactly he was doing this on the album. If they are doing a back and forth sharing thing, well it was definitely working.
At times I felt it was hard to follow along with the lyric booklet but that was based on the very quick to mid-tempo pace of the lyrical delivery, but after a couple of turns at it I was good and offer that advice to the listener who might be feeling the same thing when they first give it a spin. As someone who came up in music during the times of Stryper (and many reading realize were also a Christian band), I had to admit that I never expected this particular genre to be one that was utilized for such a message, but then again the faith comes from the person first and the music second. This is the kind of sound that the guys who formed the group were into and so it goes. The production on the release is top notch and that makes sense since none other than Killswitch Engage's Adam D. handled that role. I can recommend this to any fans of your Thrashing/Melodic Metalcore and not just ones who find themselves following this same belief structure as the guys because I didn't take this album as being preachy and instead found it to be more introspective at times with the players in the story lining out their own personal angst and finding the means to solve their problems. Of course should the message reach people and inspire them to look down the same path then I guess they have done their job by delivering it. Either way this was good stuff, very heavy all around and offering up more changes than I bargained for.
Track Listing:
1. Breathing In A New Mentality
2. Anyone Can Dig A Hole But It Takes A Real Man To Call It Home
3. A Fault Line, A Fault Of Mine
4. Emergencry Broadcast: The End Is Near
5. The Only Survivor Was Miraculously Unharmed
6. We Are The Involuntary
7. The Created Void
8. Coming Down Is Calming Down
9. Desperate Times, Desperate Measures
10. Too Bright To See, Too Loud To Hear
11. Desolate Earth: The End Is Here
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