Underoath: The Making Of Voyeurist

This introductory episode looks at coming off of “Erase Me”, the band was filled with conflict over sonic direction and personal issues. Underoath found themselves at a crossroads and were forced to dig deep and reflect on their history within the DIY punk & hardcore scene and the passion they felt at the inception of the band. With that focus, the band made the bold decision to not have any outside input from producers and set off on their own creative silo.

20,575 views Feb 5, 2022 Some of the biggest names in rock music production have participated in the creation of Underoath's legendary catalog; James Paul Wisner, Matt Goldman, Adam D, Matt Squire, David Bendeth to name a few. However, what would it look like if the band using decades of personal growth and skill development alongside their most trusted engineer, took the work on themselves? In this episode guitarist, Tim McTague and engineer JJ Revel outline the production philosophy of the band and highlight the work done on the song “Damn Excuses” from their newest LP, “Voyeurist.”

This episode explores the song “Hallelujah" through the mind of Aaron Gillespie. Aaron Gillespie is a one of a kind talent and an icon in the emo/hardcore scene. He is able to exert an extreme amount of both energy and emotional feeling as a singer, drummer and writer. He formed Underoath alongside Dallas Taylor in 1997 at 15 and has spent the last 25 years collaborating and chasing the magic of creating music, sounds and beats that make people "feel something". This episode explores how he thinks about that process in conversation with JJ Revel, who engineered Voyeurist, is Underoath's live mixing engineer and is the drummer for The Almost.

Spencer Chamberlin and Aaron Gillespie have been a substantial part in the emergence of what is known as “trade-off vocals" in our scene. This episode takes an unconventional approach to examine their deep, personal relationship and the trust involved in two people speaking with one collective voice. Spencer and Aaron have a special bond based on the amount of time they have spent traveling the world together as well as their unique position of being lead vocalists in the same band. They share a point of view that even the other members of the band have limited insight into. This conversation gives you a glance into that relationship.

In the last episode we heard Aaron and Spencer talk about their personal and collaborative relationship. In this discussion we move deeper into the lyrical creation process. This song has very dark themes to it and Spencer opens up to explore the fear that we are doomed to repeat our mistakes. We also discuss the song construction and the collaboration with Ghostemane.

Chris Dudley, keyboardist, is truly a one of a kind band member. His performance style and instrument pairing has made him an icon, but performance may not even be the right word for what Chris does. It is more like just a display of how he feels the music and collective energy that the band creates. He has always been a key personality in the band with his sense of humor, composition skills and his critical ear. In this one on one conversation Chris shares his very unique perspective on Underoath and many pivotal moments in the bands history, how he developed his style, and the particular type of gratitude for and connection with the fans that he has.

There are 2 dominant mindsets that drive the creation of Underoath's creative process. One is the in the moment spontaneous magic and feel that instantly connects people. The other is a slow and deliberate process of contextualizing that magic and using it to push new boundaries. The mindsets are complimentary but also competitive and work together like pedals on a bike. In this episode, Aaron Gillespie talks through the tension, stress, and cost that come along with looking for that balance and how understanding and accepting one another's flaws and building trust has made it so much easier.

Since their return, Joel Cook and Brandon Rike of TNSN DVSN (link: https://tensiondivision.com) have been collaborating with Underoath to create some of the most stunning visuals and conceptual presentations for the band that include Grammy Nominated projects, live streams and more. Erase Me, Observatory, and Voyeurist have all pushed the limits and set new precedents visually in both the physical space and across the bands digital footprint. In this conversation with Joel Cook and Tim Mctauge we explore the mechanics and thinking that empowers the small tight knit group to accomplish so much.

In this conversation, Spencer and Matt Carter discuss some of the most brutal lyrics on the record and the experiences that led him to write them. This song is one of the most brutal on the album and Matt’s personal personal favorite.

In this episode, Tim discusses the artistic expression of Underoath and its unique intersection with commercialism and how people, teams, labels, publicists and other forces have and haven't influenced the trajectory of their career.

We’ve arrived at the end of our Voyeurist journey and thought it was fitting to hear from Aaron, Spencer, Chris, Tim, and JJ, as this final song has a beautiful story in the collaboration that led to it. Through this last set of conversations, it becomes increasingly clear that the process of creating Voyeurist has led Underoath into the healthiest spot they’ve been in. They now seem to have a system based on trust and appreciation for one another which is not something they’ve always had and something many people never experience.