Voyeurist

Four years after taking some creative liberties on 2018s Erase Me, Florida-bred rock outfit Underoath remind listeners that they havent softened one bit with the absolutely rabid Voyeurist. Back with a vengeance, the band further refine their late-era sonic maturation, polishing the chaotic torrent of bloody screams, ghostly harmonies, and dark themes with pristine production and a a tightened songwriting assault. Time and personal growth have not dulled their edges nor done much to ameliorate the groups angst, as timeless lyrical topics such as self-doubt, fear, apathy, rage, and dread churn alongside Underoaths struggles with faith and organized religion. Taking cues from influences and followers like Deftones and Bring Me the Horizon, Underoath launch straight into the fire with the towering ferocity of "Damn Excuses" before tearing everything down with the choir-backed anthem "Hallelujah," which rides the earworm chorus cries of, "Cut the lights, face yourself/Were not dreaming, this is Hell." Equally throat-shredding cuts such as "Cycle" with trap-metal ghoul Ghostemane, and a pair of near-industrial, apocalyptic salvos "Take a Breath" and "Numb" keep the energy at an unbearably urgent high, but Underoath mercifully add a few spare moments to breathe before spiraling out of control once more. Even though "Im Pretty Sure Im Out of Luck and Have No Friends" ends with an explosive, visceral bang, the haunting track builds patiently through a cinematic, piano-backed soundscape, one that is bested by the even-more tortured "(No Oasis)," a contemplative dirge that laments, "In the desert of denial… no oasis to be seen." "Pneumonia" channels the creative energy of Deftones White Pony era on an expansive highlight that progresses from a near-angelic state into a tumultuous storm of screams, plodding riffs, and bashing percussion. Urgent, bloody, and desperate, Voyeurist is a revelation in the bands catalog, an ideal collision of their early-era vigor and increasingly expert control of their power and fury. ~ Neil Z. Yeung