By Jase Walker
What else can possibly be done when Underøath decides to do a massive tour playing their best album other than making excited noises and moving heaven and earth to be there?! That’s what I’m doing as I’ve arrived in Melkweg to catch this show! Admittedly I’m a bit bummed that Static Dress isn’t with them for this date but I’ve been assured that Until I Wake are pretty damn good too so let’s see what they’ve got in store for tonight’s show eh? I’m also a bit surprised that this show is in the smaller room of Melkweg but I won’t moan too much about an intimate show for Underøath!
The stage darkens and Until I Wake take the stage with their hype backing track but the start seems very rough for the mix as I legitimately cannot hear the guitars at all to the point where the backing track is drowning them out. There’s some brief adjustments and the Bass is a bit better further in but the sound of the guitars is quite weak by comparison. Besides the sound issues though I can definitely say this sort of style is right up my street, mixing cleans and uncleans, nice atmospheric hooks and big thumpy riffs. They’ve spent little time with introduction or talks between songs, they’re doing what openers should be doing which is hammering out their stuff in the best way they can and looking good while doing it.
To be fair to them, the sound has improved a lot and has come across a lot better later on in the set. They’ve done solid work provoking the audience into smashing into each other which is a solid feat in its own right as opener. Their singer carries a lot of the stage presence as he constantly moves around the stage and projecting to the crowd while the others seem fairly static by comparison, as a result he’s the most memorable part of the performance. On the whole a decent performance that had a shaky start and was let down a bit by weak guitar presence, which is a shame because they’re clearly great players but I just wish I could have heard them more. Seriously turn them up, those riffs deserve it.
- Until I Wake support Catch Your Breath across Europe and the ÜK next April:
A screen over to the side of the stage lights up with the recognizable artwork of ‘They’re Only Chasing Safety’ flashing with Underoath‘s signature Ø. Right on cue, the room goes dark with only the screens providing light as Underøath walks on stage. The room is now absolutely heaving with people and right from the start everyone is going fucking mental, a sea of constant movement. People spring back up as suddenly as they go down as the people in the pit observe their duty to make sure everyone is on their feet at all times. This really is quite something to observe from the upper balcony, especially with people having to pick their moments to grab a photo or video without getting their phone knocked out of their hands by an errant hand or beer. It’s great fun seeing Underøath’s singer deftly bat someone’s foot out of the way as they crowd surf a little bit too close to the stage.
This show has barely started and it’s been absolute anarchy from the first note. People aren’t fucking about when getting up on stage only to dive straight back into the crowd either, and someone is feeding the band candy as well?! Everyone here’s clearly been listening to this album for years, I don’t think there’s a single song that people haven’t been loudly screaming the words back! Two young lads spend a bit too much time on stage only to be told they need to hurry off by the stage security only for Underøath’s guitarist to run over and mess with security by bending over in front of them, that’s true comedy right there. Some people here including one bearded gentleman is definitely going for the record of longest time spent crowd surfing lands on stage only to go straight back to it.
Honestly I’ve had barely any time to really take in the sound because I’ve been far too entertained watching the crowd losing their minds for the whole show. Underøath are a class act in that they know what they’re damn good at and why fix what isn’t broken? They’ve not lost touch with their roots by getting on with the stellar show while people jump on stage and subsequently launch themselves straight back. Underøath sound bloody fantastic and I’m massively appreciating this string of full album tours that have been happening the past few years and getting to hear ‘They’re Only Chasing Safety’ in its entirety is a real treat. As we hit the end of the album, their drummer abandons his post and switches to acoustic guitar to play the album out amongst a sea of lights, quite a beautiful way to wrap up this part of the set.
The sheer energy driving this entire show from the band to the fans is incredible, pure unrelenting fire for the whole set. They mention at the end of the set that the new record is almost done, final mixes due today at the time of writing this so just mastering to go and we’ll get that tasty new album and a tour as well! Just make sure it’s not just Tilburg lads.
Underøath absolutely fucking killed it tonight, truly an enduring act with many years behind them and you don’t get this far without being bloody good at what you do! Hopefully won’t be long before they’re back in my sights and, uh, ears.
- Underøath play Bristol’s O2 Academy next Monday (24 June), Birmingham’s O2 Institute on Tuesday (25 June), the O2 Forum in Kentish Town on Wednesday (26 June) and Manchester’s O2 Ritz on Thursday (27 June).
- All content © Über Rock. Not to be reproduced in part or in whole without the express written permission of Über Rock.