They used to be but they're not anymore Looking at their current line-up, it consists of 1 Tim 1 Spencer 1 Aaron 1 Chris 1 Grant so 0 Christian to be found
Duuude "Voyeurist" is soooo good. It's sonically and lyrically so interesting. I know a lot of people say they don't like the mix, but I think the whole thing sounds genuinely fantastic.
I would do genuinely unspeakable things to get a "Disambiguation" and "Define the Great Line" 15(ish) & 20(ish) year tour. Only, instead of doing what they did on their reunion tour where they played one album and then another, I'd love the set to eb and flow between the two records. As for support, I'd love to see The Armed, The Callous Daoboys, and some non-metal / hardcore opener. I really liked that for the TOCS anniversary tour they did different openers (or second band on the bill) every night that coincided with the shows city. I think that helps make each show incredibly unique and wish more bands would do that!
I think it’s a no brainer for them to run back the double record playthrough live with LITSOS and Disambiguation the way they did for Safety and Define during the rebirth tour. I dont think it would sell as massively, but I think the shows would be really special for the band and the die hards. Bonus points if Daniel does the Disambiguation set.
At least do a small run or a hometown show or something the thought of a mixed DTGL/Disambig set is great
Once this album cycle slows down I am so curious what their next move is. The album not selling great coming off of a huge anniversary tour, longtime manager leaving, all of the relentless pods reflecting on the band and their whole purpose right now. I have felt the entire reunion era is building toward another record that isn’t the same as the big early albums but has the same artistic resonance. I have long been a big fan of them going back to work with Adam Goldman. No one has ever gotten the sounds he got on their recorded albums.
Doubt we’d see any semblance of new music until late 2027. 2026 is the Define year through and through
I believe we'll get new music sooner than later considering we did get an unreleased demo just a couple months earlier, they also put out singles while the Chasing Safety anniversary tour was ongoing. As for demos, I can see them drop a couple more or do something else under the Locus Ultra moniker before they actually start a new album cycle. They must be ready to somewhat course correct after the muted reception to POTATO and their recent management shake-up.
I don’t think they need a course correction per se since I think the record is great and I remain a bit surprised it didn’t do better with the modern metalcore crowd, but to the degree they do course correct I hope they don’t start yo-yoing between “accessible” records like erase me and more nostalgia-leaning music.
Yeah by course correction I mean I wouldn't be surprised if they try to follow this up in a quicker manner and probably try other things on the promotional side, it's clear something just didn't click this time. I don't know what they could to do get more eyes on them at this point though, so I don't blame them for going back to yet another anniversary tour while they plan their next step.
The older I get the more it seems like genres/scenes just don’t cross generations very much - it seems like the younger metalcore fans just aren’t going to latch on almost no matter what, even though I thought this album was a really good version of the maximalist sound some bands are doing, bmth included. Which feels even weirder since a lot of the big djent-y bands, which seem dominant now, have been around forever, albeit in the background during 00s-10s metalcore’s heyday. Thought there’d be a bit more crossover/direct lineage. BMTH now feel like an even bigger outlier. On the one hand it should be freeing - just do what you wanna do bc the ceiling is largely maxed out. On the other hand if you’re trying to make this your full time job again, I have no idea what they should or can do.
I’m not 100% sure about Aaron and Tim, but Chris is still Christian Chris still has “Christ Follower” on his IG bio, so it seems like he still wears it on his sleeve. He just doesn’t put it into Underoath.
Aaron and Spencer have both said that this latest album, in their opinions, is the best they've ever been lyrically. I think that's the major disconnect. Because sonically, they're one of the best sounding bands in the genre since 2006 across all albums. Their albums and songs just sound massive and great. But they're not writing at the level of the DTGL-LITSOS-Dis run at all lyrically. I think that was equally their appeal. I don't care what genre of heavy they sound like again, I just want more songs like Thorn or No Frame not All The Love Is Gone or Vultures because it's pretty clear they've still got that level in them when going for a modern sound.
The lyrics are in decline (LITSOS is the only album with good lyrics, imo) but I’m really into the music I’ll take what I can at this point
Yeah I definitely think they are itching to get new stuff out sooner rather than later. With DTGL tour next year I think it'll be a similar timeline for music akin to what they did with the TOCS tour. Could 100% see a new album by late next year. This is based purely on what I've taken away from their interviews and has no factual basis, ha.