‘Hasn’t Been That Way Maybe Ever’: How Being in ‘Such a Good Spot’ Helped Underoath Make New Album

Underoath have revealed details for their “most ambitious” album to date.

On Friday (February 14th), the US metalcore band announced that their tenth studio album, The Place After This One, will be released on March 28th via MNRK Heavy.

The Florida-based outfit rented an Airbnb in the Blue Ridge Mountains where they wrote and recorded the new record, and recruited a producer for the first time since 2018’s Erase Me.

In an Australian exclusive chat, vocalist Spencer Chamberlain said that the relaxed recording process allowed the band to focus on themselves and the new songs.

“I’m proud of every album we put out, I always feel like it’s the best representation of where we were at that specific time. This is the first record in a long time that my main thought process was: are we having fun? Is this fun? Are we getting along? Is everyone excited about every part of every song?” he said.

“Those are all questions that I’ve never been able to answer before until now. Something felt very special when we made [2006 album] Define the Great Line – it was very exciting and an emotion I didn’t understand, and I felt that way again when we made this record. Playing it back I had that similar feeling of ‘wow, we fucking did this!’

“It was exciting to see everyone not even able to sit down in their seats, every band member was excited about every moment and we had fun doing it. A lot of times we fight through the whole process, or we have these huge blowouts and it can be almost like teeth pulling to make the music.

“Then, it’s rewarding afterwards, it’s fun to play, we get along and we hug it out. But this record was, like, we’re all 40 now – are we having fun? Is this fun? Is it worth being away from your family for? The answer was yes, we had a great fucking time doing it, which I think allowed us to be comfortable enough to push each other into new avenues and lanes for songwriting because we were having fun and getting along.

“It made it easier to try things that would be like ‘that’s not Underoath’ or maybe ‘that’s a little embarrassing to try’. I think all those things were possible because the band was in such a good spot when we got in the studio, which hasn’t been that way maybe ever. Not saying that we’ve never gotten along, but to this degree I think the band’s in a really healthy spot, so that helped.”

Check out the new video for the single, “All the Love is Gone”, below.

Underoath are set to bring their 20th anniversary tour of acclaimed fourth record, They’re Only Chasing Safety, to Australia in March, their first visit to the country in March.

Chamberlain promises that fans can expect to hear the 2004 album “front to back,” as well other new and older songs, on the tour alongside Canadian heavyweights Alexisonfire.

“We didn’t go [to Australia on] the last two records, which is crazy,” Chamberlain said.

“It is expensive to come down there to see you guys, though. We’re excited and the Alexisonfire dudes are awesome. We’re excited to hang out with them and play shows. I think that’s a cool show for a fan – two bands like that in the same night is exciting. Normally we come down to Australia, it’s just us and local openers, so I’m excited that it’s us and another touring band – that’s exciting for me.”

For more details on the upcoming tour, click here.