Photo: Dan Newman

Live Review: Underoath – Digital Ghost Live Stream (Voyeurist In Full)

The past year has been a strange one for the music scene. With the pandemic making it impossible for bands to tour, many just fell silent and waited for the storm to pass. But some adapted. Screamo veterans Underoath was one of those bands. They embraced the internet as their new auditorium, the new place to connect with fans. What started with live streams on Twitch, grew into the ambitious Observatory series: 3 live-streamed shows playing their biggest albums in full. Now that it’s time for them to debut their 9th studio album Voyeurist, they’ve once again turned to the live stream with Digital Ghost – the new record played in full live.

The setting for this performance: A room lined with LCD walls. The 6 piece band silhouetted against the screen’s light as they loop video clips that look like they’ve been fed through a glitchy VHS machine. Then there are the faceless figures that reappear throughout the set: hooded performers with scrolling LED text panels for faces. It’s filmed beautifully. The visuals are crisp, the camera work is creative and exciting with camera angles that drop us right into the middle of the performance. The shots of the full band are intertwined with more artsy isolated shots of the vocalists or the hooded figures. I’ve seen the band play a number of times in London, it’s usually on a smaller stage, so seeing what they can achieve with higher production and less limitations is a real treat.

As for the band, they sound really good, like, too good. To the point, before checking against the singles, I was convinced I was hearing the studio recordings. There’s clearly been some perfecting in post and, given how many synths and samples are in these songs, it’s hard to tell exactly what’s been recreated live. This might be a little too polished for a ‘live’ performance, but the fact these are not studio recordings blows my mind.

The set begins with the lead single ‘Damn Excuses’. Intense punky drums, chunky guitars and huge screams power through for a solid minute and a half before the drums drop to half time and Spencer’s growls drop a few semitones. This massive breakdown leads us into a moment of calm as Aaron’s cleans resonate above reverberating guitars and synths. This doesn’t last long before we’re treated to another breakdown to finish off the song. It’s very reminiscent of Lost in the Sound of Separation. Speaking of classic Underoath, track 2 ‘Hallelujah’ begins with choir vocals that immediately took me back to ‘It’s Dangerous Business Walking Out Of Your Front Door’. It’s another heavy track, although the clean vocals in the verses and bridge do offer some rest bite between the chorus where Spencer belts “we’re not dreaming, this is hell”.

Okay, time for a breather. ‘I’m Pretty Sure I’m Out of Luck and Have No Friends’ begins as a soundscape of drones and pads. Grant provides an almost hypnotic bassline below angelic clean vocals before a slightly dissonant guitar melody from Tim kicks in. It’s beautiful yet unsettling. As Spencer’s voice gets raspier and the pads become more jarring, we feel the music building until we are hit by the full force of the band. Spencer screams as the guitarists pound on their bottom strings; distortion pedals on full gain.

‘Cycle’ is a guaranteed pit opener. It sounds like it could have been taken from 2010’s ‘Disambiguation’: Heavy syncopated riffs interlaced with clashes, feedback, relentless drums and vocals. The guest spot from Ghostemane fits perfectly. His raw screams, distorted and delayed, only add to the chaos. (Although unfortunately, he doesn’t make an appearance in person). Track 6 ‘Thorn’ continues in the same vein. When they hit the bridge, as distorted drums bounce between the speakers, the camera cuts to a large group of the hooded figures eerily dancing. Their LED ‘faces’ fixated on the camera lens. It’s a scene that could have been taken from Black Mirror, almost as if this gig is happening in a dystopian future.

The energy comes down a notch for ‘(No Oasis)’. Glitchy camcorder footage shows Aaron and Spencer singing to the downtempo number. When we return to the performance space the room is empty apart from a lone drum kit manned by one of the faceless figures. The sporadic beat is mirrored with abrupt camera cuts making his movements seem robotic. The ethereal sounds of ‘(No Oasis)’ are interrupted by distorted kick drums that carry us into the infectious bouncy intro of ‘Take A Breath’. This is the moment the whole crowd would be off their feet. The vocals in this track perfectly bounce between the two vocalists. Watching Aaron hit all his lines, while at the same time pulling off such intricate drum patterns is bewildering. As the noisy overdriven guitars carry us into the final chorus; a perfectly timed gasp for air, as spencer screams “Take a… breath”, elevates his performance to another level.

7 songs in and the band show no signs of letting up. Synth-player Chris’s energy behind his array of keyboards is unmatched as ‘We’re All Gonna Die’ kicks in. Somewhere between screaming and singing; Spencer’s vocals howl over hardcore-punk beats and twangy low guitars. The super catchy chorus clearly touches on the band’s faith. Once well known for their Christianity, the lyrics “Hey, we’re all gonna die… don’t pray for me and my friends”, let’s us know this is not a belief they still carry.

Finally ‘Pneumonia’: A 7-minute downtempo epic that is continuously evolving. The highlight of this song for me was 5 minutes in when we see 3 drum kits in a line: Aaron in the middle as the two on either side are played by the hooded figures. Each kit is panned to a different spot in the mix to produce a stereo delay effect. One final Cacophony of screams and distorted guitars brings the song to a close. The camera cuts to black and the credits roll. It’s a triumphant end to the record and the show.

Digital Ghost has certainly set the bar high for live streams. It’s unlike any other I’ve seen. As an introduction to the new album, particularly as ‘Voyeurist’ isn’t officially released until Jan 14th, it was such an exciting way to hear these songs for the first time. The record is bound to be a hit among fans. It’s rare for bands who have been going as long as Underoath, but they have proven with these songs it’s possible to stay true to the sounds that defined you in the past while evolving enough to not grow stale.