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The Tampa-based band Underoath is the old time religion, fire-and-brimstone preachers of the Christian rock world. Their brutal sound reflects the band's thoughts on faith and religion, and they'd rather have fans come to them for what they are than change their sound to appeal to a wider pop audience. Surprisingly, this tactic has only spread the word for Underoath, and they are currently the best selling band on the Christian rock label Tooth & Nail, which includes popular acts like The Fold and MxPx. Over their nearly 10-year career, Underoath have also evolved their sound, with earlier recordings heavily influenced by the blistering tempos of thrash metal, while later albums have gone in a catchier, more melodic direction. For a Christian band, Underoath keep their preaching to a minimum and the band's songs deal with the same bleak, modern themes as those put forth by more secular rock bands. Underoath have songs about depression, breakups and American angst, just like any other band, and they only occasionally invoke a higher power to help them cope with the onslaught. Underoath got their start back in 1997. The talented young musicians were taken with the demanding musical proficiency required to play deathmetal-style music, which relies on ridiculous time-signatures and seemingly random but actually carefully times shred-guitar riffs. The band's first two releases, Acts of Depression and Cries of the Past stick to this formulaic sound. However, the band played an intense live show, and earned themselves a devoted fan following around the US hardcore circuit. Many of Underoath's songs from this era are structured more like orchestral music, and the 40-minute long Cries of the Past contained only five songs. While the band was traveling on the Warped Tour, singer Dallas Taylor was asked to leave under mysterious circumstances, and was then replaced by Spencer Chamberlain. This could explain why, with the release of 2004's They're Only Chasing Safety, Underoath have gone in a slightly different direction musically, forsaking the schizophrenic noise of thrash metal and instead concentrating on muscular but melodic rock songs. Underoath's new sound can be characterized by singles like "Reinventing Your Exit" and "It's Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door."

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