UnderOath: Defying pre-conceived notions

Another subject that I broached was the evolution, or lack there of, of music. I am fairly convinced that were people from 50 years ago to listen to UnderOath’s material, they just wouldn’t get it. That is true about a lot of today’s music genres. The boys seemed to agree. “There’s a difference to what it was 50 years ago,” James said “I mean techniques have come about and different sounds have been created and music genre. I mean, has it evolved a lot over the past year? Probably not; but over the course of 50 years, sure.”

The subject was concluded by Grant adding “It’s weird ’cause I think about it sometimes, like what was really around like say in the Beach Boys days. Like, if there were kids in a garage playing music like we did. I doubt it but you never know. You know you think about stuff like what was popular then, what’s popular now and the evolution of people trying new things and grasping new thing and stuff.”

On a more personal scale, I find musical tastes evolve over the years as well. Which is why I like to ask artists what were the first and last CD’s they purchased, a question that might seem banal but aptly showcases the progression of their musical background and taste.

Interestingly, they always have a harder time figuring out what the last album they bought was, as opposed to the first. For Grant, the first album he purchased was Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet. After a moment of deep hesitation he adds “And the last record I bought was the newest Muse record that I bought a few days ago. I don’t even know what it’s called yet.”

James answer? “The first I ever owned was Smashing Pumpkins’ ‘Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness’ ” I was about to say that that was an unusual answer when he added “which is a weird CD to have bought as my first.”

Multiple rumors have circulated on and off alleging that UnderOath was breaking up, members leaving, and even a few rehab stories. UnderOath’s Official MySpace site set the rumors straight with the following message: “Don’t believe the rumors, UnderOath did not break up, no one has been kicked out or quit or is in rehab or any other silly places people are talking about. The dudes are getting ready to do their Canadian tour and then Taste of Chaos international and then will do a headline tour in the US after that.”

From what I saw here in Montreal, UnderOath is doing very well and will continue to do so. My short time with Grant and James certainly set me straight with regard to my ‘to quick to judge’ attitude and although I am still not a big fan of the music, I can honestly say they do put on a great show. As Grant pointed out, if you are a fan of Metal music, UnderOath is definitely a band you should check out if you haven’t already done so.
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