First things first this is not a bad album. Act of Depression starts out with the track "Heart of Stone," which begins with a rather nice groove, although it quickly dissolves into a sludgy mess. Indeed, such moments characterize the disc, leading one to think that the band does have a considerable amount of talent; unfortunately, the listener gets only glimpses of such talent. The rhythm section, while not exactly remarkable, flashes some interesting solos; they definitely pull their weight on the disc. Similarly, the guitarist, apparently of the "strum as fast as you can" school of musicianship, displays some nice melodic bits that help to distinguish the band from other hardcore bands out there. The vocals, however, are where things start to go awry. Underoath is advertised as a mix between hardcore and black metal; the vocalist apparently supplies the black metal part. "Sung" with a high-pitch yowl, the vocals, while unfortunately considered the norm in Christian hardcore, fall just short of abysmal. It's hard to understand why vocals of this style are so prevalent in this genre...no passion is conveyed in the delivery, and it just sounds painful. The lyrics themselves are nothing new to the scene; "Heart of Stone" talks about pain of living without Jesus, while "A Love So Pure" talks about the joy of living with Jesus. There's also an "issues" song (Overcome had one about pornography, Strongarm about abortion, and Unashamed about substance abuse) called "Innocence Stolen" about the agony caused by rape and child molestation. It would be interesting to see where this band goes with their next release, but this one, while it has its moments, isn't all that great.
2 tocks
Other coverage for this album
HM Magazine #79Reviewed by Doug Van PeltOh yeah! Nice 'n' meaty metalcore. Mixing eye-popping vocals with growling toughens up the sound tons. The guitars and drums sound great here, especially when the double bass is just blasting away. Corey really does a good job of holding down all the guitar duties, beefing up the rhythm section as well as spotlighting with solo crunching. This band rocks!Decapolis 1999Reviewed by ConradAs you can probably tell by the name of the band - they're hardcore, with some metal. Unfortunately, for intense, hard music, it gets really boring. Remember when Tom, in his Zao review, said their singer sounded like Cobra Commander? Well the Underoath guy is the real Cobra Commander. His voice has that thin shredding "tone," as if he's trying to scratch out his vocal cords. It's not terrible…Decapolis 1999Reviewed by Tom BastianWell as I mentioned in past reviews, I'm not a fan of hardcore, metal or rap-core. I suppose this release would fit somewhere in the hardcore/metal category. This is pretty typical stuff for the genre, at least from my limited knowledge of this style. It's got that death metal drumming featuring fast double bass, and heavy and often fast guitars. In general the vocals pretty much just go from…Decapolis 1999Reviewed by TimBands like this remind me that my dream of being a singer is not terribly unrealistic. For those of you who know me, you know that I sing really badly. Well just know that hearing this band gives me hope. I don't know why people listen to this on CD. I understand the live show, because this music is really energetic, but I don't know why people listen to it in the car. When I listen to CDs in the…The Phantom Tollbooth 1999Reviewed by Tony LaFianzaUnderoath comes out of the chute with a five minute fifty second cut called "Heart of Stone," and that is the shortest song on the CD! There are two tracks over ten minutes long. This Florida band takes some pride in the length of their songs, but what should impress their fans is they pull off these long songs with impressive musicianship and interesting musical themes. Mixing heavy metal,…Dead Zine 1999Reviewed by GrindboyThis has already been reviewed several times, so I'll keep it brief. Let me say this, though. I came into this cd with pretty high expectations, and they were completely met. Also, some of you may remember back in the day when Unashamed was being advertised as a hardcore - death metal crossover. Well, this turns out to be exactly the album that I was hoping Unashamed would be. Not just heavy hXc,…Dead Zine 1999Reviewed by SORGInsane metal-core suitable for fans of Embodyment (not making a comparison here, just stating that if you like one chances are you will like the other). Only this band has added even more (if that is possible) dimensions to their sound. There are only six songs on this hour long cd! They create a dynamic soundscape and take the listener on a journey through the harsh realities of life. Lyrically…Dead Zine 1999Reviewed by dEaDsMilEI will start off by saying that in my opinion, this one really really deserves a perfect rating. 10. Ten. One-Zero. Why, you ask? "This guy gives too many tens." Well I will just respond to that by saying that you would feel differently about me giving it a 10 if you actually had heard this cd. I have had this album for several weeks now, and yes, the cd is still good enough to have the 10…Dead Zine 1999Reviewed by FletchSo you thought Takehold was a hardcore/emo label. Well think again, there is nothing but metal here. I'm talking about the thick, chunky kind of metal that you can't get out of your head. The vocals are primarily a high pitched, unblackish scream which can sometimes sink to a lower scream and are occasionally backed by a death metal growl. One track even features guest vocals from the guy from…Dead Zine 1999Reviewed by D_ListerOk, you've heard me go on about Underoath before, so now you will finally get to hear what my rage was all about. This CD is tight, and full of metal. From the opening witch like laugh that gets obliterated by the pounding intense screams of Heart of Stone to the ending acoustical song included as the hidden track, this CD keeps you on the edge of your seat just to find out what this band will…Similar sounding releases
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