Ø (Disambiguation) [Deluxe Edition]

Personnel: Spencer Chamberlain (vocals); Tim McTague, James Smith (guitar); Christopher Dudley (keyboards, programming); Daniel Davison (drums, percussion).
Audio Mixer: Ben Grosse.
Recording information: The Dark Studios, Atlanta, GA.
Arranger: Underoath.
Florida metalcore outfit Underoath's seventh studio album arrives on the heels of the departure of its last remaining original member, vocalist/drummer Aaron Gillespie. No strangers to internal shake-ups (the band went through a similar situation with ex-vocalist Dallas Taylor) Underoath's latest incarnation sounds confident, brutal, and cohesive. Lone singer and primary songwriter Spencer Chamberlain (who has recovered admirably from blowing out his vocal cords during the recording of 2006's Define the Great Line) plays a large part in O (Disambiguation)'s success, applying his well-honed guttural and clean vocal styles with deadly accuracy. Darker and more immersive than previous outings, Underoath treads familiar ground, though each step holds the promise of a land mine (opening track "In Division" initially presents itself as a screamo-fest before launching into a dense, sludgy, Alice in Chains-inspired chorus), and when the band is firing on all cylinders ("Paper Lung", "In Completion", "Divine Eradication") there is little in the way of competition that offers even a vague threat. ~ James Christopher Monger