When the news first broke that Aaron Gillespie would be departing from Florida based band Underøath, many people began to worry about who would fill in behind the drum kit; however the bigger concern for most was in regards to how Underøath would handle the non-screaming parts of their songs. Aaron had provided such a unique-clean vocal element that if no longer present would cause many Underøath fans to worry.

The release of “Illuminator” quickly lets fans know that Spencer Chamberlain has tightened up his vocal growls all while stretching his range in the singing department. Spencer’s ambient wails in-between screams do take  some getting used to, but it seems like Underøath did the right thing in trying to bridge the gap in the wake of Aaron’s departure.

While there are few who might argue against how big the drums sound in terms of room space, they do the song justice while welcoming the band’s new drummer, Daniel Davidson (ex -Norma Jean).

The song is what you would expect from Underøath with hard hitting drums, heavy driving guitars, and a ripping bass while the synth provides an erie background texture that sets things up for Chamberlain to take control of the song vocally. 

“Illuminator” does not prove to be a huge progression from the material on their last album, but it is definitely a step in the right direction seeing how well Underøath has handled such big a loss musically on their first single .

***/*****

*This review was composed by Chris Fago