Underoath haveshared Pneumonia, the third single off their highly anticipated seventh full-length, Voyeurist, set for release on January 14 via Fearless Records. Pneumonia is a sonic and lyrical voyage through death, partly inspired by the passing of guitarist Tim McTague’s father. Clocking in at just over seven minutes, the track shows Underoath continuing to push their boundaries as a band, serving as one of the most melodic and experimental songs in their career. As the track progresses, the listener is met with eerie guitars, pulsating drums, and an earth-shaking switch from Aaron Gillespie’s lush vocals to Spencer Chamberlain’s intense screams.
On the writing process, McTague elaborates:
“We started writing the song, randomly, on the anniversary of my dad’s death, and to release it exactly a year from that day is wild. I was in a funk and wanted to make something sad but felt drained. The song ended up becoming an audible journey of death and is called ‘Pneumonia’ because that is what was listed on my dad’s death certificate. It’s also the only song in the history of the band that Spencer and Aaron sat someone down and asked them (me) to help write some of the lyrics, which was truly an honor.”
Voyeurist marks the first time in Underoath’s storied career that they took the recording process completely into their own hands. The result is the most collaborative album of Underoath’s career and, anchored in a profound respect for each other, one that left no stone unturned creatively. The band refers to Voyeurist as “high-def violence” – technologically advanced, but undeniably visceral. Conceptually, Voyeurist has several interrelated meanings, each tying back to the concepts of how we curate ourselves through social media and how that facade masks a lot of what we actually experience in life. The album is a cohesive listening experience with enough layers to provide fans with a fresh take and new favourite track on every spin. Leading up to the album release, fans have been able to discover clips of new songs in exchange for granting camera access through the band’s immersive website, voyeurist.io.
Voyeurist is available for pre-order now, including a deluxe animated vinyl which features a plastic o-card sleeve that activates playback of the jacket’s interlaced video imagery.
The band will also embark on a North American headline tour with support from Every Time I Die and Spiritbox through out February and March, 2022.
VOYEURIST TRACK LISTING:
1. Damn Excuses
2. Hallelujah
3. I’m Pretty Sure I’m Out of Luck and Have No Friends
4. Cycle ft. Ghostemane
5. Thorn
6. (No Oasis)
7. Take A Breath
8. We’re All Gonna Die
9. Numb
10. Pneumonia