Artists|July 17, 2015 11:42 EDT
Silent Planet & The Ongoing Concept Reflect on Underoath's Influence on Heavy Music, 'All of Their Albums are Epic' [INTERVIEW]
There is no doubt that Solid State Records metalcore legends Underoath left an impact on not only Christian heavy rock, but the entire genre itself. Recently BREATHEcast interviewed the band's Silent Planet and The Ongoing Concept and without any prompting, they both separately brought up the inspiration they had on shaping their bands and music.
Silent Planet frontman Garrett Russell said Underoath is the only music that the entire band can agree on. Fans and critics have also gave Silent Planet the ultimate honor - that they are continuing down the line of of music Underoath would have made if they were still around.
"By no means would I say we are Underoath 2.0, but the way they approached music writing is maybe we are operating under a similar paradigm."
Garrett said he recently became friends with Chris Dudley of Underoath, and praised him for his genuine passion and love for his platform. "Just an unreal human, and never ever lost sight of why he was in the band. He very clearly always knew why he was there, and wanted to show people the love of God that he experienced."
He explained that Underoath did not write to just write. They did not specifically set out to write singles or breakdowns. "Every time they went into the studio, they wrote to make a great album and cared about the whole thing and how everything came together."
The frontman also explained they really cared about the whole thing without any particular member ever showing off. The collaborative band effort is tough to find in the fast passed competitive music of today.
However, it's not just Underoath that played a role on the thought provoking vocalist. The greatest lyrical influence for Garrett is Aaron Weiss from Mewithoutyou. This made Underoath's final tour a real treat for him as MWY opened on all the tour dates. Garrett is also a huge fan of Zack de la Rocha from Rage Against the Machine. "He lived out that famous quote when he said, 'Your anger is a gift'. By directing his frustrations he left a gift to people by speaking about things that matter."
The Ongoing Concept are another quickly rising Solid State band that is being praised for their ingenuity. While speaking guitarist/vocalist Dawson Scholz he began to speak about how Underoath makes him want to elevate his band's music.
"I just feel like we write music that we like to listen to. We aren't afraid to try new things...We are always searching for something timeless, something that you can remember for years to come and not just listen to a record 10 years from now and not just go, 'Oh yeah, that was that trendy thing back in 2015 where all the bands were doing this at that time'," he said referring to his band looking to stand out.
He continued, "You look at bands like Underoath and Bring Me to the Horizon. They have albums that came out like 10 years ago and they are still being listened to now. People listen to them and say, 'Holy cow this is awesome'. That's because I feel like they broke away from any trends that are happening like specialty type ways of writing music."
He cites 2007 as an example of something a lot of bands in their genre were doing - the pause, small clang of a bell, and then a breakdown. He said you can sort of tell what year of music it is, especially in rock because a lot of bands are following the same fade, "I don't want to be that band."
"There are certain bands that never did any of that. That music was heavy, it didn't have a trend, it's like their album, their band. You listen to that album now and you still think it's amazing. That's what I want to be...that's what I want to achieve."
Dawson admitted he listens to Underoath's Lost in the Sound of Separation whenever he is mixing albums. "I always pull up that album because it's such a great mix. It will always sound amazing in any car speaker. It's just so well produced and written, mixed and mastered. All of their albums are like, just epic albums."
He said they left a legacy on so many bands coming now. The influence is everywhere. The same thing with Brand New. "They don't have to release an album for six years, and they release one song, and everyone freaks out. How does a band stay that relevant."
"The way they captivated people with their music is insane. I don't know how they did it, but I want to be that band."
It's nice to see newer bands paying homage to the pioneers in genre that came before them. The mentioned bands are no doubt heard in parts of their music, yet Silent Planet and The Ongoing Concept manage to update and use their own unique gifts to music.
Read our interview with Dawson as he talks about The Ongoing Concept's album Handmade here and about his brothers here.
Read our interview with Garrett as he talks about how he writes music here and his thoughts on evangelism here.
What do you think of these frontman's thoughts on their influences? Do you hear it in their music? Do you miss Underoath like everyone else? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
