Underoath Release the Best Song of Their Career, “Pneumonia”
I’m no Underoath expert by any means, but I can say with confidence that their latest single, “Pneumonia,” is one of the most experimental tracks of their career.
Not coincidentally, it has instantly become my favorite Underoath track in the band’s 20+ year career. Boom.
You like the band’s earlier metalcore sound? Welp, too bad; nothing like that to see here! As much Deftones as it is Radiohead, “Pneumonia” explores entirely new musical ground for Underoath throughout its seven-plus minutes, a truly dynamic track with peaks, valleys, intensity, subtlety, electronics, chugs and everything in between all of those.
The subject matter is also tremendously weighty — and you can feel it — as guitarist Tim McTague explains:
“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.”
Check out “Pneumonia” below. Voyeurist comes out on January 14 via Fearless Records; pre-order here. You can also listen to the album’s two previous singles, “Damn Excuses” and “Hallelujah.”
Catch Underoath on tour early next year with Every Time I Die and Spiritbox. Dates:
Fri/Feb-18 Dallas, TX @ Southside Ballroom [tickets]
Sat/Feb-19 Houston, TX @ Bayou Music Center [tickets]
Sun/Feb-20 San Antonio, TX @ The Aztec Theatre [tickets]
Wed/Feb-23 Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren [tickets]
Thu/Feb-24 Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern [tickets]
Fri/Feb-25 Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues [tickets]
Sat/Feb-26 San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield [tickets]
Mon/Feb-28 Seattle, WA @ Showbox SODO [tickets]
Tue/Mar-01 Vancouver, BC @ The Vogue Theater [tickets]
Wed/Mar-02 Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory [tickets]
Fri/Mar-04 Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex [tickets]
Sat/Mar-05 Denver, CO @ The Ogden Theatre [tickets]
Mon/Mar-07 Minneapolis, MN @ The Fillmore [tickets]
Tue/Mar-08 Chicago, IL @ Radius [tickets]
Wed/Mar-09 Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore [tickets]
Fri/Mar-11 Toronto, ON @ History [tickets]
Sat/Mar-12 Cleveland, OH @ Agora [tickets]
Sun/Mar-13 Wallingford, CT @ The Dome [tickets]
Mon/Mar-14 Boston, MA @ House of Blues [tickets]
Tue/Mar-15 Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE [tickets]
Thu/Mar-17 Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel [tickets]
Fri/Mar-18 Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore [tickets]
Sat/Mar-19 Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore [tickets]
Sun/Mar-20 Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom [tickets]
Tue/Mar-22 Cincinnati, OH @ ICON [tickets]
Wed/Mar-23 Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore [tickets]
Fri/Mar-25 Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle [tickets]
