For a band that has gone through numerous member changes and only retained one original member, Underoath are doing pretty damn good. When the band lost their vocalist Dallas Taylor, it seemed like the end was near, but with continued fate, the group found a new vocalist named Spencer Chamberlain and they haven’t looked back since. The group has become one of the biggest bands not only in the post-hardcore scene, but the music scene in general. With every record, the band continues to push their songwriting abilities. After the highly successful album, Define The Great Line, the band went on lengthy tours and continued to work away at trying to topple their last effort. Knowing that this was going to take some time, they released the DVD 777. The DVD was mostly footage of the band on tour supporting the album, but it also included a short concert that was done for Myspace’s Secret Shows.
After some time passed, the band announced that they would be filming another concert for another DVD. They stated that even though they though 777 was a solid release, they wanted to give the fans a full live show while they finished recording the new album. The footage that was shot would later be known as Survive, Kaleidoscope.
Now, when you first pop in the DVD section of this release something is going to catch your eye. What may that be, you ask? The answer is: lovely black bars surrounding the top and bottom half of your television screen, which in return means the show was taped in 16:9 widescreen. This may be upsetting to some, and others (such as myself) may love it. Thanks to the widescreen video, the footage is stellar, giving the concert an over-the-top production feel. Not that it’s a good thing, but I’d bet you could count every bead of sweat on Spencer Chamberlain’s forehead; the picture quality is just that good. It doesn’t get much better than this when it comes to a live production. Underoath give it their all on this night, putting everything out on the stage which can be felt with every continuous head bang from Chris Dudley. Musically, the band is completely in sync and proves why they are hailed as the front-runner of their genre. Although there are studio touch-ups to make it seem better than it really is, for the most part, the band is one of the best at what they do.
I highly suggest watching the DVD over listening to the CD for the whole experience, as the audio quality just isn’t totally up to par and leaves more to be desired. At the end of the day, Underoath did what they set out to do, which is release a full live show and give the fans what they wanted. If you have been a fan of the past couple records, I highly doubt you’ll have any issues with Survive, Kaleidoscope. Faith is the center of the band’s idea and if you had lost any in them, this may be the revitalizing factor.
