Underoath

Underoath has weathered dramatic storm after dramatic storm since its 1998 inception. And yet somehow the revolving door of personnel, near-breakups and substance abuse, and ongoing struggle to adhere to Christian tenets, have infused its ever-evolving brand of hardcore histrionics with a raw intensity few other Alternative Press-approved, derivative punk bands share. Underoath's fourth full-length, Lost in the Sound of Separation, even claimed the No. 8 spot on the Billboard 200 album charts, thanks to the sextet's determination not only to survive, but to make a defining statement. Separation is impossibly heavy, bursting with bone-jarring metal riffage that's somehow more melodic than juggernaut predecessors They're Only Chasing Safety and Define the Great Line. Singer/drummer/lyricist Aaron Gillespie and co. have methodically left the past behind — and continue to create an impressively unholy noise in the process.