Spencer Chamberlain

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Spencer Chamberlain
Underoath - 2019159151044 2019-06-08 Rock am Ring - 0838 - AK8I8737.jpg
Chamberlain at Rock am Ring 2019
Background information
Born (1983-01-04) January 4, 1983 (age 41)
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)Musician, singer
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • bass
  • keyboard
Years active2003–present
Member of
Formerly ofNine Down and This Runs Through

Spencer Chamberlain (born January 4, 1983) is an American musician who is the lead vocalist for the rock band Underoath. Before fronting Underoath, Chamberlain was the vocalist for the band This Runs Through in which his brother, Phil, was the drummer (who is also the drummer for To Speak of Wolves).

Contents

Background

Spencer Chamberlain was born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, [5] and raised in Greensboro, North Carolina, with his mother, and older brother, Phil (also a musician as the drummer for Sullivan and To Speak of Wolves). As a child, Chamberlain's family was well-to-do and had enough money to pay tuition at Greensboro Day School. Chamberlain's parents divorced when he was in elementary school at Greensboro Day School. Chamberlain also struggled with substance use disorders. He tells Alternative Press, "You know how some people have a good family or a girlfriend that's always there for them and never fails? That was [what] drugs [were] for me. That was my weakness." [6] He particularly had problems with a serious addiction to cocaine. Chamberlain soon went on to Page High School. [7] Shortly after graduating high school, he moved to Florida. [5] He continued to struggle, until his stepbrother, a pastor, introduced him to Christianity. Although Chamberlain hadn't grown up in a Christian home and avoided religion most of his childhood, he claims it is half of what saved him, the other being music.

However, in a 2018 interview, Chamberlain stated, "I'm not saying religion is wrong for everyone, but for me it was wrong. It ruined my life, turned me into a drug addict and people were awful to me the whole time. I never felt more alone in my life than when I was Christian." [8]

Career

Before Chamberlain joined Underoath, he was in a band based out of Greensboro, North Carolina called, NINE DOWN and This Runs Through. They released a five-song EP, Until Forever Finds Me.

Chamberlain at 2006's Warped Tour Spencer Chamberlain.jpg
Chamberlain at 2006's Warped Tour

In late 2003, former lead vocalist of Underoath, Dallas Taylor (currently the vocalist for Maylene and the Sons of Disaster), left the band. Later in October of that same year at the CMJ Fest, Chamberlain took the stage as the new lead vocalist. During the early months of 2004, the band recorded their first album with Chamberlain and their second record for Solid State Records.

Chamberlain has released six albums with Underoath, They're Only Chasing Safety (2004), Define the Great Line (2006), Lost in the Sound of Separation (2008), Ø (2010), Erase Me (2018), Voyeurist (2022). When Define the Great Line was released on June 20, 2006, it sold 98,004 copies within its first week and debuted on the Billboard 200 Chart at No. 2. [9] After They're Only Chasing Safety, Chamberlain worked with Melissa Cross to add deeper screaming into the mix. Chamberlain then noted that his vocals on Define The Great Line sound less like imitations of Dallas Taylor's vocals, and more similar to the vocals that he used in his previous band, This Runs Through. His evolved vocals came with the help of Melissa Cross, who coached Chamberlain and refined his "growl". Alternative Press noted, "his bellow [is] more carnal and guttural, [and] his high end more tuneful than whiny. Now when Chamberlain's relating those things that eat at the edges of his conscience and his soul, he has the kind of multi-faceted caterwaul to convey that despair." The article also comments on his songwriting, saying that it "reaches inward, confronting every ugly crevice of his being, often emerging from the clash furious and disoriented, but hopeful."

Chamberlain performing with Underoath at 2008's Mayhem Festival Mayhem-210.jpg
Chamberlain performing with Underoath at 2008's Mayhem Festival

In 2010, Chamberlain made a guest appearance on the track "Quercus Alba" by To Speak of Wolves. The song is included on their debut album Myself < Letting Go . Chamberlain's brother, Phil, is the drummer for the band.

In 2013, Underoath played their final tour before disbanding, though Chamberlain implied that he himself would pursue further musical endeavors. [10] Later in the year, Chamberlain announced his new band Sleepwave, along with plans for a debut single, "Rock and Roll is Dead and So Am I". In July 2014, it was announced that their debut album, Broken Compass, is to be released on September 16, 2014 via Epitaph Records which features their debut single, "Through the Looking Glass". [11]

In 2016, Underoath regrouped for a series of shows dubbed 'Rebirth' playing 'They're Only Chasing Safety' and 'Define the Great Line' in full. They have since toured supporting Bring Me the Horizon.

On February 22, 2018, Underoath announced their eighth studio album, Erase Me, would be released on April 6, 2018; their first album in 8 years and their first in 10 years with founding drummer Aaron Gillespie. The first single was "On My Teeth."

Discography

With Nine Down and This Runs Through
With Underoath
With Sleepwave
With SLO/TIDE

Bands

Current

Former

Touring

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Underoath</span> American rock band

Underoath is an American rock band from Tampa, Florida. It was founded by lead vocalist Dallas Taylor and guitarist Luke Morton in 1997 in Ocala, Florida; subsequently, its additional members were from Tampa, including drummer, clean vocalist and last remaining original member Aaron Gillespie. The band's current lineup consists of Gillespie, keyboardist Christopher Dudley, lead guitarist Timothy McTague, bassist Grant Brandell, and lead vocalist Spencer Chamberlain. Originally, the band identified as a Christian group; they have since distanced themselves from Christianity.

<i>Theyre Only Chasing Safety</i> 2004 studio album by Underoath

They're Only Chasing Safety is the fourth studio album by American rock band Underoath. It was released on June 15, 2004, through Solid State Records. Following the release of their third studio effort The Changing of Times (2002), half of the band's members were replaced. After finalizing the line-up with vocalist Spencer Chamberlain, the band recorded their next release with producer James Paul Wisner at his home studio Wisner Productions in February 2004. The album has been tagged with various genres including screamo and melodic hardcore and features subtle references to Christianity. Drummer Aaron Gillespie had more of a vocal presence to contrast Chamberlain's screams.

<i>The Changing of Times</i> 2002 studio album by Underoath

The Changing of Times is the third studio album by American rock band Underoath. The album was released on February 26, 2002, through Solid State Records. It is the first album to include guitarist Timothy McTague and bassist William Nottke, the latter leaving the band afterwards along with vocalist Dallas Taylor and guitarist Octavio Fernandez. The album is the best-selling Solid State debut.

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<i>Define the Great Line</i> 2006 studio album by Underoath

Define the Great Line is the fifth studio album by American rock band Underoath. It was released on June 20, 2006, through Tooth & Nail Records. Five months after the release of their fourth studio album They're Only Chasing Safety, the band were already in the process of working towards its follow-up. Recording took place between January and March 2006 at Zing Recording Studios in Westfield, Massachusetts, and Glow in the Dark Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, with Adam Dutkiewicz of Killswitch Engage, Matt Goldman and the band as producers. Define the Great Line is predominantly a metalcore and emo album, which has also been tagged as post-metal and post-hardcore. The variety of styles was an unintentional move by the band, who took influence from At the Drive-In, Beloved and Cult of Luna, among others.

<i>Lost in the Sound of Separation</i> 2008 studio album by Underoath

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To Speak of Wolves is an American metalcore band from Greensboro, North Carolina, formed in 2007. The band has released three full-length studio albums, Myself < Letting Go, Find Your Worth, Come Home, and Dead in the Shadow. The band was founded by Phil Chamberlain, the brother of Underoath frontman and now the frontman for Sleepwave, Spencer Chamberlain, Aaron Shelton and Chris Shelton formerly of the Human Flight Committee, Drew Fulk, and Matthew Goldfarb.

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<i>Erase Me</i> (album) 2018 studio album by Underoath

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<i>Voyeurist</i> 2022 studio album by Underoath

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References

  1. 1 2 "Sleepwave | Artist Information | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Sharpe-Young, Garry. "Underoath". MusicMight. Archived from the original on November 2, 2009. Retrieved June 20, 2009.
  3. ↑ Henderson, Alex. "They're Only Chasing Safety review". AllMusic . Retrieved June 17, 2009.
  4. ↑ Jones, Kim. "Top 8 Christian Metal Bands". About.com. Archived from the original on January 31, 2016. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Profiles". Underoath. Archived from the original on May 16, 2007. Retrieved May 26, 2007.
  6. ↑ Staddon, Tristan (October 2006). Underoath . Alternative Press.
  7. ↑ "Did you realise... another famous North Carolinian". Rutherford Weekly. Archived from the original on December 6, 2018. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  8. ↑ ""Christianity Ruined My Life": Underoath's Spencer Chamberlain Talks Moving On From The Past". Music Feeds. March 19, 2018. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Billboard Chart". Billboard Chart. Retrieved September 12, 2006.
  10. ↑ Spencer Chamberlain [@wschamberlain] (February 3, 2013). "Someone would have to kill me before I call any show my "last" show, UO is gone but I am not" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  11. ↑ Pettigrew, Jason (October 2, 2013). ""I basically lost everything I had–except for the songs" Spencer Chamberlain gets his Sleepwave on". Alternative Press . p. 3. Retrieved October 3, 2013.
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