Define the Great Line

Underoath released their fourth studio album ''They're Only Chasing Safety'' in June 2004 through Solid State Records. By November 2004, the band had started writing new material for their next album. In April 2005, Underoath had around six new songs, and were performing one of them live around this time. They wrote while on tour; in between treks, they practiced together and recorded demos. In September 2005, they announced that they would be recording their next album in early 2006. Despite being courted by major labels for a few months, they opted to sign with Solid State's parent company Tooth & Nail Records. By this point, ''They're Only Chasing Safety'' had sold close to 500,000 copies in the United States, selling at a rate of 4,500 per week. Underoath closed out 2005 playing a four-date tour dubbed Come & Live; profits from each show benefitted a separate charity. The shows led into the recording sessions for the band's next album. Define the Great Line was recorded at Zing Recording Studios in Westfield, Massachusetts, and Glow in the Dark, Atlanta, Georgia, with Adam Dutkiewicz of Killswitch Engage, Matt Goldman and the band serving as producers. Chamberlain said they had been looking for someone to capture their sound better, which he said was not well-represented on ''They're Only Chasing Safety''. They entered the studios with 19 songs written, which they planned to pare down to 10 or 11. Sessions began in January 2006 and wrapped up two months later in March 2006. Chris Lord-Alge, with assistance from Keith Armstrong, mixed the recordings at Resonate Music in Burbank, California, before the album was mastered by Tom Baker at Precision Mastering in Los Angeles, California. ==Composition and lyrics==

Musical style While most commonly cited as metalcore and emo, The band themselves said that the heavier style was "nothing super intentional, they [the songs] just came out that way when we went to write". Tony Cummings of Cross Rhythms described the album as "an impressively versatile project where metal riffs and emo breakdowns, screamo noise and memorable hooks collide in a veritable sonic feast," Chamberlain explained that he switched from a higher pitched scream to a lower pitched one as it felt more natural for him. Alternative Press mentioned that the band had updated its "early, brutal style with weird time changes and post-metal ambience". Burgess noted Chamberlain's lyrical presence, saying that "between Chamberlain's deeply troubled writing and [...] Gillespie's, Define sounds like a group-therapy session put to tape". Its ambient electronica sound, powered by Dudley's keyboard parts, recalls the work of Sigur Rós. "Everyone Looks So Good from Here" is another metalcore song. The album closes with the seven minute long "To Whom It May Concern", which features several tempo changes. ==Release and promotion==

On March 6, 2006, Underoath's next album was announced for release in three months' time. The music video for "Writing on the Walls" premiered on MTV's Overdrive program on June 13, 2006. According to Dudley, it was influenced by 1960s theatrical films, "depict[ing] a murder mystery in a surrealistic gothic-tinged setting". A special edition included a DVD with a making-of documentary on the album. To promote it, the band appeared on MTV's T-Minus Rock and Headbangers Ball, and Fuse's ''Steven's Untitled Rock Show''. Listening parties were held at Hot Topic stories, which was the first time in that company's history. "Writing on the Walls" was released to radio on June 27, 2006. The music video for "In Regards to Myself" premiered through Yahoo! Music on September 12, 2006; the track was released as a single on November 27, 2006. The video is a critic on people idolizing popstars, with the band being seen partway through playing in a never-ending series of corridors. A DVD version was released that included videos for both "Writing on the Walls" and "In Regards to Myself". Both were filmed in Sweden with the production team Popcore Films; Anders Forsman handled the former, while Linus Johansson did the latter. On May 14, 2007, the music video for "You're Ever So Inviting", which was filmed in Sweden with Popcore Films earlier in the year, was posted online. In July 2007, the band released their first video album titled 777, which included footage from the 2006 Warped Tour, Taste of Chaos and The Bamboozle Festival. On September 12, 2007, a music video was released for "A Moment Suspended in Time". It was also directed by Popcore Film and was filmed in Sweden. Reissues and full-album performances Define the Great Line was included in the Play Your Old Stuff: An Underoath Anthology (2011) three-CD set, alongside their third studio album The Changing of Times (2002) and ''They're Only Chasing Safety. Define the Great Line was packaged with They're Only Chasing Safety'' as a two-LP set to promote the band's Rebirth Tour in 2016, during which they performed both albums in full. Coinciding this, Underoath performed all three albums in their entireties as part of the Underoath: Observatory livestream series. "In Regards to Myself", "You're Ever So Inviting", and "Writing on the Walls" were included on the band's second compilation album Anthology: 1999–2013 (2012). "In Regards to Myself" and "Writing on the Walls" were included on third compilation album Icon (2014). ==Touring==

Underoath appeared at the Groezrock festival in Belgium, and the Give it a Name festival in the United Kingdom in April and May 2006, respectively. The trek included an appearance at The Bamboozle festival. The band headlined the main stage of the Warped Tour, but left it in July 2006 due to issues between band members. Kerrang! reported that this was due to Fat Mike of NOFX making disparaging remarks about the band's religious beliefs. Mike claimed that Chamberlain had been doing cocaine and consuming alcohol on their tour bus, which Underoath's manager denied. Discussing it with MTV, Mike said to have made fun of several bands on the trek without issue. In an interview with Rock Sound, McTague said: "That's society as a whole; politically we cannot get along, religions cannot get along [...] We just need to come to the point where we realise everyone is not going to be like us". Dudley said they re-grouped after a few days and talked about their issues, which helped stop them from breaking up. In September 2006, Underoath went on a tour of Central and South America, which led into a Canadian tour with support from Silverstein, Moneen, and He Is Legend. In October and November 2006, the group went on the international edition of the Taste of Chaos tour, visiting New Zealand, Australia, Japan and Europe. Between February and April 2007, the band went on a North American tour alongside Taking Back Sunday. In May 2007, the band headlined the short Dirty South Tour in the US, with support from Norma Jean, Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, and the Glass Ocean, before playing a few shows in Australia with Emery in June 2007. From early July to late August 2007, the band went on the Warped Tour. Between late September and early November, the band went on a headlining US tour with support from Every Time I Die, Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, and Poison the Well. During the Las Vegas, Nevada date of the trek, Gillespie was forced to have emergency surgery as he had contracted an infection in his hand. Chamberlain and McTague covered Gillespie's vocal sections; he re-joined Underoath four days later. ==Reception==

Define the Great Line was met with generally favorable reviews from music critics. It is seen as Underoath's big breakthrough into the mainstream by Cummings, while Taylor referred to it as the most anticipated album that year. Both Cummings and Taylor called the album the best hardcore album of the year; Taylor giving the album a near-perfect rating and Cummings gave it a perfect score. Monger described Define the Great Line as a "mammoth production that exemplifies how far Christian metal has come since the days of Stryper and Bloodgood", and called it "blistering and occasionally majestic". Rock Hard Boris Kaiser noted that the band have "become a whole lot angrier and more violent" than with ''They're Only chasing Safety''. Cummings praised Chamberlain's "stunning repertoire of guttural growls, smooth emoting and nerve-jangling screams". Define the Great Line was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in November 2006 for selling 500,000 copies. "Writing on the Walls" was nominated for a 2007 Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video. In 2017, Loudwire ranked the album 24th on its list of the "25 Greatest Metalcore albums of all-time". Kerang listed Define the Great Line as one of the “21 Greatest Metalcore Albums of All-Time,” specifically highlighting Chamberlin’s “lacerating, confessional vocals” and Gillespie’s “melodic style” drumming. In 2023, Revolver ranked Define the Great Line at number 1 on its list of Underoath albums, praising the songwriting, musicianship, and the back and forth between Chamberlain and Gillespie. It was cited as the band's best album by Bryan Rolli of Loudwire as well in 2025. ==Track listing==

Lyrics by Spencer Chamberlain and Aaron Gillespie, music by Underoath. ==Personnel==

Personnel per booklet, except where noted. Underoath • Spencer Chamberlain – lead vocals • Timothy McTague – lead guitar • James Smith – rhythm guitar • Grant Brandell – bass guitar • Christopher Dudley – keyboards, synthesizers, samplers • Aaron Gillespie – drums, clean vocals Production and design • Adam Dutkiewicz – producer • Matt Goldman – producer • Underoath – producer • Chris Lord-Alge – mixing • Keith Armstrong – assistant • Chandler Owen – art direction, packaging • Jeff Gros – photography • Tom Baker – mastering ==Charts==