''Cries of the Past'' is the second studio album by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Underoath Underoath (stylized as Underøath or UnderOath) is an American rock band from Tampa, Florida. It was founded by lead vocalist Dallas Taylor and guitarist Luke Morton on November 30, 1997, in Ocala, Florida; subsequently, its additional member ...

, released on July 4, 2000, through Takehold Records. Only 3,000 copies of the album were pressed and, like ''

Act of Depression ''Act of Depression'' is the debut studio album by American rock band Underoath. Released July 4, 1999, through Takehold Records, the album was out of print for some time as there were only 2,000 copies originally released. Solid State reissu ...

'', it was out of print for years. The album is the last to feature guitarist Corey Steger and the first to include keyboardist Christopher Dudley. Alongside their debut album, this album was reissued through

Solid State Records Solid State Records is a Christian metalcore record label, an imprint of Tooth & Nail Records. Unlike Tooth & Nail, Solid State signs hardcore punk and heavy metal bands. Like Tooth & Nail, Solid State is primarily a Christian label. However, ...

on August 20, 2013. This is the band's last album to be released through Takehold Records, as the label was bought by Solid State.

Musical content and style

The second and third song are out of order from the list on the jacket, with "Giving Up Hurts the Most" as the actual second track, while "Walking Away" is the third. The latter is also the shortest song of the album, but with a length of 7:36, with one of the most notorious things about the album being its length; in a time length of 42:08, there are only five songs, all longer than any of the songs the band would make in subsequent albums. The song "And I Dreamt of You" is Underoath's longest recorded song, clocking in at 11 minutes and 24 seconds. Being the first album to feature Christopher Dudley, it is the first Underoath album to include keyboard effects. The album acquires a similar

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...

sound to ''

''; however, it notably features a

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with t ...

influence.

Reception

''Cries of the Past'' has received mostly positive reviews. Alex Cantwell of '' Chronicles of Chaos'' praised the band's ability to mix

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

and

together, saying the album is "

Cradle of Filth Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved originally from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic metal and other metal genres. Their ly ...

meets

Hatebreed Hatebreed is an American hardcore band from Bridgeport, Connecticut, formed in 1994. The band released its debut album '' Satisfaction is the Death of Desire'' in 1997, which gave the band a cult following. The band signed to Universal Records ...

." Sherwin Frias of Jesus Freak Hideout also praised the album, giving it a perfect 5/5. Frias praised the band's musicianship, especially the keyboard work done by Chris Dudley, as well as Dallas Taylor's vocals. Casey Boland of ''

Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...

'' gave the album a more mixed review. Boland praised the album's better production over the debut ''

'' and Dudley's performance, stating "Dudley’s contributions add just enough sonic coloring to make the songs somewhat unique." Boland criticized the length of the songs, stating that "And I Dreamt of You" could have been shorter or split into several different songs and said the songs "feel like patchworks of riffs sewn haphazardly together into an ugly quilt of disjointed patterns." The album's title track would later appear on the band's 2012 compilation album '' Anthology: 1999–2013''.

Track listing

Personnel

Underoath * Dallas Taylor – lead vocals * Corey Steger – lead guitar, backing vocals * Octavio Fernandez – rhythm guitar * Christopher Dudley – keyboards * Matt Clark – bass guitar *

Aaron Gillespie Aaron Roderick Gillespie (born July 18, 1983) is an American musician, best known for being the original and current drummer and clean vocalist for the metalcore band Underoath and the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the alternative rock ...

– drums Production * James Paul Wisner – producer

References

{{Authority control Underoath albums 2000 albums Unblack metal albums Black metal albums by American artists Death metal albums by American artists Hardcore punk albums by American artists Solid State Records albums Albums produced by James Paul Wisner