Underoath is a solid heavy rock band. I don’t know what the cool kids are calling them today, but as Billy Joel said, “It’s all rock and roll to me”. 2006’s Define the Great Line sold a shit-ton of copies it’s first week with no promotion, and now it’s certified gold, so I think they’re doing decent.

With that being said, their new disk Lost in the Sound of Separation drops in stores today.   Lost… picks up where Define left off, dropping most of the ambiance in favor of strait up brutality.   Whenever I end up paying my bills, I’m opting for the special edition with the 40 minute ‘making of’ documentary. Check out a few of the album’s 11 tracks on their Myspace page.

When our good friends Emery recently announced they were ending their run with Switchfoot and Athlete on the TWLOHA-sponsored Up In Arms Tour a few weeks early, internet naysayers had the rumor mill working overtime. But the band put all rumors as to their demise to rest today with the announcement that they will be joining up with longtime musical cohort Aaron Gillespie on his last tour with The Almost before devoting his attention to Underoath full time for awhile. Here’s the announcement:

We are extremely excited to announce that we will be joining The Almost for their US tour in May and June. We’ve known Aaron for some time, and since our 2007 Australian tour with Underoath was such a good time, we know we had to go out with him again. We will be joined on this tour by Envy on the Coast and Army of Me. We could not be more excited about this tour. Please check back as more shows are announced. We’ll see you soon. Love - EMERY

Also joining them on this tour will be long lost Synthesis blogger Trevor Digby Sellers. Write to him on his Myspace and tell him to start putting his iPhone to use by writing some damn blogs. Tour dates after the jump:

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Photos by Melissa Welliver
after 10 years of attending warped tour. i can say this was the last year i will ever go. 105 degrees in the sun (yeah, no shade!) and after having the flu the night before, warped tour was the worst thing i’ve experienced in a long time. but some how i took a few rad pictures in between consuming 5 gallons of water. i probably spent some where around $30 on those damn h20 bottles.

Poison the Well

The Almost

Circa Survive

Coheed & Cambria

Hi. Most of the country has already had their taste of the summer-long advertising/music festival beloved to the unwashed mashes and known as The Vans Warped Tour. Well, it’s finally making its way back around to our parts, and it looks like I will be attending. This will be my first year attending Warped. I mean, I’ve written fascinating and well researched articles about it, but never made it down to the show. Besides, look at me:

Yeah, I’m rad, but it looks like I’d be more comfortable inside a dimly lit bar, swilling delicious canned beer, spitting ridiculous game. Well on Thursday, I’ll be hissing at the sun and watching mall rock galore, and I’ll probably have to interview a few bands with whom I’m not well acquainted. So I need your help, faithful and semi-literate Synthesis community.

These are some of the bands I might interview:

Sum 41
The Almost
The Matches
Killswitch Engage
Paramore
A Static Lullaby
Bad Religion
Bleed The Dream
Circa Survive
Coheed and Cambria
Cute is What We Aim For
Pennywise

While I’m down with Pennywise, Killswitch and Bad Religion (and think Circa Survive are the saviors of anything remotely emo), I don’t know jack shit about Cute is What We Aim For, or Paramore, or Bleed The Dream or whatever. Here’s where you come in:

WHAT SHOULD I ASK THEM? Please help me look like less of a douche and let me know the questions you would ask if you were in my shoes. Comment on this blog or send your questions to letters@synthesis.net.

I don’t want to look like my boy Dallas Von Killbot interviewing Three Inches of Blood.

The remaining handful of Warped Tour dates are listed after the jump.
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