Today, Underoath shared “Pneumonia,” the third single off their highly anticipated seventh full-length, Voyeurist, set for release on January 14th via Fearless Records. “Pneumonia” is a sonic and lyrical voyage through death, partly inspired by the passing of guitarist Tim McTague’s father. Clocking in at just over seven minutes, the track shows Underoath continuing to push their boundaries as a band, serving as one of the most melodic and experimental songs in their career. As the track progresses, the listener is met with eerie guitars, pulsating drums, and an earth-shaking switch from Aaron Gillespie’s lush vocals to Spencer Chamberlain’s intense screams. You can check out the visualizer for the song here and find it on streaming services.
On the writing process, McTague elaborates: “We started writing the song, randomly, on the anniversary of my dad’s death, and to release it exactly a year from that day is wild. I was in a funk and wanted to make something sad but felt drained. The song ended up becoming an audible journey of death and is called ‘Pneumonia’ because that is what was listed on my dad’s death certificate. It’s also the only song in the history of the band that Spencer and Aaron sat someone down and asked them (me) to help write some of the lyrics, which was truly an honor.”
