Metal Anarchy

Back around 2009, Underoath stopped identifying themselves as a Christian band. Now, during an interview with Loudwire, Spencer Chamberlain said he doesn’t believe religion should have a place in music.

Chamberlain said the following:

“So a band is a bunch of personalities. It’s like being married… If anyone’s been in a relationship, trying to keep your girlfriend happy or your wife or your boyfriend or whoever… is a lot of work. Add a bunch of people into that, all different personalities, that’s a lot of work.

But then put a guideline, a rule, overtop of it saying ‘now we all have to believe the same thing.’ That’s like saying… you’re in my band and I’m like ‘I’m going vegan and so is he and if you don’t you’re out of the band.’ And you’re kinda like ‘That’s not really how humanity works.’

Putting a religion on a band; we’re all six individuals, that’s really unfair. What if someone decides to go down a different path? What if someone has questions? What if someone maybe just doesn’t feel right with stuff anymore?

And that pressure was really hard, because if you questioned that within the band, there was kind of this facade and smoke and mirror effect going and like, I know you’re not telling me how you really feel because you don’t want to cross that boundary of sounding like you’re not a Christian anymore, and same with this guy. No one’s talking anymore; there’s all this inner turmoil because we couldn’t talk about shit.

I just think it’s really inhumane and I don’t think religion should be in music. I don’t really care what Maynard [James Keenan of Tool, etc.] believes in, I think his music is great.”

He later added:

“I don’t hate any religion. I think anyone should be entitled to do whatever the fuck they wanna do. But for us, there was a lot of weird pressure and weird stuff behind the scenes. And people sing things that they are but they aren’t and vice versa. They like made a painting out of me. Since 2006 on, when it came out that I had problems with drugs, there was never any help.

It was just like ‘let’s crucify that guy. Because look how terrible of an example of a Christian he is.’ Not one person offered to help me. It was just like ‘fuck that guy, let’s get him out of here.’”