Cries of the Past

Cries of the Past is the second album by Underoath, released on July 4, 2000, through Takehold Records.[5] Only 3,000 copies of the album were pressed and, like Act of Depression, it was out of print for years. The album is the last to feature guitarist Corey Steger, the first to include keyboardist Christopher Dudley, and is the only release not to feature Aaron Gillespie on any vocals during his tenure with the band. Alongside their debut album, this album was reissued through Solid State Records on August 20, 2013.[6]

Cries of the Past
Studio album by Underoath
Released	July 4, 2000
Recorded	2000
Studio	Wisner Productions, Saint Cloud, Florida
Genre	Progressive metalcore[1] hardcore punk[2] black metal[2] death metal[1][3]
Length	42:08
Label	Takehold
Producer	James Paul Wisner
Underoath chronology
Act of Depression (1999) Cries of the Past (2000) The Changing of Times (2002)
Reissue cover

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Alternative Press	[1]
Chronicles of Chaos	9.5/10[2]
HM Magazine	*[4]
Jesus Freak Hideout	[3]

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. The song "And I Dreamt of You" is Underoath's longest recorded song, clocking in at 11 minutes and 24 seconds. One of the most notorious things about the album is its length; there are only five songs, but reaches 42:08 in time length, with the shortest song on the album being "Giving Up Hurts the Most" (7:36).

Being the first album to feature Christopher Dudley, it is the first Underoath album to include keyboard effects. The album acquires a similar sound to Act of Depression; however, it notably features a black metal influence.[4][7]

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 and black metal together, saying the album is "Cradle of Filth meets Hatebreed."[2] 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.[3]

Casey Boland of Alternative Press gave the album a more mixed review. Boland praised the album's better production over the debut Act of Depression 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."[1]

The album's title track would later appear on the band's 2012 compilation album Anthology: 1999–2013.

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Last"	7:42
2.	"Giving Up Hurts the Most"	7:47
3.	"Walking Away"	7:36
4.	"And I Dreamt of You"	11:24
5.	"Cries of the Past"	8:23
Total length:		42:08

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 – drums

Production

• James Paul Wisner – producer

References

1. "Alternative Press | Reviews | Underoath - Cries of The Past". Altpress.com. July 4, 2000. Archived from the original on July 5, 2010. Retrieved September 6, 2011.
2. Cantwell, Alex (October 1, 2001). "CoC: Underoath - Cries of the Past: Review". Chronicles of Chaos. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
3. "Underoath, 'Cries of the Past' Review". Jesusfreakhideout.com. February 5, 2006. Retrieved March 20, 2012.
4. Wreckinthangs, Aaron (November–December 2000). "Reviews / Cries of the Past". HM Magazine (86): 85.
5. "Underoath, "Cries of the Past" Review". jesusfreakhideout.com. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
6. "Cries of the Past (Reissue)". Tooth & Nail Records. Archived from the original on March 30, 2014. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
7. Powell, Mark Allan (2002). Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers. p. 976. ISBN 1-56563-679-1.