After an eight-year dry spell, Underoath have returned in 2018 with the new album Erase Me. During that quiet period, Underoath jettisoned their identity as a Christian band, upsetting many longtime fans. However, the band is sticking to their guns: in this exclusive interview, vocalist Spencer Chamberlain told us that religion has no place in music.

“Putting a religion on a band; we’re all six individuals, that’s really unfair,” says Chamberlain. “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? I don’t think religion should be in music. I don’t really care what Maynard [James Keenan] believes in, I think his music is great.”

As for the Christian community, Chamberlain and drummer Aaron Gillespie feel a mixed reaction to their new direction. “Some of them [still support us]. A lot of them aren’t,” says Gillespie. “If you say ‘fuck’ in a song, for those people, it’s a huge deal.”

“[The Christian community] were some of the meanest, most alienating people we’ve ever worked with, especially in the music industry,” Chamberlain confesses. “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. 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.’”

Check out our full interview with Underoath in the video above. To grab a copy of Erase Me, click here.

See Underoath in the 25 Best Metalcore Albums of All Time

More From KZCD-FM