Unearth - Saviors of Metalcore

circus_brimstone

Forest: Sold Out
Jul 5, 2003
5,154
13
38
41
Indiana
[IMGLEFT]http://www.russell.ultimatemetal.com/Interview/kj.jpg[/IMGLEFT]By Jason Jordan

Arguably, Unearth have risen to the top of the metalcore heap since releasing The Oncoming Storm on Metal Blade Records in 2004. I sat with Trevor Phipps (vocals) and Mike Justain (drums) – who struggled to open a new CD while we talked – and conversed with them about the band’s past, present, and future.

Can you give me a little background on how you got signed to Metal Blade?

Trevor: They saw us play at South by Southwest in March 2003. They were excited by the set, and we played a week later at The Whisky in Hollywood. From that point on, they were talking to us.

That’s cool. I think lately it’s been a phenomenon with Metal Blade that they’ll pick up a bunch of – not really newer bands – but they’ll scour areas and then sign a few bands. I know you all had released some other things before The Oncoming Storm. Could you tell us about any of those?

T: Yeah, we have another full-length called The Stings of Conscience. We put that out with Eulogy Recordings in 2001. We also have an EP called Endless put out on Eulogy in 2002. Our first release ever was called Above the Fall of Man and that was put out in May 1999 I think on Endless Fight Records, so the band’s been around a long time. We just did our thing underground, and got picked up by Metal Blade. There’s been a lot more press and a lot more record sales, since we signed.

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How’s it going with Metal Blade?

T: Great label. They’re a lot of fun. They treat us well, they have good distribution, they advertise, and we’re happy to be on that label.

They have a lot of financial muscle as far as metal is concerned.

T: Yeah. They’re one of the biggest independent labels out there, for this style of music anyway.

You guys, whether you like it or not, have been pigeonholed into the metalcore genre. What do you think about that? Do you necessarily agree with that?

T: What do you think Mike?

Mike: Metalcore? The name is sort of a representation of metallic hardcore, and it’d be pompous and pretentious of us to say that we’re not metallic hardcore. Unearth is a band that was founded on hardcore, the hardcore scene, and hardcore ideals…fortified with musical notions of metal. A lot of bands try to avoid being referred to as metalcore like it’s leprosy or something. It is what it is. It’s the whole fundamental concept of cultivating the two most emotional forms of music. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.

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I think you’re right. Bands are shying away from the metalcore label, but I think you all are – with some other bands – the forerunners of the genre. What are metalcore bands going to have to do to differentiate themselves from one another, since there are so many of them out there?

M: Music, in general, goes in circles. It’s not just hardcore or heavy metal, it’s every kind of music. I think that there’s going to be a time pretty soon where this subgenre of music is going to have to come full circle, and reinvent itself. Because, there are a lot of bands out there that you can’t really tell apart. That’s just based on plagiarizing somebody else’s innovation. It’s only a matter of time before there’s a new innovation and that’s going to be plagiarized by other bands. We’re gonna come full circle.

Yeah, where somebody reinvents the wheel, and then we get a bunch of followers of that. What would you say the overall premise is of The Oncoming Storm?

T: Premise of the record? Of the lyrics?

Yeah.

T: Basically, to sum up quickly, we’re at a time right now where other countries aren’t treating each other very well, people aren’t treating each other very well, and there’s natural disasters happening because of the way we treat our planet. So, if we don’t improve all aspects of the way we treat each other, and the world, then we’re fucked I guess.

It’s sort of about an amalgamation of political, social, and environmental problems?

T: You said it better than I did!

(Laughs) Had to get a little Bush lambasting in there…

T: Yeah, a little bit.

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How was Ozzfest?

T: Fun as hell, man. Can’t wait till this summer. We’re doing the Sounds of the Underground Tour, and it’s gonna be just like Ozzfest. Second stage, a parking lot full of all our friends, and we get to hang out, play shows everyday, and have fun.

What are some of the perks of that? Playing Ozzfest versus other tours or other shows?

T: Bigger stage, and we’ll be playing to more people. An audience that you wouldn’t normally play in front of.

Yeah, like tens of thousands…

T: Yeah, we play to an average of five thousand a people a day at Ozzfest. This is a good-size tour that we’re on right now, and we’re playing to an average of about 1,000 people a night. That’s a really good-size tour, but Ozzfest is five times that almost every day.

Where is this tour headed after this [Louisville]?

T: We have about two and a half or three weeks left. We’re gonna tackle the Midwest now, cause we started in California, went down the southern section of the U.S., and up the east coast and to Canada. And now we’re doing the Midwest, and ending the tour back in California.

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I was surprised to see you guys come through Louisville, cause it’s not really a major stop for a lot of metal. But, I think it’s fortunate that we got you guys out here.

T: I think what happened was we played here on our off day of Ozzfest with Atreyu, Lamb of God, and Every Time I Die. It was such a great show, we had so much fun, and the audience was amazing so we figured we’d just come back.

First time I saw you guys was when you played up in Indianapolis with Zao.

T: A long time ago, right?

Yeah, that was a while ago. That was probably 2002. Zao had just released Parade of Chaos, and they were on that tour. You guys were probably second-billing under them.

T: Yeah, that was July of 2002.

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What’s in the works for you? It’s been a little while since The Oncoming Storm’s been released.

T: It’s been about nine months.

Do you guys write on the road, or?

T (to Mike): A little bit here and there, right?

M: Yeah, we’re so preoccupied with the rigors of the road. (Laughs) We do it once in a while, but there’s not too many open avenues for writing, recording, all the necessary steps that it takes to actually put together a song.

T: We’ll have ideas, but you can’t really put together a song until you’re home.

This tour ends in two and a half to three weeks. You guys have Sounds of the Underground Tour in the summer. After that have you formalized – are you gonna sit down and say we’re gonna write another record, or do you think you’ll add some more legs to the touring?

T: We’re at a point where we’re getting to pick and choose our tours the way we want to. So, after this, we have about three weeks off, and then we go to Japan and Australia. So there are a few weeks where we can write a little bit. Then we go to Europe for about ten days. We do that for about two weeks, and then we have the summer tour. Then we’ll be home for a couple weeks, and then we’ll go on another tour. Then, I think we’ll take off two months to write the record, take some time off, and do one more tour in November.

That’s great.

T: I think at that point we’ll set up some recording time and have a record ready to go sometime in mid to late 2006. At least that’s the plan.

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Have you guys ever toured in Japan, Australia, or any of those places?

T: We’re looking forward to it very much. It’s been a goal of ours.

With both of those countries, they don’t get a whole lot of metal tours but when they do, they really have a cult following for a lot of bands.

T: They each have their fair share of bands though, right?

Yeah.

T (to Mike): What’s the band you like a lot?

M: Japanese band? Envy. I like Envy a lot. I like Melt Banana a lot. They’re playing here soon actually. There’s a lot of great Japanese bands. There seems to be a raw, cathartic type of expression with them.

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It’s really great that you get to go to Australia, because not a lot of people get to tour there.

T: That’s killer, man. Nice weather, and it’s a place that I’ve wanted to check out for my entire life.

It’s so secluded in some places. But, you guys will probably be hitting Perth, Melbourne, all the major stops?

T: Yeah, Sydney and Brisbane. Adelaide. That’s the only other one. It’s cool, though, cause there’s two and three night stays in different cities. I think we’re doing three nights in Melbourne, two nights in Sydney, two nights in Perth, which is pretty rad. We’ll get to hang out in the cities and see the sights.

Well, I think that’s all I have.

T: Right on.

Thanks a lot guys.

T and M: Thank you.

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All photographs copyright Amanda Roberson 2005.

Ultimatemetal’s Review of Unearth – The Oncoming Storm
Official Unearth Website
Official Metal Blade Records Website