For a musician, there is generally no greater joy than the anticipation of having new music come out to the masses. For the longtime Massachusetts based metal band Unearth, the anticipation of their upcoming album “Darkness [...]]]>

Unearth's new hard hitting album comes out Tuesday and plays the Mayhem Fest on August 6th.

For a musician, there is generally no greater joy than the anticipation of having new music come out to the masses. For the longtime Massachusetts based metal band Unearth, the anticipation of their upcoming album “Darkness in the Light” (due out July 5^th) is high, but at the time I ended up talking with the band, another thing was on their mind. The band had been out celebrating a victory by the Boston Bruins the previous night before, to tie the Stanley Cup Finals up and get much closer to taking it all and sending the east coast into a dizzying flurry of drinking and partying.

With all the reveling in the hockey madness aside, the upcoming album is a big one for Unearth. Almost three years after the release of “The March” and two years of touring, the band showed the signs of wear and tear on the road and just needed some time to recoup and recharge their batteries for the next album. After losing their drummer, the band enlisted friend and Killswitch Engage drummer Justin Foley to handle the sessions for the new album. Now that the album is done, the band is looking forward to getting out on the Rockstar Mayhem Tour this summer.

On the day I caught up with guitarist Ken Susi, he was just recovering from the previous night and just settling into the day when I called. Ken and I discussed how the band was feeling coming into the album, and some of the crazier moments of life on the road for Ken.
Here’s my interview with Ken:

AM: Given all of the band’s touring for “The March”, where was the band’s mindset once off the road and at the start of recording?
KS: To be honest, we were very disheveled and very tired at the end of touring last time out. We seemed to be on tour all the time and the dudes in the band were just confused. We were battling with the whole “how do we top ourselves this time”, “how do we get the right mix” thoughts running through our heads when starting. I had this clear vision of what I wanted to do after “The March”, but I just felt that was a different record for us. It was a great record, but I felt certain parts were lacking in what I wanted. We wanted it to it to be dynamic and have a broader sound. We sound like how we sound because I don’t think we’ve ever compromised for the sake of the mainstream or anything.

AM: What sort of lyrics was Trevor (Phipps- lead singer) writing during the course of the recording?
KS: Trevor did a great job. I could tell going into the album that he was frustrated and trying to find the right voice for this album. His lyrics are much more darker this time out, which is different because he’s usually very positive in his lyrics and in our music. On this album, you can tell he felt everything that he was singing.

AM: How easy was it having Justin Foley come in and do the drum parts for the new album?
KS: It was incredibly easy actually. Justin doesn’t live in Massachusetts like the rest of us, but we made it work. Our old drummer, Derek (Kerswill) just didn’t really fit over time. It sucked because I consider Derek a close friend, but just knew that it wasn’t working out. I figured if I had to be the one to let him go, I wanted to decide who would help with us the drums. I knew I wanted Justin to help us; I’ve known him a long time and knew he could do the job.

AM: The band has done a few albums with Adam Dutkiewicz producing now- do you feel there’s a level of comfort with Adam at this point?
KS: This is our third record with Adam and sometimes in the studio, he’s the voice of reason. He’s good because he has no emotional ties to the songs or lyrics and that’s good to have because it pushes you to write better songs. He can give an honest answer to a song and just say “eh” or “not so much” or something along those lines when evaluating a song. So, we’ve grown comfortable with having him around and lend another ear to the music.

AM: What do you see being the easiest and most difficult parts of dealing with the music industry these days?
KS: The most difficult thing to see is the turnover and the copycat bands who have stolen some of our riffs over time. We’ve toured with bands that we can pick out what album of yours they took a breakdown from or whatnot. Sometimes, with a million bands that have this sort of sound, you sometimes get forgotten about. But on a positive side, I think the industry is a free forum these days. With You Tube and other internet sites, there is so much music out there, you just have to find it. I think we’re working towards an age like in the old days where bands just put out 45’s with two or three songs on them. I don’t have any problem going to that kind of format, releasing songs every few months if it comes to that.

AM: “Headbangers Ball” has shown some crazy clips of you over the years- is it always like that for you on the road?
KS: (Laughs) Man, it feels like I live in this “American Pie” type of life all the time- where it seems there’s always crazy crap going on. The thing with Randy where he licked this unusual growth of hair on my shoulder was just one of those episodes. My life is just episode after episode of crazy s— after another.

AM: What should fans get out of this new album?
KS: That Unearth is here and still extremely relevant. We were part of the first pack of this era of metal bands in this era and have heard it all before and we are still at the top of our game.

Unearth’s “Darkness in the Light” is due out July 5^th on Metal Blade Records. The band plays as part of the Rockstar Mayhem Festival, coming to DTE Energy Music Theater on Saturday, August 6^th. Ticket info and dates can be found at www.palacenet.com or www.mayhemfest.com. Additional Unearth info can be found at www.unearth.tv.

It is always a potentially chaotic scene when metal kids meet hardcore kids, and this year’s Atticus Metal Tour was another display on how it can get a little tense. Boston metal band Unearth headlined the six band show, which featured metal [...]]]>

Unearth headlined the metal vs. hardcore show March 27th.

It is always a potentially chaotic scene when metal kids meet hardcore kids, and this year’s Atticus Metal Tour was another display on how it can get a little tense. Boston metal band Unearth headlined the six band show, which featured metal bands such as Carnifex and hardcore groups such as Stick To Your Guns for a mostly packed house at the Magic Stick on March 27^th.

Even though all the bands were on the same bill, the show almost seemed like two different concerts rolled into one. When hardcore bands like Stick To Your Guns and England based hardcore group Your Demise were on, it seemed to be their fans dancing (if you want to call it that) and wailing their arms generally into nearby fans, while the metal fans generally hung towards the back and drank beer. Anaheim based Stick to Your Guns were the only band out of this group that didn’t come off as a fourth-rate Hatebreed and seemed to have even the metal fans paying attention.

As for the metal bands, San Diego based Carnifex delivered a better than expected 30-minute set in which the death metal band punished fans (in a good way) with songs from their Hell Chose Me record (and a special thanks to the merch guy for the band for letting us check out the UFC 111 matches on his laptop). And during their half hour set, Chicago “Sumerian-core” based band Veil of Maya played tracks off their upcoming record Id (Out April 6^th) and showed that they have become far more proficient in their skills over the past couple of years.

As the band prepares to release their upcoming record in the summer, Unearth played a mixture of new and old in their 65-minute set. Starting with the fiery “Crow Killer,” Unearth played a set that showed that the metal road warriors are a well-oiled machine at this point. The crowd responded well to fairly new tracks like “My Will Be Done” and “Giles,” in which the old fashioned mosh pits replaced the karate kicks that dominated the pits during the hardcore bands. By the time the band reached towards the end, with one of their signature tracks, “Black Hearts Now Reign,” the band had the fans in the sweltering Magic Stick satisfied and hoping that the new album comes out soon.

Before the band gets into the studio to lay the final touches down on their upcoming record, the guys in Unearth must have been getting a little stir crazy and tired of winter- because they are now back out on the road, headlining the [...]]]>

Unearth headlines at the Stick this Saturday.

Before the band gets into the studio to lay the final touches down on their upcoming record, the guys in Unearth must have been getting a little stir crazy and tired of winter- because they are now back out on the road, headlining the Atticus Metal Tour.

The Massachusetts band is still riding high from the success of their 2008 album, The March, which was the band’s first album to sell over 100,000 copies worldwide, according to Billboard Magazine. The album, which included searing tracks such as “My Will Be Done” and the punishing title track, was the latest in a string of quality releases from the metalcore mainstays. Most recently, the band warmed up for the new album by recording a cover of Pantera’s “Sandblasted Skin” for the recently released Dimebag Darrell Metal Hammer tribute album.

Not much is known about details of the new album, other than we will see its release likely in the summer sometime on Metal Blade Records. But for now, the band will play with hardcore band Stick To Your Guns and death metallers in Carnifex, whose new album is fiercely titled “Hell Chose Me.” Also, Chicago’s Veil of Maya is on this very diverse bill of metal.

The tour started in early March, and will wrap up out east on April 4^th. But before then, Unearth head to Detroit, where they play the Magic Stick on Saturday, March 27^th. It will be a good chance for you to hear some of the new stuff Unearth has been working on this winter, as well as the songs you mosh in your living room to.

Unearth play at the Magic Stick on Saturday, March 27^th. Tickets are $16 and are available at www.ticketmaster.com. Additional band info and dates can be found at www.unearth.tv.