Finland's Chaoszine interviewed Unearth frontman, Trevor Phipps, about his journey as a metal vocalist. Watch the video below:
Unearth's new album, The Wretched; The Ruinous, will be out on May 5. On album number eight, Unearth not merely continues to amp-up their metal meets hardcore intensities, but they also exceed themselves with a record that incorporates elements of classic Unearth offerings dating back to 2004’s “breakthrough” The Oncoming Storm, while exploring beyond the recent back-to-basics promise of 2018’s Extinction(s).
For Unearth’s founding mainstays, Trevor Phipps and guitarist Buz McGrath, it feels like the beginning of a new chapter. “Buz took the entire pandemic to write these songs,” says Trevor. “He pushed himself to get out of his comfort zone and explore what Unearth is, both past and present. Buz adding these new elements and killer song structures inspired me to be more diverse vocally. The Wretched; the Ruinous is still Unearth, but it’s also the most dynamic record we’ve ever done.”
Teaming again with Extinction(s) producer, Will Putney (Body Count, Thy Art Is Murder), the goal was simple: create the definitive Unearth record. From the scathing title track opener to the explosive "Cremation of the Living", the brooding "Mother Betrayal" to the album’s riff-violent closer, "Theaters of War", The Wretched; The Ruinous is Unearth pulling out all the stops. “There’s certain songs where you can really hear the band’s hardcore roots,” explains Trevor. “The track 'Dawn of the Militant' is a true mix of metal and heavy hardcore, that to me define what the term 'metalcore' truly is. For the bulk of this record though, the metal, aggression, and technicality are reminiscent of our Watchers of Rule (2014) album. All of the ingredients of Unearth are present on these songs, but the band continues to explore new territories as writers and players."
The Wretched; The Ruinous is a turning point moment for Unearth. It’s first album in their canon recorded without guitarist Ken Susi, who mutually parted with the band in 2022. Trevor shares, "It simply came time for Unearth and Ken to take a break from working together. He'll always be a large part of the story of this band, and we wish him the best on all of his endeavours."
The frontman makes no bones about the arduous writing process for The Wretched; The Ruinous. “Coming out of the pandemic I found myself struggling to find my zone of creativity with writing, but I pushed through, and once I found it things caught fire.” Phipps has never been one to shy away from often scathing social commentary. “Lyrically, it’s a warning shot record,” Trevor continues. “I’ve spoken about the decline of our environment by Mankind’s hand dating back to our first record in 2001, and I've continued to write about the environmental crisis throughout our entire career. We are now at a tipping point with Mother Nature and our place on this planet, and I had to devote the entirety of this album to what is happening around us. This album is a collection of stories of what is happening, and what is to come, if we do not make monstrous changes to how we treat our only home."
“The Wretched; The Ruinous is about the eight billion people on this planet,” echoes the frontman of Unearth’s latest state of the world address. "We've created a man-made mass extinction event and have been too slow to correct our faults. Extreme weather, drought, famine, disease, erosion of land, culture wars, civil wars, wars for natural resources, and the displacement of billions of people, is all a current reality. This isn't a future problem; it is a now problem and I take this record to talk about it. As a species we are very quickly turning our once Garden of Eden into our future hellscape.”
"It's not all devastation and gloom though," adds Phipps. "On the track 'Call of Existence' I talk about how we can turn this around with swift, drastic changes to our emissions and consumption of natural resources. There is a responsible way forward that will benefit all life on our planet, and we have to embrace and act on that responsibility now."
Pre-order the album here.
Tracklisting:
"The Wretched; The Ruinous"
"Cremation Of The Living"
"Eradicator"
"Mother Betrayal"
"Invictus"
"Call Of Existence"
"Dawn Of The Militant"
"Aniara"
"Into The Abyss"
"Broken Arrow"
"Theaters Of War"
"Into The Abyss" video:
"Mother Betrayal" video:
"The Wretched; The Ruinous" video:
Unearth have announced a North American album release tour in support of The Wretched; The Ruinous.
"It's been almost five years since we've headlined the Midwest and West Coast of the USA and we are excited to be coming at you all first to support our new album The Wretched; The Ruinous. We've got two killer bands joining us on all dates, Upon A Burning Body and 156/Silence, as well as some yet to be announced bands on select gigs. See you all out there." - Unearth
Dates:
May (Album Release Tour)
4 - Lubbock, TX - Jake's
5 - El Paso, TX - Rock House
6 - Tucson, AZ - The Rock
7 - Anaheim, CA - Parish Room @ House of Blues
8 - Los Angeles, CA - The Regent Theater
9 - Roseville, CA - Goldfields
11 - Portland, OR - Star Theater
12 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
14 - Salt Lake City, UT - Soundwell
15 - Denver, CO - HQ
16 - Lawrence, KS - The Bottleneck
18 - Columbus, OH - Ace of Cups
19 - Rochester, NY - Montage Music Hall
May (supporting The Halo Effect)
20 - Hartford, CT - The Webster
21 - Brooklyn, NY - Monarch
22 - Philadelphia, PA - Brooklyn Bowl
23 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium Upstairs
24 - Quebec City, QC - Imperial bell
25 - Montreal, QC - Fairmount Theatre
26 - Toronto, ON - Horseshoe Tavern
27 - Detroit, MI - Crofoot Ballroom
Recording lineup:
Vocals - Trevor Phipps
Guitars - Buz McGrath
Bass - Chris O'Toole
Drums - Nick Pierce
(Photo - Mezgarth)
