UNEARTH - “The March”

UNEARTH - “The March” Of A Unified Human Race







Special report by Jason Deaville

It’s hard not to ignore it. Every headline reads it, every television program covers it. We are being completely inundated with it; “it” being the fever pitch of the pending US election. As someone who (irresponsibly) turns a blind eye to most things political, I’m finding my sudden curiosity rather peculiar. Perhaps, like the majority of sheep, I’m getting caught up in the media circus as we approach zero hour, or possibly it stems from this gnawing fear that our friends to the south will elect the candidate who will continue the work of the most unpopular/reviled leader in US history, one George W. Bush.

Anyway, I digress. I’ll leave the intellectual political speculation for those whom it hits closest to home. Enter Unearth. These influential Massachusetts metallers recently released their crushing new album, The March, via Metal Blade Records. Speaking on behalf of the band’s fourth full-length album, frontman Trevor Phipps has been quoted as saying, “The March symbolizes both the evil and hopeful sides of humanity.” Now, I might be taking the quote completely out of context, but could the mention of “evil and hopeful” describe the two US political candidates, John McCain and Barak Obama respectively?

“The ‘evil’ represents the leaders around the world, not just the US,” corrects Trevor. “These leaders I refer to are the politicians, religious leaders and social pundits that feed us fear and take our freedoms one by one. With the constant balancing act of power within government, religion and our financial institutions, there lies the chance of those most hungry for power to alter and restrict our freedoms for their gain. The ‘hopeful’ is a reference to the power and intelligence of the people around the world. I do believe that the human race can be the most powerful force on the planet when we want to be. If we get pushed hard enough, we will fight back and make the changes on our own. It has happened throughout history and is headed to that place again, very quickly. If we come together and do not fight over religion, class and borders then we hold the key to a peaceful world. There are two possible futures in store; either a march of power and greed or a march of a unified human race.”

Unearth, with their rising notoriety and success, are provided with opportunities the average person will never experience. Having criss-crossed the globe numerous times spreading their musical message to the masses, they often see themselves beyond the suffocating grasp of North American media outlets, an eye-opening experience to be sure.

“Yeah, traveling around the world definitely helps give me a different perspective of worldly politics,” explains Phipps. “Since I am never in one spot for too long, I get the different news broadcasts on the same story from other countries. It is interesting to see the propaganda within certain countries. Our news is even filtered, and the majority of people have no idea what is really happening.”

With the economic and political situation abroad reaching a fevered pitch, it seems The March couldn’t have come at a more fitting time. Dire and immediate subjects such as the continuing occupation of US-led forces in Iraq, to the more recent Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (more commonly known as the ‘bailout’), must provide a sufficient amount of incendiary material with which to stoke the fires of hatred.

“Yes, all of this works its way into my brain and emotions and I need an outlet for it, and that outlet is my writing,” says the frontman. “Although it does fire me up, I do not want to be a preacher and make people feel I am forcing my beliefs down their throats. I am not a politician. I despise politicians. I normally do not even like speaking politics in my interviews, but I just felt like explaining myself a bit in this interview.”

Feeling as though I’ve pushed my luck with the all the political discourse, I bring the interview back on track, back to where it belongs - the music. Unearth’s last album, 2006’s III: In The Eyes Of Fire, saw the band incorporating a much heavier, darker formula to their songwriting. If my initial impression of the new album is any indication, The March, unbelievably, ups the ante on the brutality.

“Musically, we just wanted to make the best album we could with everything we bring to the table,” clarifies Trevor. “Our last album was more of a statement to us and people within the metal community that we could write a fast, dark and heavy record and still be able to sell enough records and do enough solid tours to sustain a career. The reason for that was because we were starting to see a trend with some bands that were writing more pop-friendly material in order to sell more records. That same situation happened to us as kids with some of our ‘heroes’ and we didn’t want to see that happen again. We never got into metal to make a million dollars. We are here because we love the music and need the aggressive outlet in our lives to balance our souls. If I wanted to be in a band that made millions, I would be in a pop band.”

The March, on a whole, will no doubt help to solidify Unearth’s position as a preeminent force in musical extremity. Much of this is due to the exceptional percussive talents of new drummer Derek Kerswill. Not a band to air dirty laundry, Phipps goes on to explain Kerswill’s role within Unearth after the band showed the door to former drummer Mike Justian.

“Well, Derek helped us add more focus. He pays closer attention to writing better songs than just showing off his personal talents. Simply put, we all got fired up and felt a sense of rebirth after we fired our last drummer, and got back to playing the smaller, dirtier clubs we started out playing.”

Unearth are true masters of storytelling. They weave, with ease, tales of narrative substance into a framework of compositional savagery. Such is the case with the remarkable new song ‘Crow Killer’.

The lyrics on that tune refer to one Jeremiah Johnson who was a mountain man in the 1700s that had befriended the Crow Indians. He was asked by the American military to lead them through the mountains to get to some stranded travellers, but he had to lead them through a Crow Indian burial ground to get them there. By the time he got back to his cottage, his wife and unborn child had been murdered by the tribe. Johnson then set out on a 20 year personal vengeance against the Crows by hunting them down, killing them and eating their livers to signify the ultimate revenge. After 20 years, the tribe recognized him as a true warrior and they called a truce. It’s a pretty brutal story and who doesn’t like brutal stuff?”

Coinciding with the release of The March (which will be available by the time you read this), the band are set to take part in the Altamont Never Say Die! European Club Tour 2008, featuring Parkway Drive, Despised Icon, Architects, Protest The Hero, Whitechapel and Carnivex - a diverse offering to say the least! When can North American residents expect Unearth to role through their city?

“I know we have some more US and Canadian touring plans lined up for early 2009 and further into the year,” promises Phipps. “We can basically assume to be everywhere for the next two years supporting the new album. Chances are, if we have hit your city before, you can expect us to be there soon. If we haven’t hit your city before, we still might. We are always looking to tour new and different places.”