Interview: Unearth

bst interviews unearth by rob tatum Recently, bst had the chance to interview Trevor Phipps, the vocalist of the almighty Unearth. We spent some time asking Trevor about the band's upcoming tour, as well as hitting other topics such as Metal Blade Records, the resurgance of heavy music, and the tragedy of Dimebag Darrell. The following is a recap of the interview. If you are interested in learning more about and listening to Unearth, visit the band's official website, and Metal Blade Records. bst: Please state your name and role in the band. Trevor: Trevor Phipps - vocals bst: How was working with Metal Blade been? Trevor: The entire staff rules. They know what they are doing and have treated us like family. bst: What should listeners expect in the next album? Trevor: Who knows?!? We are pushing the fuck out of this album and will continue to do so. If I were to guess, our next record will be an extension of what we do now. Perhaps the use of more blast beats and slower more crushing southern fried break downs, ala Crowbar style. bst: Some have said that hardcore/metal has become part of the mainstream with the resurgence of Headbanger’s Ball and the success of Ozzfest. How has this affected you? Do you agree/disagree with this statement? Trevor: Music this heavy is too brash to ever be mainstream. I agree that people are paying more attention to this music than they have in the past 10 years, but metal was huge in the 80's and early 90's. I think the major labels and major entertainment mediums finally realized that people want to hear real, hard rocking, metal music and no more of the cookie cutter "rock" they have been feeding us for the past decade. bst: Along the same lines, as the hardcore/metal genres continue to gain popularity through those outlets and larger labels are signing more and more bands, do you the quality of music suffering as a result? Why or why not? Trevor: Hell no. The bands that are getting popular today are bands that have been around for years and fucking years. Bands like us, Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage, God Forbid, Bleeding Through, Every Time I Die, Shadows Fall, Throwdown, All That Remains, etc..., have been around and doing what we do for a long, long time. We all come from the underground and have hardcore roots. We won't ever sell out; this scene won't ever sell out. This music is real and we will not compromise our music for some bullshit producer or record company that thinks they can make a radio hit out of our sound. We are all getting recognition for not following the "sell-out" paths that bands like Metallica and Megadeth have taken before. We all grew up loving those bands and know how it felt when we heard their sell out records. We know how much it hurts to hear bands you admire play pop bullshit. Those bands and many others turned their backs on their roots. We never will. If anything we would love to follow the mold of bands like Pantera, Testament and Slayer. Those bands got as big as you can get without ever compromising their integrity. bst: I’m not sure how big of Pantera fans you are, but even just as musicians, what are you thoughts on the tragic death of Dimebag Darrell? Has it affected your comfort level playing on stage? Do you think it was just an isolated incident, or do you think larger measures need to implemented to prevent it from happening to someone else? Trevor: Dimebag was a friend of ours. He lit up our lives with his musicianship and friendship. We will forever miss both his music and simply hanging out with him. Pantera is and more than likely forever will be my #1 influence in metal. The world is worse off with the loss of Dimebag. As far as comfort on stage, I try not to think about it. I just hope clubs will understand that 99.999% of people are there for fun and to rock out, but every once in a while there is a weirdo lurking. Security needs to be tighter, on every entrance in the club. bst: Onto a less gloomy subject, are you excited about the upcoming tour? Do you prefer playing the larger tours at the larger venues, or do you feel more at home at a smaller show? Or does it even matter? Trevor: We are stoked to go back on the road. We always will prefer the intimacy of the smaller clubs. You can feel the energy of the crowd more. However, if a crowd at a bigger venue is pumped for the show, it can also be an amazing and different experience. bst: What are your plans at the conclusion of this tour? More touring? Recording? R&R? Trevor: We are headed to Japan and Australia for a tour with Atreyu and Norma Jean. After that more tours will follow, I just have no idea what they will be just yet. bst: Anything else you would like to add? Trevor: Go get our record and come see us on the road. bst: Thanks a ton for taking the time to answer the questions. We really appreciate it. unearth official site