Unearth

Since 1998, the Massachusetts metalcore band Unearth has stood as a leading U.S. exponent of a style fusing European death metal, hardcore punk, melodic thrash, and rapid-fire breakdowns. Five of their albums have charted inside the Billboard Top 200, with additional strong showings on the Rock Albums and Hard Rock Albums lists. The group has circled the globe repeatedly, headlining its own packages while sharing bills and festival stages with Slayer, Whitechapel, Killswitch Engage, Shadows Fall, and Lamb of God. Their punishing, unwavering approach runs from the frantic intensity of 2001’s The Stings of Conscience through the stark severity of 2023’s The Wretched; The Ruinous. Widely viewed as American metalcore originators, Unearth have resisted every shift in prevailing tastes.

The Boston-based unit formed in 1998 with vocalist Trevor Phipps, guitarist Buz McGrath, guitarist Ken Susi, drummer Mike Rudberg, and bassist Chris Rybicki. Rudberg supplied the name, explaining that the members hoped to “unearth” a fresh hybrid of hardcore and metal. Their debut EP, Above the Fall of Man, appeared independently in May 1999 and attracted enough attention for Eulogy Recordings to issue 2001’s The Stings of Conscience and the widely praised 2002 Endless EP. Rybicki departed during the latter sessions; John “Slo” Maggard took his place. Early road work alongside Slipknot, Killswitch Engage, and the Black Dahlia Murder, plus appearances at the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival, led to a 2003 slot at SXSW in Austin. Exhausted by nonstop touring, van travel, and floor sleeping, Rudberg exited days after the festival. Temporary drummers filled the chair until Mike Justian (ex-Hassan I Sabbah) became the permanent replacement, allowing Unearth to sign with Metal Blade Records and record The Oncoming Storm. Released in 2004, the album reached number 105 on the Billboard 200—an unusual achievement for an independent metalcore act at the time—and the band joined that summer’s MTV Headbangers Ball tour. Further dates with Slipknot followed, then participation in the inaugural Sounds of the Underground festival alongside Norma Jean, GWAR, and All That Remains.

In 2006 the quintet tracked III: In the Eyes of Fire in Seattle with producer Terry Date. Its title-track single propelled the record to number 35 on the Billboard 200 and number 14 on the Rock Albums chart. Promotional duties included Ozzfest, Japan’s Loud Park Festival, and a U.S. run with Slayer in early 2007. A European headline tour with Job for a Cowboy, Despised Icon, and Dååth opened the year; a North American trek with Dimmu Borgir and Kataklysm came next. Justian was dismissed near the tour’s end; Gene Hoglan of Strapping Young Lad filled in temporarily before Derek Kerswill joined full-time. The 2008 DVD/CD package Alive from the Apocalypse debuted at number 13 on the Top Music Video chart and earned gold certification in Canada. That spring and summer the band toured while completing The March, released in October; the album sold more than 100,000 copies and entered the Billboard 200 at number 45. Unearth appeared at Download Festival and headlined their own shows before Kerswill departed amicably in fall 2010.

In January 2011, with Justin Foley on drums, the group entered the studio with co-producers Susi and Adam Dutkiewicz; Mark Lewis handled mixing. The resulting Watchers of Rule surfaced in July while Unearth joined that year’s Mayhem Festival alongside Megadeth, Trivium, and Machine Head. McGrath later took personal leave; Matt DeVries of Chimaira substituted on the Brothers of Brutality tour. The album peaked at number 72 on the Billboard 200 and marked Unearth’s final Metal Blade release. The band continued routing shows while securing a new deal with eOne in late 2012.

Nick Pierce replaced Foley as permanent drummer, and the refreshed lineup recorded Watchers of Rule with producer Mark Lewis. Issued in fall 2014, the album again reached number 105 on the Billboard 200; sold-out headline dates followed across both sides of the Atlantic. In 2015 the group publicly sought a permanent bassist after Maggard’s unexplained two-year absence from stage and studio; DeVries had been filling in but could no longer continue. Chris O’Toole was brought in as the new member. Although Unearth kept touring from Boston to Tokyo, nearly four years passed before they recorded again. After leaving eOne they signed with Century Media in early 2018. Sessions at Graphic Nature Studio with producers Will Putney and Dutkiewicz emphasized material suited for live performance. Extinction(s), their seventh studio album, appeared in November 2018 amid an international run and dates on the Vans Warped Tour.

In 2022, Mike Justian rejoined on drums while Pierce and founding guitarist Ken Susi departed. Reuniting with Putney, the band delivered its eighth album, The Wretched; The Ruinous, in 2023. Drawing from the hardcore urgency of The Oncoming Storm through the controlled ferocity of Extinction(s), the record synthesized the band’s entire catalog.