{"id":23533,"date":"2014-10-26T18:14:14","date_gmt":"2014-10-26T07:14:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/?p=23533"},"modified":"2014-10-26T18:15:58","modified_gmt":"2014-10-26T07:15:58","slug":"buz-mcgrath-of-unearth-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/2014\/10\/buz-mcgrath-of-unearth-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Buz McGrath of Unearth"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\n<\/a>\u201c\u2026it\u2019s hard for a band like us who you know what you\u2019re going to get when you get an Unearth record, but we kind of wanted to change that, we took it so extreme and we upped the technical level so much that I think it\u2019s gonna make some noise and people are going to be forced to talk about it\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

From Release: After an awe-inspiring 15 years of blazing trails and dominating stages, Unearth is now institutionalized as a relentless force in heavy metal, standing the test of time with consistently triumphant creative output, tireless road warrior resilience, Blue Collar style workmanship and a resolute determination to deliver the goods.<\/p>\n

Like Slayer, Cannibal Corpse, Testament and Anthrax before them, Unearth emerged as part of a burgeoning revolution in heavy music but continued to maintain their relevance and mastery of their craft. They\u2019ve resisted and prevailed against changing trends, subcultural fashions and the way music is obtained and distributed with their credibility, integrity and unique persona intact.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve gotta love it when an interview starts like this when you pick up the phone\u2026
\n\u201cHello Sir, this is Buz McGrath from the band Unearth\u2026 you are listening to the sound of my voice, can you hear it?\u201d<\/strong>
\nI can\u2026
\n\u201cGood\u2026 I\u2019m trying to sound like a recording\u201d *laughs*<\/strong><\/p>\n

At home in Massachusetts we chatted to Buz from Unearth about their new album \u2018Watchers of Rule\u2019, how it came together as well as their last Soundwave experience, Australian beer, and much more\u2026<\/p>\n

Thanks for your time again, Buz. We last spoke<\/a> as you\u2019d just released \u2018Darkness In The Light\u2019 and here we are now with \u2018Watchers of Rule\u2019 just about to drop, talk us through the last three years and how this album came together\u2026<\/strong>
\nNot too long after \u2018Darkness In The Light\u2019 came out, we found ourselves a permanent drummer by the name of Nick Pearce, actually even before he was permanent, him and I started writing and throwing some ideas around and that\u2019s kind of where this album started was with him. So for two of those years we were writing this record, and the record \u2018Watches of Rule\u2019 was pretty much done last year around this time, but there was some delays, it\u2019s hard to explain but it\u2019s a cascading effect, one delay sets off another delay, sets off another delay, so we kind of had to wait a little bit longer than we would have liked to release it, but it\u2019s here, it\u2019s like a baby being born and we\u2019re very excited about it.<\/p>\n

So when we spoke in 2011, talking about the drumming position, and Nick Pierce and I quote \u201che may be our new guy it\u2019s still kind of the try out mode right now just to feel him out\u201d and he has turned out to be the new guy indeed, has he now completely settled into the drummer role in Unearth?<\/strong>
\nYeah I mean he is one of the most phenomenal drummers I\u2019ve ever seen, let alone played with and everyone that we tour with who are bands that we\u2019ve toured with for years and know our band well are like, this guy is unbelievable, where did you find this guy he\u2019s insane\u2026 so that\u2019s awesome, and writing wise with him, we were very prolific I mean we threw away probably two albums worth of material just because we had so much songs going on. Obviously they weren\u2019t really that good the stuff we threw away but it was good to be productive like that, and he\u2019s a good guy and that\u2019s a huge thing too for us, just to be able to gel with me and Ken and Trevor, I mean we started this band and we\u2019re a gang, so to get in with us and to get out humour and the way that we bust each other\u2019s balls, it\u2019s a weird dynamic and he fit right in which is great.<\/p>\n

Where did the idea behind the song and title \u2018Watchers of Rule\u2019 come from?<\/strong>
\nThe title of the record from what Trevor has told me in conversations about it, \u2018Watchers of Rule\u2019 is I don\u2019t know if you remember very recently in the United States, the national security administration there\u2019s a guy named Edward Snowden who worked for them and then he really opened up a can of worms on the NSA revealing secrets that they were holding about how the NSA monitors and does surveillance on American citizens and people worldwide without their knowledge, everyday citizens they keep a record of phone conversations, so that\u2019s kind of based upon that. People much more powerful than us just watching over what you do and to what end we don\u2019t know. As far as music goes, we just wanted to make something as aggressive as we could, it\u2019s hard for a band like us who you know what you\u2019re going to get when you get an Unearth record, but we kind of wanted to change that, we took it so extreme and we upped the technical level so much that I think it\u2019s gonna make some noise and people are going to be forced to talk about it and at least say \u2018Hey, you checked out that new Unearth?\u2019 \u2018oh, I don\u2019t really like Unearth\u2019, \u2018Well you should check this one out because this one is something different.\u2019 So that was kind of our motivation behind that without actually trying to come up with a whacky gimmick like putting keyboards in and giving ourselves cool haircuts or whatever\u2026 whatever bands do to get attention, I don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n

Except for Ken who\u2019s got the cool haircut\u2026<\/strong>
\nThat kid, he\u2019s been cutting edge fashion for a while now, I\u2019ll give him that.<\/p>\n

Side note, I do love his band USA! USA! USA!<\/a> They\u2019re fun\u2026<\/strong>
\nThey\u2019re fantastic, I saw them live about a year ago and I had a great time, it\u2019s such cock rock, singing about chicks, Ken has a great vision, he can pretty much do anything.<\/p>\n

You also worked with a new producer in Mark Lewis, why was he the right choice for this album?<\/strong>
\nI think without knowing it, he was the right choice, we\u2019ve known Mark for years and we always talked about getting in the studio together and over the past maybe five years or so, that guy has got a hot ear for extreme metal projects, he\u2019s done like Devildriver, whitechapel, Battle Cross, his resume has really come up in the past several years and we said alright, let\u2019s try a record with Mark and try something different and I think it worked out well just because of how extreme \u2018Watchers of Rule\u2019 is and how dark it is, I think it was a perfect match for his ear and what he could do with the sounds. It\u2019s got an interesting vibe when you compare it to the other Unearth stuff but it\u2019s very dark and very heavy.<\/p>\n

You had a major change recently in the fact that you\u2019ve moved away from Metal Blade to the Century \/ eOne \/ 3Wise family, what has this helped do with the band?<\/strong>
\nBasically what we wanted to do was to maximise our presence in every market, a lot of labels are good in one particular area but maybe aren\u2019t as strong in another, so we signed a multi-territorial deal, we did eOne in The States who is a great label over here, and then 3wise in Australia, we\u2019ve known about them for a while, and these are territorial specific labels who have a good reach in those areas, so having the opportunity to do that I think maximises our spread. Metal Blade was always a good home for us, nothing bad went down and we said \u2018we have to get out of here\u2019 it was just the fact that this was going to be our sixth record and let\u2019s just try something new and Metal Blade backed it they supported the move and I\u2019m thankful for that.<\/p>\n

3Wise down here is attached to my next question because you\u2019ve hit our shores for Soundwave a couple of times now, when can we expect to see you back?<\/strong>
\nI hope this one, we\u2019re pushing hard for the one coming up, I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s all booked up yet but that\u2019s one of the funnest tours we can do. We had a tough time on the last one we played I think it was 2012, we were up against Slipknot every night, that kind of sucked because people wanted to see them, which is fine. You know what happened, I don\u2019t know, there was some underhanded shit that went down with that, I think with our previous booking agent I don\u2019t know I can\u2019t really point any fingers but I suspect it had something to do with him, but normally we\u2019re a band that should be playing that festival at no later than 1pm, we should be on that lower tier on that stage, then we got the schedule and \u2018oh cool, we\u2019re on at 8, how did we get that slot?\u2019 that was totally out of the blue, and then I noticed that we go up against Slipknot every night, and, not only that, was that Machine Head and Lamb of God rotated around us, so that they wouldn\u2019t conflict with that spot and I think we were a patsy for somebody, and as appreciative as I am to everyone that runs Soundwave and we always have a good time on it, I feel like that particular year there was some backhanded shit going on and somebody was out to get us. Not to say that it was a total loss, the shows were great, we still had a large crowd there but it was interesting how it was setup, I guess that\u2019s what I want to say most about it, it was interesting how that happened, a band that is not that big that should be on at noon or 1 o\u2019clock suddenly gets the 8pm slot and it\u2019s up against Slipknot, and you got two bands moving around you, so we were going on after Machine Head, it\u2019s like come on, somebody\u2019s up to something\u2026 I didn\u2019t mean to rant on that for a while, but we were talking about it, so it\u2019s interesting.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your favourite thing about Australia?<\/strong>
\nYou know what it is, the people, they\u2019re all beautiful\u2026 dudes, chicks, I mean I\u2019m not a homosexual but I can appreciate good looking humans, and there\u2019s a lot of them there. The beer is ok, actually the beer is complete shit, Copers red label is my favourite, and what is it, that carling?<\/p>\n

You mean Carlton draught?<\/strong>
\nOh my God, I\u2019ve never almost threw up in my mouth from a beer, that was just horrendous. The weather is nice, so you\u2019ve gotta find a good beer and chill out, but the vibe there, I\u2019ve always just loved going there. It\u2019s probably my second favourite place to tour, behind The United States.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve been in Unearth now for fifteen years, what do you still enjoy about being a part of this band?<\/strong>
\nJust the hour that we\u2019re on stage connecting with people that have come to the show that are fans. I also like this period, like the lead up to when a record comes out that\u2019s a lot of fun I think, for me just because you get a lot of attention, people talk about what you did, I get to do interviews, so to me that\u2019s fun. We\u2019ve been doing it for a long time and hopefully we can keep doing it for a while.<\/p>\n

Lastly, let\u2019s look ahead, so if you can finish this sentence for me, in 2015, Unearth will\u2026<\/strong>
\nUnearth will finish out the year 2015, hopefully with an announcement of going into the studio for 2016\u2026<\/p>\n

Oh cool, already?<\/strong>
\nI hope so, we got a lot of material written in the downtime waiting for this one to come out, so I think if this one does good, it\u2019ll be time to capitalise on some momentum and put out another one pretty quick. I don\u2019t know if that\u2019s what\u2019s going to happen, but that\u2019s what I would love to see happen.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Essential Information<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n

From:\u00a0<\/strong>Boston, MA, <\/strong>USA<\/p>\n

Band Members:\u00a0<\/strong>Trevor Phipps \u2013 Vocals, Ken Susi \u2013 Guitar, Buz McGrath \u2013 Guitar, John “Slo” Maggard \u2013 bass guitar, Nick Pierce – Drums<\/p>\n

Websites:\u00a0<\/strong>www.unearth.tv<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Forthcoming Release:\u00a0<\/strong>Watchers of Rule –\u00a0(released 31\/10 \u2013 3wise Records)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n

\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t