{"id":784,"date":"2011-07-08T16:36:52","date_gmt":"2011-07-08T06:36:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/?p=784"},"modified":"2011-09-06T17:36:59","modified_gmt":"2011-09-06T07:36:59","slug":"buz-mcgrath-of-unearth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/2011\/07\/buz-mcgrath-of-unearth\/","title":{"rendered":"Buz McGrath of Unearth"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>\u201cWe just try to make it look like it\u2019s going to come crashing down at any minute you know, its out of control, just mosh mayhem off stage and you\u2019ll see us having a good time and hopefully that translates to the people viewing it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Unearth have just unleashed their new album of pure Metal, their fifth studio album and their first in three years entitled Darkness In The Light and it\u2019s heavy!\u00a0 They\u2019re also heading back Down Under as part of the spectacular Soundwave Revolution festival tour in September and October.\u00a0 We had the chance to talk to guitarist Buz McGrath about the new album, their prospective new drummer, their appearance at Soundwave Revolution and about his love of twitter.<\/p>\n

Buz\u2026<\/p>\n

Firstly congratulations on the new album, it\u2019s so heavy!\u00a0 I love it.<\/strong>
\nThat\u2019s great thank you.<\/p>\n

Explain to me where the title \u2018Darkness in the Light\u2019 came from\u2026<\/strong>
\nYou know it probably just came from one of the lyrics that was rattled in Mr Trevor Phipps\u2019 head, I guess it could mean different things to a different person, like for me personally it\u2019s like with my life when everything seems good and bright there\u2019s always something looming in the background that kind of fucks up your whole plan.\u00a0 So that\u2019s kinda what the meaning is that I get from it.<\/p>\n

How did the songs come together for this new record?<\/strong>
\nWell basically just Ken and I throwing together riffs, Ken did a lot of demoing of songs and then I would go over to Ken\u2019s house and show him a riff and a new programmed drum beat for it cause we didn\u2019t have a drummer at the time of writing it which was a new experience.\u00a0 So we just built the songs up that way and pretty soon they started coming together just like a puzzle does and the next thing you know we had a record and when we recorded the drums for it we told Justin Foley that \u2018look, these drum beats were written by us so they may not be the best drum beats\u2019 but he really put his stink on it and added a nice touch the record.<\/p>\n

There are some killer riffs and solos on this album, what\u2019s your method of creating the perfect guitar part?<\/strong>
\nYou know sometimes you accidentally stumble upon it, for me, to be in a room with an amp and just riffing out whatever comes in your head.\u00a0 It may not even be riffs, just noting around and next thing you know you stumble upon a pattern that you think that sounds tasty, let\u2019s refine that and see where it goes.<\/p>\n

What is it that sets the new album apart from previous efforts?<\/strong>
\nWell I think for one, the drums definitely have more flavour than any of our other albums and just the song writing is the best that we\u2019ve been able to do.\u00a0 So it\u2019s on a nice level there and I think the songs are just way catchy and they stick in your brain meat for a long time.\u00a0 Like when I was just rehearsing and stuff I was thinking man I just can\u2019t get this song out of my head, like it haunts me.<\/p>\n

One word I saw used to describe it was \u2018honest\u2019 would you consider that be a fair assessment?<\/strong>
\nHonest?\u00a0 Yeah I guess so.\u00a0 I mean how is an album honest?\u00a0 I guess it\u2019s honest to our sound, we didn\u2019t try and change anything or try to do anything that we didn\u2019t want to do to make the album sound a certain way I guess.\u00a0 But yeah I guess that\u2019s a fair adjective in this case to describe it, most of it anyways.<\/p>\n

You worked with Adam Dutkiewicz from Killswitch Engage as producer on the album once again, did he bring anything different to the table this time compared to the previous albums he\u2019s worked on?<\/strong>
\nUm, you know, vocally he may have but as far as guitar wise, we have a formula that has been working for us with him and we just stick to that, I called him the Dr Dre of metal, he comes in and he\u2019s got that, you know he makes things happen, he takes the songs and he has no emotional attachment to anything so its good to have him come in and say \u2018This doesn\u2019t work\u2019 and \u2018This is going to be great\u2019 and \u2018We\u2019ve got this all done.\u2019\u00a0 So he\u2019s the sixth member of Unearth, or the fifth member in this particular albums case.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve toured Australia a few times, how do the metal crowds here in OZ differ to those around the world?<\/strong>
\nPeople wear flip flops and they\u2019re more attractive people, metal fans around the world are pretty ugly folk but I think Australia just has some handsome men and beautiful women down there so I guess that\u2019s one of the things that immediately noticeable, and people are just in party mode, they come out and its all over the top and they rage, it\u2019s awesome.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re of course heading back down here to Australia for the Soundwave Revolution shows in September \/ October, what can people expect from your show this time around?<\/strong>
\nWe just try to make it look like it\u2019s going to come crashing down at any minute you know, its out of control, just mosh mayhem off stage and you\u2019ll see us having a good time and hopefully that translates to the people viewing it.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re in some amazing company on the tour, anyone in particular you\u2019re pumped to see?<\/strong>
\nObviously Van Halen which I\u2019ve never seen before that\u2019s going to be interesting, but other than that, a lot of friends bands are playing, like Whitechapel, The Acacia Strain, Times of Grace, Every Time I Die, just to name a few of the bands we\u2019ve grown up with over the years and just get to hang out with and play some shows together.<\/p>\n

So basically it\u2019s one big party for a few weeks?<\/strong>
\nYeah.<\/p>\n

Drummer wise, at the moment you\u2019re out with Justin Foley, will he be coming to Australia with you? \u00a0<\/strong>
\nNo he\u2019s going to stop short there, he\u2019s doing the Mayhem festival tour of the States and he\u2019s doing the Europe run with us and then from there he goes home and we go to Australia and guy by the name of Nick Pierce from Seattle Washington area is coming in to start playing, he may be our new guy its still kind of the try out mode right now just to feel him out but I think he\u2019s a rad drummer, got tonnes of skills, he\u2019s hungry, he\u2019s an animal, that\u2019s kind of what we\u2019re looking for.\u00a0 I mean we played a couple of shows with him already; he did great so it\u2019s looking good.<\/p>\n

Is he from any other bands or just a new guy?<\/strong>
\nNot really any notable bands, he played with a band called The Faceless briefly and he played on kind of a local band and that was it, he\u2019s kind of under the radar right now.<\/p>\n

As a guitarist, who would you sight as some of your biggest influences?<\/strong>
\nDefinitely, In Flames, you know that really influenced the sound of my riffing, Yngwie Malmsteen is something that I chase after, the sounds that he makes with the guitar maybe not so much his over the top persona but his guitar playing touches me in weird places.<\/p>\n

The scalloped frets always freaked me out, I could never understand that\u2026<\/strong>
\nYeah I think it kinda makes it harder to play, it just keeps bending it out of tune but hey it\u2019s cool<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Speaking of harder to play, you play an 8 string for a while.<\/strong>
\nOn the last record yeah there was a couple of songs with the 8 string, that was a lot of fun<\/p>\n

Is it hard to play?<\/strong>
\nNo not really, I picked it up and sat on the couch for an hour with it and thought this thing is a lot of fun, it\u2019s like playing a snowboard, it\u2019s awesome.\u00a0 I haven\u2019t broken it out for a while, I break it out every once and a while, it\u2019s a fun guitar to play low, slow death metal on you know.<\/p>\n

So what\u2019s the string set up?\u00a0 It\u2019s a low B but what\u2019s the one below that?<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s a G, well it\u2019s F# but I took mine and tuned it up to G.\u00a0 So it\u2019s like G, I don\u2019t know, whatever else comes after that ha ha<\/p>\n

What are your thoughts on the metal scene these days?<\/strong>
\nYou know, a lot of people still keep paying attention to genre labels, like it\u2019s Metalcore or it\u2019s Deathcore, it\u2019s like whatever, people being divided over it.\u00a0 I think its all metal and even if it\u2019s a kind of metal that you\u2019re not into, I think people should support all things heavy.\u00a0 I used to hate on all these bands that were coming up with these silly haircuts and doing just a weird style, but you\u2019d hear they were heavy and you\u2019d be alright, they\u2019re playing heavy, they\u2019re making heavy go forward, so I back it.\u00a0 Even if the song isn\u2019t that great, as long as it\u2019s heavy.<\/p>\n

Unearth has been a band now for 13 years and this is your fifth album, looking back over this time, has there been a stand out moment over your career that you can share with us?<\/strong>
\nI think for me, the fact that we\u2019re still here doing it, we were at a photo shoot a while ago when everything was starting to start up I was looking around like, \u2018wow, we\u2019re here doing this somehow\u2019 and that was to me, this happened a few weeks ago and I was proud that we were still here and people still care enough to wanna be here to play for people.\u00a0 But as far as an event goes, or a show, I remember playing Ozzfest \u201804 that was a really big thing and touring with Slayer was definitely a milestone for sure.<\/p>\n

Now the album has just been released, what\u2019s the reaction been like?<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s been great, it\u2019s overwhelming.\u00a0 I can\u2019t believe how many people have contacted us about how they feel about the record.\u00a0 On one hand I\u2019m nervous because it\u2019s like, well I\u2019m not nervous but it\u2019s like this thing seems to be going pretty well, but on the other hand I\u2019m like maybe I\u2019m just over reacting, maybe it\u2019s just because people were this excited last time but I just didn\u2019t because there wasn\u2019t so many social media outlets that we have.\u00a0 Like with people posting on the facebook and twitter and I didn\u2019t really pay attention to that last record, so I don\u2019t know if people are as psyched for this one or more excited. I\u2019m thinking they\u2019re more excited, from all the reviews I\u2019ve been getting and friends calling me and this and that.\u00a0 It\u2019s an exciting time.<\/p>\n

You talk about social media and a few years ago it was nowhere as big as it is now, how much of a difference has that made on the band?<\/strong>
\nI mean, its such a great tool, just to get to people and you can respond to people easily especially through Twitter, you don\u2019t have to write a long explanation.\u00a0 You know, someone hits you up and you\u2019ve got time, you can respond to fans.\u00a0 It\u2019s a direct link between bands and the fans that want to know what\u2019s going on and then you have a buddy that may be in another band that has 20,000 followers or his buddy\u2019s band or however many and they retweet to that and messages can just get sent definitely a cool and beneficial to all.<\/p>\n

I follow you on Twitter and it\u2019s just cool to see what you get up to.<\/strong>
\nYep, I follow like a lot of other dudes I know in bands and friends but people that you don\u2019t get to see all the time, maybe once a year you cross paths, and you just check in on what they\u2019re doing like \u2018oh cool, Jamie is in Romania playing a show\u2019 and he posts a pic and it looks really cool.<\/p>\n

Then you can follow Charlie Sheen and don\u2019t care what he does a month later.<\/strong>
\nHa ha yeah everyone was on his nuts for two seconds and then he just disappeared, its hilarious.<\/p>\n

Lastly, do you have a message for your fans out there?<\/strong>
\nJust have a good time, all the time.<\/p>\n

Thanks Buz, see you at soundwave in September.<\/strong>
\nSick, thanks man.<\/p>\n

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

From:\u00a0<\/strong>USA<\/p>\n

Band Members:\u00a0<\/strong>Trevor Phipps – Vocals,\u00a0Buz McGrath – Guitar,\u00a0Ken Susi – Guitar,\u00a0John Maggard – Bass<\/p>\n

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

Latest Release:\u00a0<\/strong>Darkness In The Light –\u00a0(2011, Metal Blade)<\/p>\n\n

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