Unearth have announced their eighth studio album The Wretched; The Ruinous on May 05th through Century Media. Along with the news, the band released the second single from the album, a song called “Mother Betrayal“. That song is available for you below.
The album marks the band’s first without guitarist Ken Susi, who stepped down for an ‘extended break’ from the band but has since officially exited and has joined As I Lay Dying.
Trevor Phipps, the band’s frontman said of that:
“It simply came time for Unearth and Ken to take a break from working together. He’ll always be a large part of the story of this band, and we wish him the best on all of his endeavors.”
Regarding the band’s new single, Phipps offered:
“‘Mother Betrayal‘ is an ominous banger heavily laden with the melodic death metal, thrash and metallic hardcore combination that has signified our sound since the beginning. It kicks up the aggression and ferocity beyond previous recordings while also veering into new territories musically, vocally and structurally.
‘Mother Betrayal‘ is a warning that we are smashing past multiple ecological tipping points caused by our dependence on fossil fuels that will forever alter life on our planet.”
Regarding guitarist Buz McGrath stepping up in the absence of Susi, Phipps said:
“Buz took the entire pandemic to write these songs. He pushed himself to get out of his comfort zone and explore what Unearth is, both past and present. Buz adding these new elements and killer song structures inspired me to be more diverse vocally. ‘The Wretched; The Ruinous is still Unearth, but it’s also the most dynamic record we’ve ever done.”
He continued:
“There’s certain songs where you can really hear the band’s hardcore roots. The track ‘Dawn Of The Militant‘ is a true mix of metal and heavy hardcore, that to me define what the term ‘metalcore’ truly is.
For the bulk of this record though, the metal, aggression, and technicality are reminiscent of our ‘Watchers Of Rule‘ album. All of the ingredients of Unearth are present on these songs, but the band continues to explore new territories as writers and players.”
Regarding the albums lyric inspiration, he said:
“Lyrically, it’s a warning shot record. I’ve spoken about the decline of our environment by mankind’s hand dating back to our first record in 2001, and I’ve continued to write about the environmental crisis throughout our entire career.
We are now at a tipping point with Mother Nature and our place on this planet, and I had to devote the entirety of this album to what is happening around us. This album is a collection of stories of what is happening, and what is to come, if we do not make monstrous changes to how we treat our only home.
‘The Wretched; The Ruinous‘ is about the eight billion people on this planet. We’ve created a man-made mass extinction event and have been too slow to correct our faults. Extreme weather, drought, famine, disease, erosion of land, culture wars, civil wars, wars for natural resources, and the displacement of billions of people, is all a current reality. This isn’t a future problem; it is a now problem and I take this record to talk about it. As a species we are very quickly turning our once Garden of Eden into our future hellscape.
It’s not all devastation and gloom though. On the track ‘Call of Existence‘ I talk about how we can turn this around with swift, drastic changes to our emissions and consumption of natural resources. There is a responsible way forward that will benefit all life on our planet, and we have to embrace and act on that responsibility now.”
The Wretched; The Ruinous track listing:
01 – “The Wretched; The Ruinous”
02 – “Cremation Of The Living”
03 – “Eradicator”
04 – “Mother Betrayal”
05 – “Invictus”
06 – “Call Of Existence”
07 – “Dawn Of The Militant”
08 – “Aniara”
09 – “Into The Abyss”
10 – “Broken Arrow”
11 – “Theaters Of War”
With Misery Index, Year Of The Knife, Turbid North & Leach:
04/01 Dortmund, GER – Junkyard
04/02 Antwerp, BEL – Trix
04/05 Munchen, GER – Backstage
04/04 Freiburg, GER – Crash
04/05 Eindhoven, NET – Dynamo
04/06 Sheffield, UK – Corporation
04/07 Leeds, UK – The Warehouse
04/08 London, UK – Islington Assembly Hall
04/09 Lille, FRA – The Black Lab
04/10 Paris, FRA – La Machine Du Moulin Rouge
04/11 Stuttgart, GER – Im Wizemann
04/12 Weinheim, GER – Cafe Central
04/13 Cottbus, GER – Gladhouse
04/14 Leer, GER – Zollhaus
04/15 Chemnitz, GER – AJZ Chemnitz
04/16 Ostrava, CZE – Barrak Music Club
04/17 Berlin, GER – SO36
04/18 Hamburg, GER – Bahnhof Pauli
04/19 Copenhagen, DEN – Pumpehuset
04/20 Gothenburg, SWE – Musikens Hus
04/21 Stockholm, SWE – Slaktkyrkan
Unearth:
05/28 Milwaukee, WI – Milwaukee Metal Fest
06/15 Dessel, BEL – Graspop Metal Meeting
06/16 Clisson, FRA – Hellfest
06/30 Emmen, NET – Pitfest
07/02 Saarbrucken, GER – Reality Bites Fest
