10 Unearth Songs You Need to Hear

Many metal heads will know Massachusetts as the birthplace for many vital modern bands. There must be something in the chowder. Artists like All That Remains, Shadows Fall, Killswitch Engage, and specifically, Unearth, all hail from the Bay State.

Unearth is currently on tour with Texas In July, Cruel Hand, and Armed For Apocalypse for The Oncoming Storm 10th Anniversary Tour. The tour run makes its way to Arizona at Pub Rock on June 15.

To celebrate the album's anniversary, here are 10 of the best songs from Unearth's discography.

See also: top 8 Metal Shows in Metro Phoenix this June

10. "My Heart Bleeds No Longer"

The first song off the band's debut album, The Stings of Conscience, started Unearth's career in a strong, brutal way. Looking back and listening to this song and the rest of the album, it's easy to tell the band still hadn't really found the sound it was trying for, like many first albums. While the album isn't as good as what came after, its raw sound helps it stand out from all of the future work. 9. "This Lying World"

"This Lying World" starts out with a dark and moody lead and then kicks in fast. Trevor Phipp's unique yell-scream style takes some getting used to, but one of the lines in the song makes you think beyond the music and how society masks a lot of the evil in the world. "I want to take a picture. Our lives will look disguised. Wash away this lying world." 8. "Watch It Burn"

Off the band's latest release, Darkness In The Light, this song starts off the album and has Ken Susi's clean vocals return in a great way toward the end. The song is a lot more melodic, as is most of this album. As it appears to go with many of the political themes the band is known for, the lyrics always spoke as how we're all "burning" the world with the continuous violence that goes on. (Editor's note: Hippies.) 7. "Crow Killer"

This song is another on the list with strong lyrical content. It has a very revenge-driven meaning to it, with a line like "Hell on your Earth / For your crime I've suffered." Where the band's first album lacked strong musical direction, fans will know that this is what Unearth was meant to be. Earlier songs may have defined metal a bit more, but after this release the "metalcore" genre was beginning to fade. Unearth, however, were showing that it was still alive and well. 6. "Black Hearts Now Reign"

One of the more aggressive songs off The Oncoming Storm, the biggest reason for this song makes this list is due to its heavy mosh-style nature. It's fast paced and doesn't slow down, except to head in to the breakdown with Phipps shouting "Black hearts now reign!" 5. "Bloodlust of the Human Condition"

This song always felt like one the more evil ones the band put out. Even down to the lyrics, it has many dark themes to it that Phipps covers. The band is known for its breakdowns, which not every band needs to make music heavy, but this song doesn't completely overdo it with them. Instead, they let the dark leads carry the song most of the way. 4. "Grave of Opportunity"

While Unearth has some dark lyrics, this one has a much more positive vibe to it. The lyrics change to something more hopeful with the lines "Downward I have gone. Still I bleed I won't die off. Downward I have gone. The end is yet to come." Also, the video is fun to watch. Seeing Unearth and friends "play" the song on Guitar Hero while having a good time reflected the song's positive vibe. 3. "Eyes of Black"

This song is one that is different than the heaviness of Bloodlust because the breakdown carries the song. It's in no way a bad thing, especially with the ripping solo that comes up a little after the middle of the song. The song ends with a slower groove driven breakdown. If you've ever been at a metal show and have watched people slowly bang their heads in unison, this has that same effect. 2. "Giles"

Being a fan of conceptual songs, this song is based off of Arthur Miller's The Crucible. If you've never watched it or seen the movie, it's a definite must. Without spoiling it too much, the song is essentially about what happens with Giles Corey as he is accused of witchcraft. I had first heard this song in high school at the same time one of my teachers was showing us the film version and made the connection. This was also one of the first songs I heard that had a two-step groove to it. 1. "My Will Be Done"

There's not much to say about this song other than it hits you from the very beginning with an amazing sweep pattern. I hadn't been listening to the band for too long at the time this came out, but I vaguely remember being shown this song at school and my jaw dropped. This song made me realize musicians in general were capable of insane writing structures.

Unearth plays Pub Rock Live in Scottsdale on Sunday, June 15.

Find any show in Metro Phoenix via our extensive online concert calendar.

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