Unearth SLAYS their opening spot at HOBLV

April 12, 2025 – I’m going to preface this piece by mentioning that this tour has been absolutely incredible. Unearth, Lacuna Coil, In Flames, and Machine Head are all top notch bands in their own right and there’s still a whole lot of dates left of this run, so you should definitely be going to check it out when it comes to your city.

My viewpoint here is just going to be covering Unearth, though. I have long felt that they’ve never quite gotten the spotlight as much as they probably should have. They’ve been around slightly longer than the heavy hitters we all know from the early to late 2000’s metalcore scene. 1998 to be exact. Formed in Boston, Massachusetts, Unearth has played an integral part in the growth of the east coast metalcore/hardcore scene in general.

While Unearth got their start back in the late 90’s, my journey as a fan began sometime around 2004 or 2005. I can’t remember exactly when or how I came across them, but I’m betting it was from reading endless issues of Alternative Press Magazine, and just engaging in my natural state of curiosity. I was always fighting against the current, and looking for music that wasn’t in the mainstream eyes or on the radio. This led me to many places. Purevolume was a regular music search engine for me before MySpace kicked off the way it did. My home has always been a safe place for music exploration, and I vividly remember my father and I downloading music together. The digital peer to peer music downloading was a pretty big deal for us and we fully took advantage of the access to every possible song we could ever want to find. (Don’t worry, I have since bought almost every single piece of music I downloaded back in the day.)

By the time I acquired my driver’s license in 2007, just after my 18th birthday, I had already had stacks and stacks of cd’s that I would add to a listening rotation while I drove my dad’s silver Ford Taurus. Unearth’s 2004 album The Oncoming Storm was one of the only records I never actually switched out. I would eventually blow the speakers out in that car listening to that album, and the record had such a profound impact on me that I eventually got the album cover tattooed around my right wrist. To this day, still, whenever I put that record on I am met with surges of excitement and pure happiness. I could honestly go on and on about this, so before I get too weird I’ll cut this portion of my own fandom right here.

Unearth released their latest record The Wretched; The Ruinous back in 2023. It is the first album without founding member Ken Susi. (While I am sad that I haven’t seen Susi perform with the guys since that time I caught them at Warped Tour in 2018, Peter Layman does a mighty fine job filling his spot.) This album carries a more gritty and darker sound than the previous album, Extinction(s) from 2018. This latest release showcases some of the added darker elements while still remaining close to their own trademark sound. Unearth is one of those bands that when you hear their music- you just know it’s them. It must be the growl in Trevor Phipps vocals, and the intricate guitar melodies provided by Buz McGrath.

Onto the show…

Unearth was the first band to take the stage at House of Blues Las Vegas on April 12, 2025. Which means, obviously they’re going to have the shorter set. A bummer for me, but also, since they don’t make it to my hometown nearly as much as I’d like them to, I was happy with whatever time I could get. The guys were powerhouses as they played through their blistering 30 or so minute set. Varied songs through their setlist included “My Will Be Done” (2008), “This Lying World” (2004), and “Giles” (2006), before concluding their set with one of the most popular and recognizable songs, “Black Hearts Now Reign” (2004). Mixed into this set was “Incinerate” off 2018’s Extinction(s) record, and of course, The Wretched; The Ruinous off the 2023 album of the same name. I was also happy to hear “Giles” off 2006’s III: In The Eyes of Fire, that track is easily one of mine and my husband’s favorites. I love how Unearth always gives a pretty good variety of newer and older material. It’s a perfect way to draw in the new fans while staying pretty true to their already established fanbase.

Literally my only disappointment with the set is something out of the band’s control, really. I’m used to seeing Unearth get really rowdy on stage. Lots of jumps and headbanging. But because of their limited stage area, I was only able to capture one kick/jump from Buz. Otherwise, I left a happy fan. These guys always know how to amp up the crowd and get the pit going, (I got pushed a few times by a dude twice my size while I was taking photos from the crowd, which okay. I expect a rowdy pit. But at least when I saw Unearth at The Regent in Los Angeles people left me alone once they saw my cameras. This guy saw me and continued to keep pushing me so fuck you, buddy, haha.)

After the set, the guys hung out at the merch table and spoke with fans, took photos, and gave people something to really remember. Unearth have been wrecking stages all over the world for so many years, and I love that connecting with the fans is still such a big priority for them.

Who knows when Unearth will make their return to Vegas. I would love to see them again on a headline bill, but like I mentioned above, this band is special to me and I’ll take what I can get. Or I’ll just have to start traveling more to see more full sets of theirs, which I am also not opposed to.

Anyway, go listen to Unearth. I’m not just saying that because I’m such a huge fan, either. They are genuinely just a really fun band to watch and listen to! Unearth are on this run with Machine Head until May 10th, but they also have more tour dates immediately after this run. Head on over to https://unearthofficial.com/ to see if they’re playing near you!

At the time of this writing, Unearth’s current lineup consists of Trevor Phipps (vocals), Buz McGrath (guitar), Peter Layman (guitar), Chris O’toole (bass), and Mike Justian (drums). Fun little random fact, Mike Justian also plays with the New York based hardcore band Madball, and has been since around 2011. I was fortunate to have them as one of my assigned task lists at last year’s Punk Rock Bowling, and it’s really cool to see Mike’s versatility through both bands.

Until next time…