Since 1998, Massachusetts metalcore outfit Unearth have been American standard-bearers for a sound that combines European-style death metal, hardcore punk, melodic thrash, and machine-gun breakdowns. Though its lineup has evolved, founding members and guitarists Ken Susi and Buz McGrath, and vocalist Trevor Phipps, have been constants.
The band has placed five albums in the Top 200 and scored big on both the Rock Albums and Hard Rock Albums charts. Their approach to musical evolution is, to say the least, gradual. Their sound has been stubbornly consistent, from the maniacal urgency of 2001's iconic Stings of Conscience through to 2011's Darkness in the Light. Unearth are considered pioneers who have never caved in to changing trends.
