Show: Unearth
Date: December 7, 2011
Venue: Glasshouse
City: Pamona, CA
Unearth
Photos by Nicolas Bates
Written by Michelle Oberg
It’s 9 o’clock on a Wednesday and the regular crowd…wait that’s not right… T’was the nightmare around Christmas and the heavy metal tour brought their angry little elves to Pomona for a screaming mosh fest at The Glass House, featuring Skeletonwitch, Molotov Solution, Salimus and headliners Chimaira and Unearth.
For the completely unaware, roadies have a requirement to be musicians; shocker, right? The roadie for Unearth’s drummer entertained the audience while they waited to see the headliner with more than just beating a snare and bass drum, but playing out and amping up the crowd with little ditties in their entirety, receiving gratitude for his efforts from an all-eyes-and-ears crowd.
Instrumentals blasted over the PA system as the band entered into a red carpet-esque spotlit stage. Only four words came out of Trevor Phipps mouth before the pit instantly opened it wings: “Let’s fucking do something!” With that, the tone was set for the night. Their first song, “Watch It Burn,” off their new album Darkness in the Light, had people thrashing themselves around so hard there was more falling down than Lindsay Lohan after an open bar. Unearth’s energy was through the roof with hardcore head banging, and heavy beats that made your heart pound twice as fast. Phipps’ cut off tee, embossed with the Berma 13 clothing company logo, and previously wet hair upon entering the stage had him looking like he was entering the ring at Wrestlemania.
Always a crowd favorite is the lack of gibber-gabber from the frontman between songs (just play the hits). Transitioning from their opening number to “The Great Dividers” was effortless, even when Phipps took a moment during the instrumental intro to whisper to a roadie about acoustics without missing a cue. Buzz McGrath and Ken Susi’s dueling guitars and melodies were fast, catchy and well above-par, sending piercing chills of metallic excellence through your body.
Even with the lack of a packed venue, Unearth brought the fury of playing in front of fifty thousand people, making sure the fans were having a great time, asking, “How you doing, Pomona?” and stating “We love Glass House!” prompting the non-alcohol induced spectators to answer the calling with screams of gratitude at their presence. The best of the eve was “Eyes of Black,” again, off the new album. The instrumentals were ground breaking, literally, as the floor shook more violently than the Northridge quake of ’94. Susi’s guitar solo and machine gun breakdown created that beautiful crying sound as he scaled his way up and down the fretboard. If only baby’s wails could replicate that sound, it would make sitting next to one on a plane sound more like a lullaby.
After hearing the heavy drum beats in “This Lying World,” where you see new drummer Nick Pierce’s feet moving four times faster than his arms, you know you’ve seen it all. Phipps pulled crowd surfers onto the stage and used air horns to amp up their stage presence but there is not much else that could make this show any more intense. Perhaps McGrath climbing the drum riser was a worthy contender, but that’s a staple to most shows, although it never gets tiring to watch.
As visions of hardcore head-banging dance through our heads and young 20-somethings run amok far from their beds, Unearth led their minions through a buzz worthy fright, the hard part of the eve was saying goodnight.