Live-Metal.Net - Interviews: Unearth

Though their latest album, III: In the Eyes of Fire, has only been in stores since August, Unearth already has played to thousands of metalheads this year on Ozzfest and headlined the “Sanctity of Brothers Tour,” also featuring Bleeding Through, Terror, Animosity and Through the Eyes of the Dead. When the tour stopped at Sonar in Baltimore, Md., Greg Maki of Live-Metal.net caught up with bassist John “Slo” Maggard (with an occasional comment from drummer Mike Justian) to discuss the new album, Ozzfest, Dimebag Darrell and more.

Live-Metal: The first thing I wanted to ask you is how did you get your nickname?

Slo: When I was in high school I just had a bunch of friends who had the same name. My name is John. A bunch of friends and I had the same name and we just had a bunch of shitty nicknames that didn’t mean anything. Mine was “Winslow” and it got shortened to “Slo,” and it’s stuck for 15 years. Still livin’ it.

The same thing happened to me. My older brother and his friends called me “Snake” and I’m still Snake today.

Slo: That’s hilarious. Doug [Sabolick] from A Life Once Lost, he—

Mike: He actually sent out a mass email telling everybody that his new name was “Snake.”

Slo: Yeah, just decided one day that he would be called “Snake.”

Mike: A self-proclaimed Snake.

[laughter]

Slo: You can’t just decide. It’s so funny.

How did you get into heavy music originally?

Slo: I was always into it at some point or other my whole life, whether just listening as a kid or whatever. I started playing probably around ’94, just from seeing local heavy metal bands and whatnot, local hardcore bands when was I kid, just being inspired to play, as well.

What was it about the bass, in particular?

Slo: I actually played a lot of different instruments for a long time. I played guitar in a band, I played piano and keyboards in a band and I played bass in a couple bands. It doesn’t matter. Music is music to me. An instrument is an instrument.

Do you have any influences that would surprise an Unearth fan?

Slo: For me, Rush, is a big influence. You don’t really hear that in our music, but, yeah, that’s a huge influence for me.

The new album has gotten a great response from critics and on the charts. What does all that mean to you?

Slo: I think it’s a good thing ’cause we all wrote this album, put it out from our hearts and I think it’s a really great thing that people are embracing it. We definitely would’ve been happy with it whether or not that was the case, but it’s nice it’s to feel that what we feel was the right thing to do for us is being accepted.

Did you approach the writing and recording differently than the previous albums?

Slo: Yeah, absolutely. This is the first time that all of us worked together day in and day out and put parts together, put songs together all day every day four or five days a week, Mike, would you say? About that long during the writing process?

Mike: The writing process? Yeah. We had the weekends off, but it was pretty much a full-time job.

Slo: We just got together and blistered it out all day, beat each other up, gave each other headaches. It was the first time that we ever approached writing like that.

Why did you decide to go out to Seattle to record?

Slo: Well, we were gonna work with Terry Date and that was one of the studios that he works out of. We decided it would be a good idea to just go ahead and seclude ourselves out there away from our friends and family so we could keep our heads on straight—or crooked depending on how much we were drinking. It gave it depth with just the guys and the people in the studio.

Speaking of Terry Date, what did he bring to it as the producer?

Slo: He’s got an amazing listening ear. He’s looking for the actual vibe of the music. He’s not looking for something that’s perfect. He’s looking for a certain characteristic that brings out the flavor and the spirit of the music. That’s what he brought to the table, whereas everything else that we’ve done before, other producers seem to need it to be polished and perfect almost to the point where the feeling and spirit is nonexistent. So he was definitely able to help us incorporate that into our recordings.

What is the meaning behind the album title, In the Eyes of Fire?

Slo: That’s just a lyric in a song. [laughs] There’s no particular meaning for me. I wish I could answer that question. That’s more of a question to ask [vocalist] Trevor [Phipps], to be honest with you.

What about the instrumental song? Why did you decide to that and what about the title [“Big Bear and the Hour of Chaos”]?

Slo: Well, we had thrown together some ideas on random practice days when we were writing the album and just kind of jammed out on the same riffs for a while. Everyone kinda had a different idea for a structure for it and whatnot. Then when we got into the studio, it still wasn’t completely written. It was just, “We’ll throw these pieces together and see what happens.” It was late night at the studio on one of those random nights we were there and we were drinking 40-ounce malt liquor called Big Bear and that’s how it got its name, “Big Bear and the Hour of Chaos.” It was, like, the last hour of the night that we were in the studio and Terry was like, “You wanna give this a shot?” We went through it together, came up with a couple different structures and whipped it out, and it just had a really cool vibe and characteristic to it. It’s one of my favorite songs now.

Do you ever play it live?

Slo: No, we haven’t played it live yet. We kinda fool around with it in soundcheck sometimes and whatnot. We don’t carry any keyboard or piano with us, so it would be hard to do that unless [Bleeding Through keyboardist] Marta could hook me up or something.

What do you think about the “metalcore” label that seems to be on the band?

Slo: I refuse to recognize that label anymore. Simple as that. Heavy metal is heavy metal. Heavy metal’s not popular enough to have subgenres.

Yeah, I listen to especially the new album and it’s just a metal album to me.

Slo: Yeah, it’s definitely a metal album. I can’t stand that term, “metalcore.” It makes me wanna stab myself in the throat now.

On stage, you guys are really energetic, running and jumping around. Has anyone ever taken a really bad spill jumping off an amp or something?

Slo: Yeah, we’re kinda retards with that whole thing. [Guitarist] Buz [McGrath] took a spill last night during our first song. He jumped off of something and caught the back of Trevor’s heel. I didn’t even realize until today. I saw his knee and it was all fucked up. “What happened to you? Did you fuckin’ get into some garbage cans last night or something?” No, he fell during the first song. I didn’t even see it. That shit happens. We’re always kinda banged up, whether from falling over shit drunk or doing something stupid on stage. [Guitarist] Ken [Susi] had a black eye last week ’cause he ran straight into Buz’s head right during a part where we had a lot of strobes going and no one could see each other. Boom! So he had a black eye for a couple days. It’s fun.

How is this tour going for you so far?

Slo: Really good. It’s been a really, really cool tour, good lineup of bands. Unfortunately, Scott [Vogel] from Terror came down sick. I think he has a strep infection or something like that. So he can’t sing. He had to go home. So they’ve been off the tour for a few days and they’re going to be back tomorrow, right, New York ?

Mike: Tentatively, yeah.

Slo: So, hopefully, we’ll see all those guys tomorrow and they’ll be back on with us. But we have a good lineup of bands, a couple really good up-and-coming, young bands, Through the Eyes of the Dead and Animosity. It’s been a really fun time. Everyone’s getting ignorant and drinking a lot, having a good time. It’s cool.

How was the summer, your second time on Ozzfest?

Slo: Man, I don’t know. I love Ozzfest. I love playing shows. I love seeing all the bands that we’re friends with on the road. But, man, there is just something I don’t like about sitting in a parking lot for two months straight, drinking the same Miller Lite, you know?

I was wondering, aside from when you’re on stage and doing the signings, what do you do all day?

Slo: Sweat. Cough up gravel. Wonder what other people are doing and then find out they’re doing the same thing, they’re wondering what you’re doing. And you just kinda wander around and get sunburnt. I don’t know, man. It’s just miserable half the time, I guess. But it’s fun, ’cause everyone’s in the same boat. We make it work. We find something to do, steal golf carts or go find a casino or whatever. I don’t know, man. It’s long. You get six weeks into it and you’re like, “Oh, man, I just wanna fuckin’ slice my head off. I don’t want to do it anymore.”

How was this year different from two years ago?

Slo: Two years ago, we played one of the rotating slots on the tour and all those dates started at nine in the morning. There was quite a few early, early day rendezvous with metal and I don’t know, man. Call me crazy, but it’s hard for me to feel good about listening to anything loud at 10 in the morning or nine in the morning. It’s just an obnoxious alarm clock at that point.

I remember getting there and hearing whoever was on stage saying, “Good morning, Ozzfest,” something you just don’t want to hear at a concert.

Slo: Yeah. “Good morning, Ozzfest. Now we’re gonna crush you.”

[laughter]

You’ve done Sounds of the Underground, too. How does that compare to Ozzfest?

Slo: Sounds of the Underground was more of a rootsy, down-to-earth festival type of thing. I like the way it was set up. It’s more hands-on. The people who run it also help us with our stuff as a band. It’s cool. It’s a cool tour because there’s a lot of new, young bands that are getting thrown into the shark pit of being on a summer festival tour. So it’s cool. It kinda prepares a lot of bands for going on Ozzfest eventually. It’s just a fun thing so they can kinda experience the camaraderie of all the bands on the scene, big and small, and have a good time.

Do you have a type of venue that you prefer to play in?

Slo: Nope. I like ’em all. I like ’em all, big and small. It’s cool. It’s like pizza. No matter how big or small, the slice is still pizza. It’s still awesome.

[laughter]

After this tour, you’re going over to Europe, Japan and Australia. Do you have any favorite places to play?

Slo: You know what? I haven’t played Japan and Australia enough to know if there’s a favorite place to play yet. I really had a good time the last time I went to those places, aside from all the flying. Yeah, we’re going and hitting that in another couple weeks. Europe I think is a great time. We’re going to hit that with Hatebreed up soon after that. There’s a lot of places in Europe I like to play. Austria is really fuckin’ cool. Netherlands is really cool. Germany , U.K. —it’s all awesome. And it’s all different, so it’s cool. It’s a new experience every day.

A couple years ago, you did one of the Headbangers Ball tours with Damageplan. Do you have any good Dimebag stories?

Slo: Yeah, yeah. Every day was a good story with him. This one time I walked into New York -New York Casino in Vegas and he was on one of those air machine things where they put the tubes up your nose or whatever, like a fresh air thing. It was just funny seeing Dimebag doing that. And it was, like, flavored air, too. So—I don’t know—he was, like, doing some cherry air or some green apple air or something. He’s just sitting there and he throws me the horns and I’m like, “This is so weird. Not only do I know you, but I’m just seeing you in New York - New York breathing in green apple air.” And then, like, me and Trevor walking around and he’s like, “Hey, you guys feeling lucky?” We’re like, “Yeah,” and he fuckin’ tosses us a $100 chip. “Turn it into $300.” He used to play dice with us all the time. One day, we forgot the dice somewhere or something. So we didn’t have any on us and he wanted to play. He was talking to us face to face. There was, like, a light fixture behind us, and he’s like, “How many bulbs are in that light fixture?” I said, “Two.” He goes, “Fuck!” And he hands me a $100 bill and just walks away. I’m like, “I didn’t even put up any money, dude. Come on.” He’s funny. He was a character and great guy. We miss him dearly.

Who have been some of your favorite bands to tour with?

Slo: There’s a lot of ’em, man. It’s more of what bands didn’t I like to tour with and there’s not many of those. We have a lot of favorite bands to tour with. We’re actually looking forward to hitting up these next tours ’cause a lot of those bands are on that, Killswitch, Lamb of God, Hatebreed. Then we’ve got other bands, too, that we’ve just spent a lot of time on the road with, like A Life Once Lost, Norma Jean—the list goes on and on. We just get along with ’em and have a great time. We just saw Norma Jean a couple days ago in Atlanta . It was cool to hang out with them. We’ll probably see A Life Once Lost in Philly coming up in a couple days. Hopefully, a lot of the New York scene will be up at the show in New York tomorrow, Sworn Enemy and Madball and the list goes on and on. Just a bunch of great guys and it’s one thing I love about this scene, heavy metal, man, it’s just a lot of fuckin’ good people. They’ve all been really cool to us.

How does it feel now that you and a lot of these other bands that you came up with are starting to have some real success?

Slo: That’s cool. I’m psyched. I’m not mad at it, that’s for sure. I don’t take it for granted. It’s cool. We all help each other out as much as we can. I think that’s why we’re all feeling successful with it.

What goals do you have left?

Slo: I completed all my goals, like, three years ago, man. I’m good. I’m just coasting now. I just keep playing, playing hard and keep writing better and better music. As time goes along, that’s our goal. That’s where we keep our focus.