Rap-metal/hardcore band UnityTX have just released their new album Ferality on Pure Noise. With influences that range from Nine Inch Nails to Rob Zombie to Ice Cube to Linkin Park, it covers a lot of ground and never pigeonholes itself into one specific subgenre. “It’s not easy to make a record as versatile as this one and I know we’ll face a lot of haters because it’s not completely caveman heavy but I don’t care,” vocalist Jay Webster tells us. “That’s why I stay pushing the boundaries with this band.”
Jay has also given us a track-by-track breakdown of every song. Stream the LP and read on for what he had to say. Catch UnityTX on tour with nothing,nowhere., SeeYouSpaceCowboy, and Static Dress.
ROTTING AWAY came from the idea of a dark movie introduction — approaching a new beginning with the way the mind has felt as of lately. So full of disdain and craving an escape of the everlasting agony. I wrote this track to give a real nü-metal approach for UNITYTX; grungy guitar riffs, dissonant vocal tones, hard hitting drops that makes the listener want to get whiplash from headbanging so hard. Recording this one with Wade was fun, we got to use proper elements that shapes a piece of work to elevate the pissed off vibes the rest of the album carries.
BURNOUT was written with influences of Post-Grunge, Hiphop, and nicely carries out groove and evolution throughout the track. I’ve always wanted to write a song I could sing on to carry that radio rock sound I’ve loved since since the 2000’s. Wade helps a lot with this track vocally by pushing me to hit notes I probably wouldn’t have figured out on my own. That solidified this track even more with the emotionally eloquent climax within the bridge. I’m happy that it’s come out the way it has and that everyone can hear the same vibes based off the intro bassline and so on.
DIAMOND DIEZ was a fun piece of work to make with Wade. He produced the instrumental and I pretty much just wrote based off small sentiments of slasher movies based off lust and betrayal. UNITYTX has always done heavy hiphop songs on our records but I wanted something with a goth approach. It was heavily influenced from experiences of being in those late nite Dallas industrial clubs just groovin’ around to Depeche Mode, Manson, NIN, Rob Zombie. But the energy I wanted to give was more modern with the beat switchup to the trap part was more based off visualizations of live rap shows. Heavy chants and eccentric rhythms to resolve such a dark yet odd piece to come from UNITYTX just to remind the listener that we are very much about incorporating elements that most bands wouldn’t risk trying because it wouldn’t be able to be translated live.
POWER was written with the duality of Diamond but was composed a year before. I wanted to give a different vibe for the band because we haven’t really reached this kind of sound. Looking to deliver a seductive yet hard hitting anthemic chorus to send chills before and after it hits — I wanted to completely let go of the hiphop influence for a track and bring the band’s sound to something more mainstream that i’d hear per se in a scene during a movie like Blade or The Matrix. Influenced by one again, NIN but not incorporating electronics just to keep it more rock than synth heavy. Wade also helped with the vocal delivery on this especially making the chorus catchier than expected.
PICTURE THIS was a really cool track to make — I feel like an ode to “Nobody’s Listening” by Linkin Park and “Diamonds From Sierra Leone” when I listen to this track. Really I wanted to just spit on a track and have that feel for this record because I hadn’t yet. The beat switchup gives more of a visual that ties the whole track in that could be a storyline which is one of my favorite things about making music. I just wanted to open up about how it’s been wanting to do this since I was a kid; when I first got to see what it was like to be a famous musician then later realizing the amount of stress you face on the way almost feeling like you failed yourself but only because most days are not the easiest in this lifestyle.
STING is that oddball track that is for sure a mouthful but at the time it was written I was very unsure of what this record would consist of genre-wise. I don’t know if Active-Rap Rock is a thing but I wanted to take a swing at making something more for the experimentation than do what we usually do. It’s rough around the edges but I feel it’s still a sound we’ve done before like on “IUSED2LOOKUP2U” from MADBOY. Lyrically I wanted something to be more cutthroat, seems like mindless spitting on a track but realistically it’s just like rant-core.
LOST IN DAYZ… is essentially about growing up and learning more about yourself with the coming of adulthood. Lack of communication, internal hatred, feeling regression then thinking irrationally while only wanting to understand why you feel like so. The track was written by Isaac of Knocked Loose and sent to us — I pretty much did what I do with my solo music and spit on the instrumental. I’m content with the outcome, and I’m happy to see the listeners enjoy it as well.
KILLING ALCHEMY was written with the idea of trying to do a ‘Bay Area’ type rhythm & flow. Not sure if it translated but I like the vibe that track has from the ominous Ice Cube-influenced verses to the Chester Bennington-esque delivery on the hook to the heavy breakdown at the ending. I’d like to think it’s a well rounded track for those who love nü-metal and hiphop. Subjectively, I wanted to just speak on how it feels to be cursed with someone’s existence who wanted nothing but the worst for you. Yes, this album is outwardly negative but it’s expressive. Might be too raw to the listeners liking but this track feels like i’m confronting this entity at the end of it all as if it’s the climax leading to the inner peace I’ve been longing for so long.
ROC SH!T is the anthem to what I want for UNITYTX to represent with consistency of high energy and rage to reel in the new age hiphop & metal heads. Not that we want to be lumped in with this “Trap Metal” fascination everyone has but really wanted to show that we CAN do a sound that incorporates modern hiphop elements with riffs instead of just depending on the production. I produced the beat before we left to the studio in March and finished it a few weeks later with the most justifiable relief because we had yet another hit on our hands. At first Wade didn’t really know what I was going for with it seeing as I came with only a beat but I already had written the idea in my head and mapped out the vocal delivery. But I’m happy he just let me rock it out — I remember the moment we were pretty much laid out with the song he was like “this is a really cool track,” which made me feel much better and like I really was on the right path with this album.
FAKE LUV was written to be the fun high energy song on the record for those who aren’t into the other tracks or maybe just looking to cure the itch for a hardcore sound from UNITYTX. When I was writing it I could only think about how bouncy that intro to the switchup was and how I had to carry that straightforward energy throughout the song that most hardcore songs have. The rap element is really what makes it stand out and no lie it was hard to execute in the studio but over the past few tours i’ve tightened it up to where it sounds so natural live. This record was truly to experiment and find more than just the average metalcore listener — I want UNITYTX to be a band that’s appreciated by everyone in all corners of Alternative. I believe FAKE LUV solidifies that for the core side of it.
WORLD OF MALICE was my biggest curveball of the record with how heavy the riffs and vocals were. Written with the intention to cover beatdown/metallic hardcore, I believe Malice is a huge staple in our evolution as a band. I’ve read listeners online say “oh it doesn’t have riffs,” “the vocals aren’t heavy enough for me,” “they sound like _____” but this track really sets it apart. I wanted something with a hard juxtaposition from being stupid heavy on the rhythm and vocals to actually not using any swear words in the lyrics to see if it’ll translate well. This song being at the end of the album is just a safe bet for those who have already been listening to us. Not that I think it wouldn’t be heard but I wanted to name the album “Eternal War” and make it the title track but unfortunately I couldn’t finesse that.
NOTHING,NOWHERE. / SEEYOUSPACECOWBOY / STATIC DRESS / UNITYTX: 2023 TOUR
September 8th in Boston, MA @ Big Night Live
September 9th in Philadelphia, PA @ The TLA
September 10th in Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Soundstage
September 12th in Pittsburgh, PA @ Thunderbird
September 13th in Toronto, ON @ The Phoenix
September 14th in Pontiac, MI @ The Crofoot
September 16th in Chicago, IL @ Riot Fest*
September 17th in Cleveland, OH @ The Roxy
September 18th in Columbus, OH @ King of Clubs
September 20th in Indianapolis, IN @ HiFi
September 21st in Louisville, KY @ Louder Than Life*
September 22nd in St. Louis, MO @ Red Flag
September 23rd in Atlanta, GA @ Heaven @ The Masquerade
September 25th in Fort Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution
September 26th in Tampa, FL @ The Orpheum
September 28th in Austin, TX @ Empire Garage
September 29th in Dallas, TX @ The Studio @ The Factory
October 1st in Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theater
October 2nd in Denver, CO @ Ogden Theater
October 3rd in Salt Lake City, UT @ The Union
October 5th in Sacramento, CA @ Aftershock*
October 6th in Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater
October 8th in Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst
October 10th in Los Angeles, CA @ The Regent
October 11th in San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
October 12th in Santa Ana, CA @ Observatory OC
* = Festival (nothing,nowhere. only)
