The Oncoming Storm is the second studio album by American metalcore band Unearth. It was released on June 29, 2004 through Metal Blade Records. The album was produced by Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz, and was their first major release through Metal Blade. This was also their first album with drummer Mike Justian and bassist John "Slo" Maggard, replacing Mike Rudberg and Chris "Rover" Rybicki respectively.
After its release, the album entered the Billboard album charts at number 105, selling 13,285 copies.[6]
A special edition of the album was released on October 18, 2005. It contained two bonus tracks, and a DVD featuring live performances, backstage footage, interviews, an inside look to the recording of the album and four music videos.[citation needed]
Background
In October of 2003, Unearth signed with Metal Blade Records.[7] The band also shared that The Red Chord drummer Mike Justain would be joining the band for the upcoming Headbangers Ball tour to replace Mike Rudberg.[7] In January of 2004, the band shared that they were busy writing new material for an upcoming Metal Blade release; and that they would begin pre-production at guitarist Ken Susi's studio in several weeks before entering Zing Studios with producer/engineer Adam Dutkiewicz on February 9th.[8] The band also shared that they would be filming for their upcoming DVD release at the Downtown in Farmingdale, NY on January 25th.[8] In March, the band shared that their new album would be titled The Oncoming Storm and would be released on June 29.[9]
In late May of 2004, the band made the song "The Great Dividers" available for download via the website plastic-noise.com.[10] The band also recorded a music video for the track the same month, directed by Dale Resteghini of Raging Nation Films, the video was shot in Spanish Harlem, NYC on May 21.[11] Prior to the video's release, the band put out a call for extras to help them record.[12] The band also released a music video for the track "Zombie Autopilot," directed by Greg Kaplan.[13][14][15]
In April of 2005, the band entered the studio to record a video for the song "Endless," recorded at "The Showcase" in Corona, CA, directed by Jerry Clubb of Mental Suplex Productions.[16]
In May of 2014, the band embarked on a 10th anniversary tour to honor the album, supported by Texas In July, Cruel Hands and Armed for Apocalypse.[17]
On January 26, 2018, the album was re-released on vinyl in various EU and US exclusive colors.[18]
All lyrics are written by Trevor Phipps; all music is composed by Unearth.
No.
Title
Length
1.
"The Great Dividers"
4:02
2.
"Failure"
3:12
3.
"This Lying World"
4:17
4.
"Black Hearts Now Reign"
4:03
5.
"Zombie Autopilot"
4:10
6.
"Bloodlust of the Human Condition"
3:28
7.
"Lie to Purify"
3:41
8.
"Endless"
3:23
9.
"Aries"
2:40
10.
"Predetermined Sky"
4:05
11.
"False Idols"
3:43
Total length:
40:36
2005 reissue bonus tracks
No.
Title
Length
12.
"One Step Away"
3:18
13.
"The Charm"
3:13
Total length:
47:14
Reception
Commercially, the album debuted at #105 on the Billboard Top 200, with 13,373 copies sold.[20] Reception was mixed; with most reviewers pointing out that the album didn't advance the genre. AllMusic called the album "short of remarkable, but it's a noteworthy, generally decent demonstration of metalcore's harshly exhilarating powers."[1] Writing for Exclaim!, author Greg Pratt praised McGrath and Susi's guitar work, but was underwhelmed by the release.[2]
Personnel
Production and performance credits are adapted from the album liner notes of the 2004 version.
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