A Conversation with Unearth Guitarist Ken Susi

If you grew up in New England and you listen to metal at all, this man needs no introduction. Ken Susi plays guitar in Mass Metal legends Unearth, and he and his band will be bringing their brand of bruising metalcore to Wally's Pub in Hampton Beach on the 19^th of this month. Ken took time out from prepping for his upcoming  tour (Which also features Chimaira, Skeletonwitch and Molotov Solution) to dish the dirt on the band's new record Darkness In the Light, his side projects, production endeavors and of course, Jimmy Eat World. A big thanks is due to Ken for taking the time out to chat with The Clock, and if you're worth your weight in 40 oz. beers you better grab their new album and catch a show on this awesome tour!

BK: So I'm just jump right in man, congratulations on Darkness In the Light, It's fantastic.

KS: Thank you very much.

It debuted very high on the charts for a metal band.

Yeah, it did really well. We were very happy with the results of that.

There some clean singing on this one, is that you?

Yeah, I did the clean singing. I've done it in the past and we kind of rekindled it and brought it back for this record.

You ever get any shit for that?

Yeah, totally.  My band always gives me shit. My own band, you know? The fans really seem to like it. But it was four or three records between this and The Oncoming Storm where I didn't sing, and that was mainly because, I don't know, there was some stuff going on with my band where they didn't want it.

I think people make too big of a deal about whether or not there's clean singing on a record. I mean, if it fits, it fits.

Well that's the thing, I've always written music part for part. And it's not like I've always written clean, bright choruses like every other single band in the world, because it seems like other bands are way more formulaic. If you listen to a song like watch it burn, it's more melodic singing versus adding just a stupid chorus.

And you can definitely sing dude, I was a big fan of the few Burn Your Wishes (Ken's side project with Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam D – Ed.) songs that came out.

Oh cool! Thank you very much man. I'm still working on that record and I'm gonna be doing an acoustic record myself, hopefully I'll be releasing that sometime around Valentine's Day. But yeah man, I appreciate that.

I was bummed that never really saw the light of day. You and Adam D. are kind of the big, signature Mass metal guitarists and you're both pretty goofy guys, I was excited to see you two in the same band.

Yeah, well, you know, Adam is doing his own thing with his band and his other side project and all the other stuff he's doing. So, you know, some times things happen.

Speaking of Adam's band, who's going to be playing drums for you on this tour (Killswitch drummer Justin Foley has recently been filling in for Unearth and played on Darkness – Ed.)?

A gentleman named Dick Pierce from Seattle. He's a really good drummer and probably the shoo-in to be a full time member.

What else has he been in?

To be honest with you, I don't know anything about what bands he's been in in the past. I know he's been in bands, I just don't know what bands.

I know personally, as a kid from New England growing up going to see metal and hardcore bands, Unearth was my gateway drug to everything. I saw you guys on an Ozzfest off date when I was a little kid and it really opened my eyes to a lot of cool stuff.

That's great, man! That was an exciting time in music for us, when everything was prosperous and even all the bands were way more, like, real, more influential bands than a lot of the stuff that's out now. I just think that there's a lot of run of the mill stuff. Everybody's doing the same thing as every other band. But back then, like, it seemed like everything was so original and so fresh.

Yeah, back when you guys and Shadows Fall and Killswitch and All That Remains and all those "Masscore" bands came out, that's my favorite time in metal in the last 15 years.

Yeah, just the bands that you named along with Lamb of God and Every Time I Die. I think we brought metal music back on the map.

And all those bands are still standing!

Yeah!

Is there anything out in western mass that youre excited about right now?

No, not really. Keep your eyes out for a side project I'm doing somewhere down the line that, uh, is sure to raise a few eyebrows.

I don't suppose you'd care to elaborate on that?

Not at this time. But I'm closing in on finishing a record that is probably the heaviest thing I've ever done, with some characters who people wouldn't expect me to play with.

I'll keep my eyes open.

Yeah, when it comes out, you'll know about it.

One of my favorite questions to ask people that I always get really cool answers from is: What is an album that you were into in high school, or growing up that Unearth fans wouldn't expect you to be into?

In high school, I was deeply rooted in metal. Early metal, like Iron Maiden and Crowbar. All these really cool local bands like Dive and Overcast that were kind of running the scene at the time. But as far as guilty pleasures, I was super into Jimmy Eat World. They were one band that blew my mind and they're still one of my favorite bands of all time. Nirvana was a huge influence on me too.

Which Jimmy Eat World record, Bleed American?

Bleed American is I think, in my opinion, the greatest full record ever written. Like, from beginning to end every song is amazing. I don't think the Beatles did that. I seriously believe that record is that good.

Absolutely, back to front awesome. I saw that tour when I was a kid too, with the Promise Ring.

You're lucky because I didn't even get to see them until like four months ago. I just never got around to seeing them back in the day because I was always touring.

I saw them at the Palladium back in the day. You guys have headlined there a bunch. I saw you there with Every Time I Die a couple years ago for a Christmas show.

Yeah, that was really fun. They're one of those bands that's always fun to play with. We just got back from doing a Japanese run with them and it was great.

They're characters.

Yeah, it's funny, we kind of all fall into the same category. They're one of those bands that are very similar to the way I grew up in my hometown. They're a group of townies, and that's what's cool about them.

I saw a YouTube video from the Mayhem Festival last summer where all the other bands on the tour were talking about who throws the best parties, and it was pretty unanimously decided that Unearth are the best partiers.

Yeah, we did Edward 40 hands. It's like a hometown thing where we would tape 40's to everyone's hands and stuff. I'm not as much of a partier as I was before, but we can all still get down.

That's a pretty classic New England drinking game. I can appreciate that.

Haha, exactly. It's better than just being at a keg outside and chucking natty ices into the woods.

I think we grew up in very similar circumstances.

Haha, exactly.

So what's the plan with this Chimaira tour, have you guys been out with them before?

Yeah, we've been out with them a few times. We're gonna be closing every show. I believe it's considered a co-headliner, but we're actually closing every show. We're excited to play for our fans on this tour.

It's nice to know you're headlining, I feel like in most of the posts I've seen about this tour Chimaira has been top billed.

Yeah, something happened along the way there. I don't know if it was them or their management but they kind of spilled the beans saying it was their tour when it wasn't. Trust me, it's not the first time that their camp has done that.

There's a New Hampshire show on this tour.

Yeah, I don't know anything about the club we're playing though.

I don't either, I didn't know it existed until I saw the dates.

Is it on the beach?

Well, the town is on the beach. On New Hampshire's 13 miles of ocean.

Haha, I'm stoked.

You just produced the Contortionist's album, how was that experience?

It was awesome.  I loved working with those guys and I thought we got some great results. I think we did some new things on that record and we really broadened our horizons. That band is a very talented band. They're young, and it's cool to work with talented kids.

Yeah I love that record. Is production something you'd like to do more of in the future?

Of course, the more bands the merrier. I would love to work with those guys or bands of that caliber regularly.

So if there was ever a time when you weren't in Unearth is that what you would do for a day job?

I kind of already do that for a day job, you know, other than Unearth. But no, I have my eyes on bigger and better things after music.

I was talking with someone about Unearth the other day and they offered that Unearth is kind of the Foo Fighters of contemporary metal. It's just generally accepted that Unearth are a good band, there isn't a lot of shit talking about you guys, every few years you pump out an awesome record, and you know when you go to an Unearth show you're going to have a great time. You guys are reliable, just like the Foos are.

Whoever said that is extremely generous, I think that's amazing. That is a huge, huge compliment. I love the Foo Fighters, and to be lumped into the same category is amazing. I'd like to think that a lot of bands in the genre are compromising their sound, and making music they feel they have to make in order to compete with other bands, and that's cool. We appreciate our fans paying interest in our records and really being there for us. It seems like that kid gets it.

Speaking of paying for records, how has Unearth been affected by illegal downloading? Are you one of those bands that it hits you pretty hard?

To be totally honest with you, I steal music every friggin' day. I don't give a shit. The music industry is falling apart as it is right now, and we're pretty much going back to the old days with 45's. It's better to just put two songs up online and let people absorb it. People have such a short attention span that putting out full records doesn't even matter anymore. Kids that go to shows, you know they hear one song and they jump on a trend so fast that as long as they play that one song every night, it doesn't even matter.

It's amazing how much things have changed just in your career.

Yeah, things used to be so natural and organic and the process was way more humbling. Now it's just, some shitty band puts out a record in their basement and within 6 months they're on a bus and making money and being a huge band. You know, a lot of these bands can't even play live. I guess other musicians always talk shit about other musicians and it doesn't really matter, but you know, in our day, we worked for it and at least at the end of the day I can say I'm proud of my career. If it were to end tomorrow, I won't lose sleep over it. These kids are missing out on all the fun stuff of touring.

I don't have much else for you, so I'll leave you with this. My friend Dave wanted to know if the speakers melted after you recorded "Zombie Autopilot?"

(Laughs) No, they didn't, but I will tell you this: I was so wasted that I took a 6 hour nap with the assistant in the studio after I finished my solo. Yeah, that was a rough day for me. That's what happens when you go to work unprepared.

Thanks so much for taking the time out to speak with me today man.

No problem dude, thanks for taking the time do what you do for us, I'll see you in New Hampshire.

See you there.