Since 2014, the Dallas-based UnityTX has been creating and cultivating a sound that is uniquely theirs: seven-string-sheen and new-age metal core in works with metalcore hip-hop—a cohesive melody of swagger, rock, and, of course, ferality. Now, the quarter—comprised of vocalist Jay Webster, guitarist Ricky Cova, bassist Kendrick Nicholson, and drummer Jonathan Flores—have released their awaited album FERALITY with Pure Noise Records. As the title suggests, the band shows their teeth, claws, and growls with this release, and we are left speechless at their bark being just as powerful as their bite.
The album opens with “ROTTING AWAY (GORE)”, a track that reminds us of Webster's honest yet admirable lyricism, flow, and bite, with “BURNOUT” to follow out and make sure that we don’t forget the fact. “DIAMOND DIEZ” is the latest single from the album and understandably so. While the track is without Webster’s impressive and identifiable screams, the band leans further into their hip-hop side and creates a track that will get the crowd just as hyped and moving as any heavier track would, if not more so; everybody loves a good “Ooh, they said the thing!” moment when a band says their own name in a song. “POWER” and “PICTURE THIS” allow Webster to showcase their range of vocal talented, straying from the harsh vocals that we know they excel in and showing us that their singing, flow, and cadence are another thing to be admired; just when you think Webster can’t get any better, they prove you wrong.
In fact, the band as a whole has countless “watch this real quick” moments throughout the tracks, though the entire album is a step up from the UnityTX that we all know and love. The instrumental talents of Cova, Nicholson, and Flores have gotten better and better with every release by the band. On “STING”, Cova and Nicholson bring a gritty and deep tone to the track that makes you go damn. “LOST IN DAYZ” conveys the anxiety around the loss of innocence that we had and felt as kids, and Flores’ drumming echoes these feelings, which you can feel reverberating in your chest and makes you wanna go daaamn.
The multi-faceted talent of the quarter is showcased throughout the album, but especially in its final tracks. “KILLING ALCHEMY” showcases Webster’s gritty vocals and the band’s ability to write a song that may, to some, lean more mainstream but still while still maintaining that distinct sound of UnityTX. As its title suggests, “ROC SH!T” is a perfect display of the band’s “not-giving-a-f*ck” attitude and will put you in the same mindset; it’s the type of song you definitely need to see performed live to truly do proper service to it. The same thing applies to the “middle-finger-in-the-air” attitude of “FAKE LUV”; it’ll make one or more people come into your mind and make you wish they were there in front of you to tell them off. With “WORLD OF MALICE”, the album ends just as powerfully as it began and leaves you wishing that you could re-experience listening to it for the first time.
In the past year, the band has experienced great and highly deserved success, from starting 2023 with a month-long European tour to their current North American run with nothing, nowhere. and Static Dress. UnityTX was never a band that anybody should have been sleeping on, and 2023 is the year that everybody has no choice but to wake up. “FERALITY” is UnityTx’s newest album, an album of the year top contender, out now on Pure Noise Records. For an opportunity to see the new tracks and older classics, in their full glory, check out the bands’ upcoming tour dates below:
UNITYTX will be hitting the road with nothing,nowhere., SeeYouSpaceCowboy, and Static Dress on The Void Eternal Tour. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.unitytxroc.com
September 5 – South Burlington, VT – Higher Ground
September 6 – New York, NY – Gramercy Theatre
September 8 – Boston, MA – Big Night Live
September 9 – Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of Living Arts
September 10 – Baltimore, MD – Baltimore Soundstage
September 12 – Pittsburgh, PA – Thunderbird Cafe
September 13 – Toronto, CAN – Phoenix Concert Theatre
September 14 – Pontiac, MI – The Crofoot Ballroom
September 17 – Lakewood, OH – Mahall’s
September 18 – Columbus, OH – The KING of CLUBS
September 20 – Indianapolis, IN – Hi-Fi
September 22 – St. Louis, MO – Red Flag
September 23 – Atlanta, GA – Heaven at The Masquerade
September 25 – Fort Lauderdale, FL – Revolution Live
September 26 – Tampa, FL – The Orpheum Tampa
September 28 – Austin, TX – Empire Control Room & Garage
September 29 – Dallas, TX – The Studio at the Factory
October 1 – Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine Theatre
October 2 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre
October 3 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Union Event Center
October 6 – Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre
October 8 – Santa Cruz, CA – The Catalyst
October 10 – Los Angeles, CA – The Regent Theater
October 11 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues San Diego
October 12 – Santa Ana, CA – Observatory
