UNITYTX

UnityTX have always been ahead of the curve. Leaders rather than followers, the Dallas-based band have been breaking the mold since their inception in 2014 with a ferocious fusion of metal and hip-hop, along with some added electronic flourishes and hints of other genres too. Yet new album Somewhere, In Between is largely inspired by the band feeling that, despite always paving the way, they’ve not been given all the props they deserve.

“We’ve been a band for years,” says frontman Jay Webster (aka SHAOLIN G), “and I feel like we’ve always done cool things that have made us stand out, but it feels like we haven’t really grown. And then bands come in, they show us love and try to be best friends with us, and then they get a little bit ahead of us, and they go silent. They stop being so cool with us.”

The result of that frustration is a record that—across 14 caustic, cathartic songs—oozes with both discontent and determination. It’s a (self-)motivating rallying cry to break free from where they feel they are to somewhere else, idealistically and musically, while also staying true to themselves and their original intentions as a band. As such, it also serves as a reaction to the compromises Webster feels the band have made since they started doing it in a professional capacity.

“When we got into the industry,” Webster says, “we had to start playing by the industry rules and not so much by the rules that I had set for us. I was trying my hardest to stick to my code, but it felt like it wasn’t ever going to work. Even before we got signed, I was talking to a guy who worked for Sony Japan who was ‘I just don’t think the metal and rap stuff is going to work.’ And this was in 2017, before anything was even popping, but I was there making this stuff—and here we are eight years later. I’m still doing the same thing I was doing back then, and people in the scene love us and the energy we bring.”

Of course, that metal and rap stuff has enjoyed a huge surge of popularity in recent years, and the energy that UnityTX bring to it is in full flow on Somewhere, In Between. Like 2023’s debut full-length, it was recorded by Andrew Wade, and sees the band—on this recording comprised of Webster, Brandon Castañeda and drummer Jonathan Flores—continue their high-octane, genre-smashing mission. From the opening assault of “Sabotage” and “Heinous”—a beautifully gnarly one-two sucker punch of metal riffs, apocalyptic electronics and hip-hop—through the uncompromising grit of “Fuck Tha World” and the menacing yet vulnerable snarl of “Ready 2 Die Pt. 2”, all the way through to the violent, emphatic brutality of closer “Crash N Burn”, this is a record of powerful intention and intensity.

“This is what UnityTX used to be before we got picked up,” says Webster. “It’s letting go of all the tension that made us feel like we couldn’t do anything in this space, but it’s trying to push past that and reach—not our maximum potential—but start to see where else this can go. We’re trying to evolve both as a band and as people.”

Tour Dates

Publicity:
US & UK: Hayley Connelly
Europe: Denise Pedicillo
AUS: Janine Morcos

Booking: Daniel McCartney

Management: Tom Williams

Latest Release

News & Updates