Portland, Oregon’s Unto Others finally released their new album “Strength”, this past September 24th on Roadrunner Records. The album is available for streaming on all platforms (album art / track listing below).
Furthermore, Unto Others have announced a U.S. headline tour for the fall in support of “Strength”. The coast-to-coast run, which will feature special guests Blood Star, is set to kick off on November 1st in Seattle, WA and will see the band making stops in major markets across the country including; Brooklyn, NY, Austin, TX, Chicago, IL, San Francisco, CA and more (full itinerary below). Tickets for the upcoming dates are on sale now. For tickets and more information on Unto Others’ upcoming live schedule, visit www.untoothers.us.
Unto Others’ vocalist / guitarist Gabriel Franco elaborated on the genesis of “Strength” sharing, “I wish I could say it came to me like a bolt of lightning, but the record was a process. A challenging process, to write, record and mix. It was 10 months from beginning to end, and the most time I’ve ever spent on an album. You can decide if that’s good or bad. Arthur did a great job giving the record an organic heavy sound and it was a privilege to work with him. What we have at the end is something I am extremely proud of, for better or worse, and a constant reminder to myself that we don’t do things because they are easy, we do them because they are hard.”
Produced and mixed by Arthur Rizk, “Strength” was recorded between June 2020 and April 2021 at Redwood Studio in Philadelphia, PA and Falcon Studios in Portland, OR. The forthcoming release marks Unto Others’ debut album on Roadrunner Records and the follow-up to their critically acclaimed 2019 LP “Mana”. “Strength” also features the single “When Will Gods Work Be Done” which arrived earlier this summer alongside news of the band’s signing. Stereogum praised the single attesting, “Unto Others build and build, showing mastery in setting a scene, stretching tension to its breaking point, and then blowing it to smithereens with panache,” while REVOLVER included the track in their weekly “Best New Songs Right Now,” round-up. Decibel affirmed “(it) continues right where Mana left off, built around a hard-driving groove, some mean palm-muted riffs, and of course, the baritone bellow of singer/guitarist Gabriel Franco.”
Comprised of Gabriel Franco (Vocals / Guitar), Brandon Hill (Bass), Sebastian Silva (Guitar), and Colin Vranizan (Drums), Unto Others formed in Portland, OR in 2017 and quickly made waves out of the Pacific Northwest under their previous band name Idle Hands. Following 2018’s “Don’t Waste Your Time” EP, they released their debut full-length album “Mana” in 2019 to widespread acclaim. Citing their harmonious marriage of goth rock and traditional heavy metal, Stereogum named Unto Others one of the “40 Best New Bands of 2019” noting, “In an alternate reality where the ‘80s dalliance with both genres took hold into future decades, nearly every song on the band’s debut would be a hit.”
The impact of “Mana” was immediate earning “Best of 2019” album accolades from Metal Hammer, Decibel Magazine, Invisible Oranges, Treble, Stereogum and Heavy Consequence with the latter observing, “Franco sounds more like Robert Smith than he does Bruce Dickinson, even though one can hear The Cure and Iron Maiden both in his band’s sound.” Unto Others joined King Diamond and Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats on a sold-out coast-to-coast tour across North America in support of “Mana” and returned in 2020 with the surprise release of “Don’t Waste Your Time II.”
Next up, Unto Others will join Behemoth, Arch Enemy, and Carcass for a massive European fall tour, kicking off September 28th in Dublin, Ireland and running for six weeks through November 7 at Rockefeller in Oslo, Norway [itinerary below]. For tickets and more information on Unto Others’ upcoming live dates, visit the band’s website.
“Strength” Tracklist:
1. Heroin
2. Downtown
3. When Will Gods Work Be Done
4. No Children Laughing Now
5. Destiny
6. Little Bird
7. Why
8. Just a Matter of Time
9. Hell is For Children
10. Summer Lightning
11. Instinct
12. Strength
