Your new track ‘A Chosen Death’ packs a punch! Can you tell us a bit about the inspiration behind the song and the themes you wanted to explore?
A Chosen Death was brought to fruition through a deep look into our post pandemic world and the increasingly unhinged and polarised views being fed to the public through traditional media. It poses the question ‘Can we really trust the narrative of our elected leaders or that of whomever is pulling their strings?’. We hope to invite critical thought and observation as well as hope that if we all speak our truth things may get better.
The track dives into post-pandemic life and polarised views in the media. How did the chaos of recent years influence your songwriting process?
From Scott: It’s really opened my eyes to how fragile society is. It’s been hard to put what I’ve wanted to into words without wrongfully condemning myself and by proxy the rest of the band. I’ve never wanted to get political or impose my personal views on anyone. So it’s important for me to write lyrics that everyone can find their own meaning in.
You’ve posed some big questions in the lyrics, like whether we can trust our leaders. What do you hope listeners will take away from the track?
From Scott: I hope to inspire a healthy criticism of our authority and social trends but ultimately the courage to speak ones truth.
What was it like working with Garath Hargreaves on production? Did he help bring a fresh perspective to your sound?
It is always a pleasure working with Gary. He has produced our whole discography and we don’t know if we’ll ever work with anyone else. He has a very good ear for Metalcore production and continuously helps us get the sound we are looking for. Gary also puts a lot into our live sound. He will also be our sound engineer for our tour in Oct/Nov.
You’re kicking off the ‘A Chosen Death’ tour in October. What can fans expect from these live shows? Any surprises in store?
We hope to just go out there and give it our best every single night. We have put a lot of work into constructing a set list that will accommodate our earliest fans to our newest. We hope to bring dynamics into our set that will form a journey to the people in the crowd.
You’ve toured with some heavy hitters like Volumes and Gravemind. How does it feel to get back on the road with new music after the pandemic?
It is very refreshing getting back on the road after the pandemic. During the pandemic we had to cancel our first headline tour around Australia along with our first international show. We were unsure if we would be able to pick up the pieces when the dust cleared. Thankfully we were able to get a couple of opportunities to tour again in 2023 & are stoked that we are able to head out on a headline tour this year.
You’ve got a knack for blending bone-crushing breakdowns with melodic hooks. How do you strike that balance when writing songs like ‘A Chosen Death’?
We all listen to a pretty wide variety of music which lends itself inherently to a bit of a mix when it comes to writing. We almost always write the instrumentals first and fit the vocal placement and lyrical content to the mood of the finished song. Generally when we’re writing we naturally lean towards finding contrast, usually having clean/melodic sections directly before or after heavy sections, blending heavy vocals into the choruses or having both vocalists sing/scream different lyrics at the same time and using a variety of synth/electronics to build the mood of the track. Often we’ll carry the same electronics over from the melodic sections to the heavy sections to help tie them together musically.
The song’s title has a bit of a grim edge. What does ‘A Chosen Death’ mean to you, and how does it tie into the broader message of the track?
A Chosen Death refers directly to the state in which the world has found itself in. Polarising views pushed by government and media have driven humans further and further apart, effectively causing the death of a cohesively functioning society. The catch is that we elected these representatives and we feed back into the media narrative, thereby becoming a death we chose ourselves.
Your upcoming shows are spread across some iconic Aussie venues. Do you have a favourite city to play in, or a memory from past gigs that stands out?
Obviously, our home town of Brisbane is where a lot of the bigger/ most memorable shows we have played, But if we were to pick a town away from home it would have to be Melbourne. Melbourne crowds always seem to welcome us with open arms and we always get a really positive response after every show there.
After the tour, what’s next for UNI/VS? Are there more singles or perhaps a full album in the works?
We have sported the idea of doing a full length album but with the current size of the band and how people consume music in this day and age, we are unsure if putting the energy into a full length is the right thing to do. New music is definitely in the works, how we release it e.g. a full length, EP or singles is still unknown. We are also working on hitting some locations around Australia we haven’t played before, mostly regional towns but are pushing hard to get over to Perth as well.
SHOWS
Friday 5th of October – The Valley Loft – Brisbane
Saturday 12th of October – The Burdekin Hotel – Sydney
Sunday 13th of October – La La La’s – Wollongong
Saturday 2nd of November – Laundry Bar – Melbourne
Sunday 3rd of November – Crown & Anchor – Adelaide
