Only Heavy Metal

IT'S HAPPENING!!!!

Time to unveil the artwork, release date, title and track listing for our new record!!!

It's called 'APEX' and it's a concept album coming out JUNE 2nd 2017 :)

Once again we are honoured to be releasing this record through Napalm Records \m/ Mixed, mastered and recorded by Jacob Hansen at Hansen Studios in Denmark.

The artwork was created by Ken at Sarafin Concepts and it is a big change of pace for us. Being that this album tells a story we wanted our artwork to do the same... It very much embodies the emotion behind this record, and is a great representation of the story as a whole. We are super stoked to share this with you all!

More details are coming soon so keep an eye on our facebook page for updates!

We're sad to announce that our bass player, Nikko Whitworth - Bassist, has decided to part ways with UTA. We've had some great tours, and made a killer record together, but it's time for him to focus on his other creative projects. Make sure to follow his page to keep up to date with everything he's got going on in the future!

We'll keep you guys posted as we make plans for 2018!!!

WE ARE SO HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE Our New EP 'Explorers' –
To Be Released Via Napalm Records On 11th October 2019!

The EP will feature two cover songs. The first single to be released on 30th August 2019 is called “Northwest Passage”, originally written and performed by Stan Rogers.

Brittney Slayes on “Northwest Passage”:
“This song means a lot to us as a band, we like to put it on during those long drives on tour and it always brings us right back home. We originally recorded it to be a bonus track for our last full length album Apex, but we loved the track so much we knew it needed special treatment. We held on to it for a bit and eventually decided to release it as its own 7" vinyl EP with another Canadian cover song as the B side. The song Northwest Passage is all about touring through Canada, which Stan Rogers did a lot, and how it equates to being an explorer looking for the passage all those years ago. It really hits home with us, we've toured through Canada too many times to count, so we know just how Stan was feeling. That's where the name of the EP came from too; every time we hit the road on tour it's like we too become Explorers, with the great big unknown stretching out before us.”

GOOD NEWS EVERYONE!!!

We are in Denmark at Hansen Studios recording the new album and we can't wait to share it with you all! We're sorry we haven't been posting a lot but Andrew Kingsley has been shitting the bed on his solo's so... See below for an example ;)

Drums and Bass are done, Guitars are almost there and then Brittney Slayes is up to bat! Stay tuned for more videos and updates over the next couple weeks as we finish up.

'ABYSS' ARTWORK AND TITLE TRACK TEASER VIDEO REVEALED!!!

The sequel to 'Apex' is finally here and available for PRE-ORDER now from Napalm Records and IndieMerchstore at the links below!

https://unleashthearchers.indiemerch.com/
https://smarturl.it/Abyss-NPR

Artwork by: Nightjar art of Adam Burke

Abyss was once again engineered, mixed, and mastered by Jacob Hansen of Hansen Studios in Denmark, with production by guitarist Andrew Kingsley. Additionally, transcendent closer track “Afterlife” features orchestration contributions from Francesco Ferrini of Italian symphonic death metal machine FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE. Fans will notice that, unlike on Apex, Abyss incorporates a weighty dose of synth in the mix, and for the first time ever, all tracks were written on seven strings – adding to the massive expanse of the album’s sound as it explores the celestial realm.

@Brittney Slayes explains about the concept:
“Our protagonist, The Immortal, is once again awakened at the beginning of our story, but this time he is in an unknown place: a ship out in deep space. He wanders alone for a time, reflecting on his misdeeds, searching for his new master. Finally, he finds him, and learns that it is the Grandson of The Matriarch, our antagonist. The Immortal had taken The Grandson’s father away some sixty years before, to be sacrificed by The Matriarch in a ritual to achieve immortality (the events from Apex) and now the Grandson seeks revenge against The Matriarch with the aid of her own weapon, The Immortal.

This album is a classic take on good versus evil, light versus dark, The Grandson versus The Matriarch, but it also uses the ‘person versus self’ literary device in that The Immortal is battling with the good and evil within himself, and must decide in the end if he is simply a tool for others to use, or a man with free will and the ability to choose his own path; a struggle I think every human can relate to.”

The Deluxe Earbook edition of Abyss features the entire album in instrumental as well as two bonus tracks – synthwave and gothic folk-pop versions of “Abyss” and “Soulbound”, respectively. This is something we have never done before, turning our singles into something completely different!

Brittney Slayes adds:
“I hope you enjoy our alternate interpretations of “Abyss” and “Soulbound”, because they honestly show a side of us as musicians that we probably wouldn't be able to showcase otherwise. We all listen to a lot of different genres of music, but these two bonus tracks give huge insight into the music we were listening to as we recorded Abyss... not just metal, but synthwave, pop, and even a bit of country!”

The celestial, conceptual follow-up to 2017’s Apex drops August 21, 2020. Expect the first single in a couple of weeks!!!

You've probably noticed that Nick has been helping us out on live bass for the last three years now, and we've decided that he's pretty great, so we're making it official Everyone please give the newest full-time member of UTA a warm welcome - Nick Miller!!! Head on over to @nickmillershreds to give him a follow and join us on the road over the next two weeks to catch him live!!! PS he's finally on the VIP poster now too!

Canada’s most exciting metal band, UNLEASH THE ARCHERS, recently ascended to worldwide power metal domination with their dual-concept releases of 2017’s Apex and 2020’s breakout triumph Abyss. The latter won a JUNO Award for Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year, debuted at #1 on the US Current Hard Music and Top New Artist charts, was dubbed by Bandcamp as “a mandatory listen”, and named by Loudwire as one of the best rock and metal albums of the year - crowning the band as “gamechangers within the genre”. Now, the purveyors of futuristically-motivated metal return with their conceptual, AI inspired sixth studio album, Phantoma, out May 10, 2024 via Napalm Records.

Frontwoman and lyricist Brittney Slayes conjured Phantoma’s concept in 2021; before the swarm of pressing commentary surrounding AI and its impending grip on society began to reach an all-time high. Led by the album’s protagonist Phantoma, a Phase 4 / Network Tier 0 unit - model A, the story recounts the trials of AI gaining sentience on a dystopian, near-future planet earth. Via the band’s one-of-a-kind blend of power metal, traditional heavy metal, modern prog and pop sensibilities, UNLEASH THE ARCHERS spin a web of sharp musicality, high sci-fi concept and important social commentary about seeing the brutal truths behind the manufactured sheen of social media posturing. Defying controversy and bringing their imagination to life, UNLEASH THE ARCHERS utilized AI during the writing, filming, and production process on Phantoma, and weaved electronic and synthwave elements throughout the album’s 10 colossal anthems, which - in line with its theme - prove much darker and heavier in comparison to the bright positivity of Abyss. Album opener “Human Era” sets the tone with imagery of a bleak, windswept futurescape that crescendos headlong into the breakneck pace of following power metal bastion “Ph4/NT0mA” - a masterwork of dueling guitar solos and vocal acrobatics. Trad-metal influenced “Buried In Code” lights the way with pummeling rhythms before the album’s path turns dark on heavy metal hardened “The Collective”, with Brittney Slayes’ warm tones inviting the listener to ‘join or stand aside’! Hair-raising first single “Green & Glass” unveils the truth with dynamic verses and progressive-tinged guitar work before the upbeat 80s flavored “Gods In Decay” and the extraordinary balladic anthem “Give It Up Or Give It All” showcase the varied song writing prowess of UNLEASH THE ARCHERS’ modern era. A trifecta of concept closers begins with the moody “Ghosts In The Mist”, leading into the soaring yet menacing “Seeking Vengeance” before closing with the bittersweet tale of “Blood Empress”.


Mixed and mastered by Jacob Hansen, and with lead guitarist Andrew Kingsley at the helm as both principal songwriter and producer, Phantoma is an exciting advancement in UNLEASH THE ARCHERS’ songwriting and storytelling mastery,