Photo Credit: Max Stern
They had a taste. Then the world shut down.
For Unprocessed, the German metal shapeshifters whose riffs twist like a rollercoaster and bite like a King Cobra, touring wasn’t just part of the plan – it was the main event. But just as the wheels were beginning to turn, just as the stages started getting bigger, brighter, and the following was growing, the brakes slammed on. A global pandemic, two and a half years in limbo, and a whole world left waiting.
And yet – they grew.
So now, backstage at Download Festival, there’s a happy belonging in the air. No nerves, it feels right and an occasion well earned. “Yeah man I’m buzzing,” the band tells us, still wide-eyed but calm ahead of their set. “And I’m very excited ahead of our show today and this is my first time ever at Download.”
There’s a lot riding on this moment. But you wouldn’t know it from how casually confident they seem. Unprocessed aren’t scrambling for attention – they’re here to claim it. “Because the stage time is very short we try to make it as energetic as possible and get the people going as much as we can,” they say. “As at big festivals like this there are so many bands who are trying to make an impression on people while still focussing on the artistic flow of energy still within the energetic framework.”
You can hear it in their delivery – this is a band that knows exactly what they’re doing. Not just showmen, but entirely in control of their own momentum. Each live show a balancing act between chaotic punch and musical mastery.
“For sure festivals are great,” they continue. “We have a decent following in the UK. I don’t think they are all here today, Download has up to 90,000 people so this is a big chance to catch the attention of new people and bring them into our performance.”
And while the day is packed with heavyweight clashes – “I’m gonna see Malevolence as well as Korn and BFMV. We clash with Lorna Shore unfortunately and Spiritbox right before us, but we will be working but we will have the chance to see them elsewhere this summer” – Unprocessed are more focused on making their moment land.
But before all this – before Download, before international stages – there was the silence. Or rather, there was the disconnect. A band on the verge, then suddenly grounded. No more tours. No more shows. Just screens, plans, and a lot of waiting.
“Honestly I think COVID helped us pretty well,” they tell us. “In the sense we started touring right before COVID started, but the band had been a thing for much longer before that on a local level. We used the COVID time very well, released our most successful songs to date in that time period like Dead Rose and Real and stuff, and are still feeding off that.
“On the internet it made us bigger and now we are only now just catching up in reality. But yeah it was hard not playing – have had a taste of the good stuff then having stepped back for two and a half years. But basically ever since playing was allowed again we have been touring.”
They haven’t stopped since.
“Right now we are on the end of an 18-month touring cycle,” they say, taking a rare moment to pause. “So in terms of live shows the second half of the year will be very quiet and looking forward to some time at home… but the machine never stops. And I can’t disclose it right now but stuff is happening – watch this space.”
Unprocessed aren’t just riding a wave. They’re creating one and now they’re lighting it up one stage at a time.
