UNFD

Overview

UNFD kicked things off in August 2011 with Dream On Dreamer’s Heartbound, which landed at number 38 on the ARIA Charts and picked up a nomination for Best Heavy Rock Album of the Year at the ARIA Music Awards. Two years later, in April 2013, the label put out Northlane’s Singularity, backed by a marketing push that earned widespread praise from Australian media. That album hit number 3 on the ARIA Charts. Not long after, UNFD signed Dead Letter Circus, who already had a Gold Record to their name, and confirmed that The Amity Affliction’s Youngbloods and Chasing Ghosts had both gone gold in Australia. August 2013 brought another big win when Dead Letter Circus’s The Catalyst Fire climbed to number 2 on the ARIA charts, and the label also announced that Bodyjar would return with a new album dropping on 4 October. In July 2015, UNFD scored its first number one Australian album with Northlane’s third record, Node. That same year, Node won the label its first ARIA Award. The label racked up four ARIA nominations in 2015: Node, Thy Art Is Murder’s Holy War, and In Hearts Wake’s Skydancer all competed in the Hard Rock category, while Dead Letter Circus’s Aesthesis was up for the Rock category. In 2017, Northlane dropped their fourth album, Mesmer, as a surprise release. It debuted at number 3 on the ARIA chart during a crowded week, caught fans off guard, and earned heavy media coverage for both the music and the rollout. The band went on to claim their second ARIA Award in the Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal category. That year, UNFD was up for Best Independent Label at the AIR Awards, and Hellions’ Opera Oblivia got a nod for Best Hard Rock Album. Over 2017 and 2018, the label expanded its roster, bringing in acts like Tonight Alive, Dream State, Woes, Thornhill, LIMBS, and Slowly Slowly. It earned another Best Independent Label nomination at the 2018 AIR Awards. In March 2019, UNFD signed Frank Iero, former My Chemical Romance guitarist, and his band The Future Violents worldwide. Then, in September 2019, it announced the worldwide signing of Like Moths to Flames.