Upon A Burning Body, from San
Antonio, Texas, are a metal/deathcore quintet that wear their hearts on their
sleeve when it comes to creating a brand of ‘no bullshit’ heavy music that
doesn’t adhere to trends and certainly doesn’t hold back. The band (who are
signed to Sumerian Records) came to light with debut record ‘The World Is Ours’
and now, 2 years after the release of that album, have hit back with ‘Red.
White. Green.’ It’s an exciting and edgy group of songs, with each track being
named after the movies of Texan director Robert Rodriguez, showing that pop
culture crossovers really do work well.
The album starts with ‘Game Over’,
a short and snappy burst of insanity (which is also a reference to ‘Spy Kids’,
would you believe?) with heavy vocals and excessive technical
breakdowns/rhythms. It sets the scene for the epic scale of the album, which
gets well and truly started with ‘Sin City’, which is a behemoth in every sense
of the word. Melodic guitar brings in the track, which is made up of layered chugs
and venomous vocals. A thrash sound is paired perfectly with deathcore, making
it a fun, heavy song with blasted verses, intense gang vocals and guitar
wizardry. The simple yet effective lyrics are delivered with anger and passion,
making the song a straightforward hardcore experience that doesn’t mess about.
‘Once Upon A Time In Mexico’ is the album highlight and lead track, which
includes new tricks added to the UABB sound, including a clean/screamed dual
chorus, which is a first for the band. This scathing track has a rare melodic
value amongst the brutality, with groovy riffs that give the song a great
bounce. The shredding is second to none, the vocals are strong and the song has
real direction.
‘Texas Blood Money’ is catchy,
fun and brash. It’s a party song, and while it does glorify violence and
drinking, it’s clearly a tongue-in-cheek anthem for Texas, even including homage
to Pantera and their track ‘Walk’. Vocals are bombastic and boastful, which
results in a shallow but easy to follow headbanger that has the obvious
message, ‘don’t fuck with Texas!’ An interlude arrives with ‘El Mariachi’ that
is a classical Spanish guitar piece in keeping with the movie it takes its name
from. Layered Mariachi playing styles are a testament to the talent of the
band.
‘Desperado’ has pummelling beats,
shredding guitars and bellows from the fires below, never letting up and
providing a barrage of sound that is devastating and memorable. ‘Mimic’ is
another face melter, tearing along the momentum and taking no prisoners. Rage
is channelled into a superb song that adds enough melody to stop it being
repetitive and mind numbing. ‘Predators’ is a slap in the face and shows that
this album doesn’t yet have any intention of slowing down. The lyrical content
of the track is deeper than the rest of the songs, all of which tend to include
more ‘fucks’ and ‘yeahs’ than is needed. Halfway through the song is stripped
away to low growls and heavy riffs, giving the song a ‘big balls’ edge that
makes it a joy to listen to. The song ends with a melodic picked lick that
fades away majestically.
‘From Dusk Till Dawn’ captures
the ferocious edge of the movie it takes its name from (which happens to be my
favourite Robert Rodriguez flick), with doom riffs, evil chords and huge vocals.
The rhythms are tight, making this the tightest song on the record, and solos
whizz by with angst and horror. A low growl brings in an efficient breakdown
before an abrupt end. ‘Planet Terror’ is a tribute to B-movies and begins with
a high-pitched female scream before the standard UABB beating begins. Horror
infused lyrics are behind the intense instrumentals, which makes another fun
track with a devious undercurrent.
Final track ‘The Island of Lost
Dreams’ (which is another song named after a Spy Kids movie!) starts with
stunning melodic guitars and when the heaviness drops it’s not full force, yet
a more measured approach from the band, which is pleasing to hear. The same
melody carries on throughout, pushing through to a soaring chorus and switching
to breakdowns that are some of the best this album has to offer. The track
builds up to an epic conclusion, fading out with a melee of strings, bringing
proceedings to a close on a hushed note.
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