Album Review: Upon a Burning Body - 'The World is Ours'

If Upon a Burning Body were guests to a party, you get the feeling they would be late arrivals. That is to say, the music the band purport would 2-3 years ago been considered relatively fresh and stood equally within the deathcore landscape. Unfortunately, the band is a fraction late cashing in on this potential. Therefore, we can only view this belated sound as refined without being anything grander.

The Texas five-piece essentially are victims of their peers success. With bands like Through the Eyes of the Dead and All Shall Perish putting out releases that make a pass mark harder to ascertain in direct comparison and heavy acts like The Red Shore preparing new music, the evaluative contrast makes Upon a Burning Body's sound appear more inferior than in fairness it actually is.

Debut album, 'The World is Ours' shows potential, enthusiasm and an appreciation for the craft. The problem is nothing sets this album apart from the next pile of similar releases. Putting it bluntly – ‘The World is Ours’ is decent but by no means sensational.

The blueprint is simple – down tuned riffs, mosh parts, pit calls, and an abundance of brutal breakdowns. However, as musical endeavour inherently dictates the execution of these aforementioned qualities is not always as straightforward. Fortunately, Upon a Burning Body gets a tick for their delivery.

What 'The World is Ours' lacks is consistency. A handful of good songs are matched by equally mundane numbers. It is like the child playing with a new toy. At first, it is entertaining and enjoyable but very quickly becomes dull and tedious. The saving grace for Upon a Burning Body though is that balance in music comes naturally with more experience.

The Al Pacino fondness is clear, with all tracks named after one of the actor's films. 'Carlito's Way' showcases and encapsulates everything Upon a Burning Body has to offer neatly into 3 ½ minutes. The album's strongest song, the band appears to have only one objective – to get the pit moving. The music is fast and littered with a youthful swagger and plethora of breakdowns. Other tracks such as 'Heat' and 'Scarface' are heavy if nothing else, following similar tempos with varying growls and screams as well as low guitar tunings.

Upon a Burning Body have potential but not a lot else at the moment. Let's give it a few years and see what the band comes back to us with.

‘The World is Ours’ is delicately poised between a sound that is decent and one that is highly derivative. Upon a Burning Body, deliver a solid albeit standard debut. If not careful with what they produce next the band could easily become yet another ‘has-been’ in the growing deathcore pile.

1. Showtime

2. Carlito’s Way

3. Donnie Brasco

4. Righteous Kill

5. Scarface

6. Intermission

7. Heat

8. Any Given Sunday

9. Devil’s Advocate

10. City Hall