The stars at night are big and bright in the heart of Texas, and such is San Antonio's metalcore outfit, Upon A Burning Body. The Texan proud band has been a staple throughout the evolution of the genre since their 2010 debut album- coming onto the scene slinging this southern groove metal, tempered with deathcore and technical metalcore rooted in Latin lineage. It was absolutely surreal hearing these guys for the first time in the mid-2010's- a loud and proud group bordering between breakdowns and groove metal, Spanish entwined pride, and yet whose message was as humble as it was merciless. It was like having a more intense version of Ill Niño in the ears, and the genre welcomed it with open arms. Beginning with Billboard Top 200 albums, breaking into the mainstream ears by the third album, and the band's motto of survival, evolution, and persistence- these guys have proved they have been a must-listen in the genre.
Marking their first independent full release, Blood of the Bull is an 11-track collection of grooves, breakdowns, catchy choruses, and homage to their Latin roots. The album is the most diverse the band has to date — bouncing, thrashing, breaking, and bending throughout its listen. Spanish guitars and breakdown gutturals will coexist on the same track, as will guitar solos, nu-metal-like bounces, and melodic clean choruses exist in another. Full creative freedom has allowed us to see the truest form of Upon A Burning Body, and their limits are bigger than the Lone Star State that they hail from.
"SHOW ME YOUR FUCKING TEETH"
The intro track is vital in an album — the very heartbeat and tone of what you're about to be exposed to for the next 45 minutes is dictated here. Engraved is the opening track, "Sangre Del Toro" (Spanish for "Blood of The Bull") — a curtain dropper of an instrumental track of Latin roots, melded with metalcore. Technical Spanish guitars strum out a catchy ass rhythm, and progress with signature trumpets before the beat drops- exploding with a chanted "¡Ole!" with heavy downtuned guitars mutating the prominent rhythm- from flamenco to moshpit, and it's heavier from here. "Hand of God" is seething with groove and smites the living shit out of you. High-ringing synths, guitar tones that bring brimstone, and vocalist Danny Leal's signature mids give warning of wicked retribution- the first full track is destructive. "KillShot" is a bouncing nu-metalcore track, equipped with Leal balancing between death metal-like vocals and almost rapping, with guitars (Ruben Alvarez) and bass (Rey Martinez) throwing grooves mixed with artificial harmonic scrapes and some of the nastiest bend riffs. Doing nu-[any other genre] can be a hit and miss in artists with elements becoming off balance for each respective sound; however, these Texans made the track larger than life with stomping snares and blastbeats (Tito Felix), sludge chords and catchy downtuned riffs, and versatile vocals. The track was equipped with a fun and gruesome music video, showcasing the band playing a Sega Genesis-style zombie slaying video game (titled after the track), where the members are transported into a virtual reality to hack, slash, and headshot the undead.
Diversity is sewn and bled into the album; there is not a boring or repetitive part in this damn thing — "Daywalker" furthers it with a cinematic-like intro of synths and echoes before hitting us with southern-taste chugs and giving us our first glimpse into a vibrant, clean-sung choruses on reflection and the urge for bloodlust. The end breakdown and buildup feel like a Western showdown, and you're metalcore John fucking Wayne. We're slinging sing-alongs and beatdowns around these here parts. Venturing further into the south, the sun is blocked out by "Vultures". This one picks up the speed with fast-paced riffs, intense drum fills, and a stomping chorus of death-obsessed animals that pick off the scraps of the deceased and rotted. "Another Ghost" is an interesting track and a hopeful effort to prevent the collapse and loss of loved ones. Violins and 808s start softly before ripping you into another nasty guitar-bending wall of violence. The balance of soft atmosphere and heaviness is sought in the song, with a clean-sung chorus that is as meaningful as it is catchy.
"KILLSHOT" OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO
"PULL OUT THE TONGUE"
Halfway through the album, and we reach what became my second favorite track off the record, "Dragged Through Glass" — this has some of the best showcases of raw energy the band has to offer. Pummeling riffs and drums, Leal delivers intense mids and distorted whips of chatter. The chamber is loaded with an intense buildup to beatdown, and fired with "Pull out the tongue!" from Leal. The track is lyrically about change and growth, but for live shows, the crowd will physically translate this to violence. It's a phenomenal midpoint. "Living in The Matrix" is a middle finger to social media and politics. Modern metalcore-edged instrumentals and the best cleans in a chorus that the album has to offer, while "Curse Breaker" delivers confident triumph with dive bombs, heavy chugs, and intricate kick and cymbal bombardment.
Blood Of The Bull, in essence, is a message on overcoming adversities, and with change comes sacrifice. It's a recurring message of itself that the past does not let go easily. The exception would be "An Instainable Hunger," which will remind you of earlier sounds, such as found in 2012's album Red. White. Green. — the album that acquainted most of us with Upon A Burning Body. Deathcore and technical death metal gutturals and riffs, drums that fire on all cylinders, and all-out aggression. This is the heaviest track on the damn album, and my favorite off the record. This track is a fucking closeline from Hell, and has the nostalgia UABB sound many of us were drawn into by the band. Closing with "Reckless Love" has a seldom and dreamlike atmosphere that is incredibly mesmerizing. I take my metal with violence, but even so, this chorus and instrumentals showed this mature versatility that the band has come to grow into.
"An Instainable Hunger" OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO
2025 has been the year for metal from all sides of the planet. Deathcore has made its way into mainstream ears, nu-metal and old school death metal are becoming prevalent in newer artists, and metalcore has felt renewed with Blood Of The Bull. Being Upon A Burning Body's first independent record, the band was left fully to their own devices and curated a unique and diversified next chapter. Sticking to their Latin roots and aggression, and ventured further out into cleaner atmospheres, dynamic song writing, and retained some of their earlier, more extreme metal sounds that fans from the beginning were drawn to. The next phase of the Texan metalcore band is promising as they've delivered an incredible year-closing album, and are closing out the year with a headlining tour with support from The Browning and LockJaw, from December 4th - December 14th, tickets here:
