Utopia Platafórmica

- abril 28, 2023

Burning Strong

“Here Until the End” (From Within Records, 2022)

I came across this band not long ago, and again, it happened while browsing on YouTube. Burning Strong is a SXE Hardcore band from Pensacola, Florida, and have been around since 2019. Since then, they have released a Split (via Patient Zero Records), a Demo, and two Full-length albums, all on From Within Records (which reads quality in my book). “Here Until the End” was released last year, and it is a melodic thunderstorm of around 26 minutes, which is more than enough to smack you in the head and get your attention.

The great thing about this release is the ability the band has, to merge melodic riffs with more aggressive vocals. And when I mean aggressive, I do not want you to imagine overly aggressive and furious vocals, but it is pretty neat when you get the vocal harmonies, or the acoustic guitar and the vocals pair up and it offers a very nice moment. The band has these moments that could have softened their music, but in fact it makes it broader, gives it depth. Instead of just blasting full-ahead, they give it dynamic. It is a win, in my opinion! They have really cool moments, really cheerful moments, and as I said before, their approach/dynamics gives us that pump, you know? This has to be great for the gym, I tell you!

“Here Until the End” is a 28-minute slap on the face, strong hug, sing-along celebration with your lads… it is all of this in one single piece! You know when you have those records that are able to lift you up and put a smile on your face? Yeah! This is one of those specimens. And you want to know a really cool thing? They never fall into any cheesy riffs or embarrassing moments where they get too mellow or “weak”. Never! Always bouncing and “two-toning” your way through the room. Blow it up!

From Within Records Official Bandcamp

Weight - “Violence of the Divine” (Control Records / The Essence, 2022)

Norway was best known to me for being the birthplace of my favorite musical genre ever, but the Nordic countries have been like a box of cookies (not a big fan of chocolate, sorry), where the next is always better than the first. Sweden gave us “Go to Heaven”, and Norway provided “Violence of the Divine”. I sense a Holy inspiration amongst the lads from cold locations.

So, Norway and Hardcore. Crossover, to be more precise. Plenty of bands have been paying tribute to 80ies and 90ies Hardcore and have been showing amazing results. More and more lads are addressing music as a “return to the Past”, in a way. Instead of coming up with new perspectives on the genre, musicians have been creating material that is almost 100% reminiscent of what was done way back. I salute them, for I identify more with the older stuff than with the new. No issue with more modern visions of Hardcore, but those old tunes do sound better.

The cool thing about Weight, and Existence for example, is that although they do resort to older melodies, their sound never falls into that bottomless pit where copycats go and die. Their sound is inspired by older tunes, and you can hear those older tunes in their sound, but you can feel that there is something else in there. The vocals, for instance, give me an 80ies Thrash Metal vibe, and that is cool because it fits perfectly with the music, but not all his old, and the bass, for example, showcases a much modern performance along with many other details! Even the production sounds old… and I bloody love it! “Kill Until Killed” is a rendition of the best of 80ies Thrash Metal, gents. The Cro-Mags and S.O.D. are pleased to hear these tunes.