Up In Smoke
We were dropped a line recently about Up In Smoke, a band who died in 2011 but are back in 2012 with their hardcore/deathcore/experimental style of music! Describing themselves as everything that you wish you could scream at the world and everyone would hear it, I figured that the only way to really see what was going on was to check out their video for their latest track, You, Me & The Wall You Built Between Us, and their cover version of Mercy from Kanye West. (Both videos can be seen below).
Starting off with their original track, You, Me & The Wall You Built Between Us things get off to a heavy start from the word go, launching into a downtuned melee of hammering guitar lines, pounding drums and vocals which are sure to get heads banging. There’s an incredibly accomplished sound going on here, one which shows off the skills of a band who understand their aim in music, and know how to produce the goods to back up their ideas. Heavy, distorted and fast paced, this is the sort of track which is going to get pits moving across the venue, getting people hooked into their sound from the word go and not releasing until the band are good and ready. I can see what they mean about their aim to speak out for the world, shouting what we want to shout and doing it with aplomb, resulting in a sound which is going to pummel you about the head and make you thank them for the privilege as it comes to a close.
Moving onto their cover track of Mercy we’re shown another side of the band, a side which can take a sound which you thought you knew and transform it into something else. Turning a hip hop track into an all out aural assault, this track once again starts as it means to go on, hammering onwards with a heavy rhythm section accompanied by roaring vocals and hammering guitar lines, the mix forming into something which suggests this track should have been done in this style in the first place. Heavy and powerful throughout, this is another track crafted for the live scene, the sort of thing which won’t give you a moment to rest and will instead, make you want to get to a show, get into a pit, and hook you into the sound that the guys have got on offer. In short – a hell of a cover!
All too often when a band does their own stuff and does covers, there’s a mix of sounds which harks towards drawing too much influence from the other band in question. In the case of Up In Smoke this hasn’t happened, and the result here are two tracks which are going to blow your mind. To me, this is the new development of hardcore style stuff, the sort of thing which is packed with hammering bass and a real sense of movement from start to finish. I’ll be looking to hear a lot more from these guys in the future and hope they continue to produce tracks at this sort of level – definitely a band to check out.
Check out the videos for yourself below.
To find out more about Up In Smoke, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls
Starting off with their original track, You, Me & The Wall You Built Between Us things get off to a heavy start from the word go, launching into a downtuned melee of hammering guitar lines, pounding drums and vocals which are sure to get heads banging. There’s an incredibly accomplished sound going on here, one which shows off the skills of a band who understand their aim in music, and know how to produce the goods to back up their ideas. Heavy, distorted and fast paced, this is the sort of track which is going to get pits moving across the venue, getting people hooked into their sound from the word go and not releasing until the band are good and ready. I can see what they mean about their aim to speak out for the world, shouting what we want to shout and doing it with aplomb, resulting in a sound which is going to pummel you about the head and make you thank them for the privilege as it comes to a close.
Moving onto their cover track of Mercy we’re shown another side of the band, a side which can take a sound which you thought you knew and transform it into something else. Turning a hip hop track into an all out aural assault, this track once again starts as it means to go on, hammering onwards with a heavy rhythm section accompanied by roaring vocals and hammering guitar lines, the mix forming into something which suggests this track should have been done in this style in the first place. Heavy and powerful throughout, this is another track crafted for the live scene, the sort of thing which won’t give you a moment to rest and will instead, make you want to get to a show, get into a pit, and hook you into the sound that the guys have got on offer. In short – a hell of a cover!
All too often when a band does their own stuff and does covers, there’s a mix of sounds which harks towards drawing too much influence from the other band in question. In the case of Up In Smoke this hasn’t happened, and the result here are two tracks which are going to blow your mind. To me, this is the new development of hardcore style stuff, the sort of thing which is packed with hammering bass and a real sense of movement from start to finish. I’ll be looking to hear a lot more from these guys in the future and hope they continue to produce tracks at this sort of level – definitely a band to check out.
Check out the videos for yourself below.
To find out more about Up In Smoke, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls
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