Norma Jean and Upon A Burning Body

Norma Jean has been honing their metalcore craft for the last twenty years almost. They have dominated the Christian charts with three number one albums and two number two albums. They take to the stage this evening with a great presence as though they know exactly what they are doing, and they of course do when they launch into “Robots 3 Humans 0”. The horde of an audience is soaking in their distinctive metalcore music, taking it all in. “Bastardizer” I s a huge song for the audience, setting of mosh pits left right and centre. The guitars leading the songs and the drums driving them in true metalcore fashion.
For a metalcore band, their albums have made it pretty high up in the charts with their highest Billboard 200 chart position being “The Anti Mother” peaking at 29. Not only this, but they have received a Grammy Award nomination in 2006 for “Best Recording Package” for their second album “O God, the Aftermath”.

The kind of intensity that is conveyed by Upon a Burning Body’s name is exactly the kind of intensity that is presented in their live performances. The Texas based band draws some influence from southern rock, but they mainly present their material with a full fledged metal mentality. As soon as Upon a Burning Body steps onto the stage a blast of loud music penetrates the airwaves and doesn’t cease until they leave the stage. Their guitars are tuned down to low pitches and cranked up to the loudest volumes. Most of their songs sound like the guitarists tune their guitars down a whole step and then drop their lowest E string to a C tuning allowing for them to play the guitar more openly, which gives their sound a more forceful delivery. The guitars, drums, and bass often play in a unified rhythm giving a layered, and more powerful sound to their performance. Their guitarists will often break off from their style of heavy rhythmic playing and will transition into face melting solos that are performed at lighting fast speeds. The band’s vocalist, Danny Leal, presents his vocals with the strongest endurance by consistently bellowing his lyrics with the deepest growl imaginable. His lyrics better convey the band’s Texas outlaw image and also reference the band’s Latino heritage.
The band’s stage image also heavily defines their southern roots. They have large longhorn cattle skulls displayed in the background and layers of red lights often wash over the stage, which gives the impression that the band is playing in a red western desert. The band members all give every bit of energy they have into the performance. They are fiercely head banging to the music and the vocalist is jumping onto amps while screaming his lyrics into the audience. The vocalist also is inciting the audience to start up mosh pits, crowd surf up to the stage, and sing out the choruses to all of the songs, and the audience happily complies to all of his wishes.
Upon a Burning Body may dress like gentlemen by sporting fashionable suits on stage, but their music and live performances convey their unruly side that makes for one exciting show.