Earache (label)
03 October 2011 (released)
30 October 2011
Modern music can be viewed as a crowded field of fast-moving motor vehicles. Furthermore, there are no highways, speed laws, or directional restrictions. With circumstances like these, it’s inevitable that unrelated styles will crash into each other – by chance, if for no other reason than that.
You might say the Texas band The Browning is one of those accidents waiting to happen. One side of its personality is an angry deathcore metal band, complete with guttural vocals and loud, surging electric guitars. Think of this as the Ford F-150 truck in our demolition derby example. The other pedal-to-the-metal participant is electronic music. These are synthesizers that adhere to all the familiar elements in contemporary dance music. There are stuttering grooves. There are sweeping melodic lines. This is as electrified as electronic music gets. Consider this other side the act's sleek Mercedes half.
Burn This World is the result of this foregone conclusion collision. Consistent with the apocalyptic scenario suggested by the album's title, The Browning’s new release is filled with horror movie-summarizing song titles. Examples include:“Living Dead,” “Bloodlust” and “The Sadist.”
Vocalist Jonny McBee fulfills his role as main growler. He also provides the group’s prominent electronics. Brian Cravey is the act’s guitarist. He strictly a riff master, as you will not hear one screaming lead electric line or even a harmonized twin attack throughout. The band is rounded out with Jesse Glidewell on bass and Noah Robertson at the drums.
The best science experiments eventually lead to practical problem solutions. On the other hand, there are those lab tasks that are, well, just kind of interesting. The Browning’s Burn This World is “just kind of interesting,” but not really all that useful. It answers the question: What would happen if you mixed metal and electronic music in nearly equal measure? However, it doesn’t really accomplish much after that. The songs are lyrically limited, at best, and the group’s musicality is on the extremely simplistic side. Unfortunately, Burn This World doesn’t rally catch fire.
