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One of the records that i had been waiting to come out for some time now finally saw light of day in last December. Helsinki’s (previously and originally Jyväskylä based band) hardcore heads, Upright, finally got their new 12″ record out. This slab of wax was released by excellent Polish hardcore label Ratel Records and familiar from Upright’s Losing Touch 7″ and Foreseen’s Structural Oppression 7″, Collision Records out of Helsinki. Promises of a new stack of groove ridden dijan-esque mosh anthems didn’t let down as Upright has put out their finest release to the date by adding in new elements into their music. One of the most notable things in this band is that their guitar work exactly ain’t no regular riff work, as Mr. Pekkanen reminds me a lot of Crown Of Thornz original guitarist Mike Dijan, but with his very own distinct style on it. On the new 12″; Here To Disappear, Upright has gone heavier and darker, without forgetting any of that groove and i feel there is also incluences from bands like, Fury Of Five and E-Town Concrete, subtle and even intentional or not, but definitely there. I’ll adress it here still that this ain’t no rap rock or anything whack shit, NYHC still reigns strong as an main element of Upright’s music and bands like Outburst and Breakdown do hear a lot in their music and you could compare them to Subzero as well, since it has always been a band that works with very different styles of parts in their songs (those fucking breakdowns are crushing!). Ok, so now you should have a feel of what to expect when you drop the needle on black, red (Ratel exclusive color) or blue (Collision exclusive color) wax and let the band take you on a ride through Here To Disappear 12″.
On this 12″ Upright offer us six new tracks starting with Isolated that works up an intro right off to that groove-ridden heaviness i’ve been talking about; “Actions speak louder than words“. Flash From The Past has really strong classic NYHC feel, it reminds me of Madball on their better days, but with just heavier riffs that are mixed up with COT styled instrumental guitar leads and Niko’s fierce growling’s urgency that fits in perfectly to the mix. Last of the three tracks on the A-side is record’s title jam, Here To Disappear and every time i listen through this shit, it amazes me how damn heavy this band sounds and songwriting wise these dudes just kill it. It’s one of the things that makes me like this shit so much, it’s not in any way on a regular hardcore on a regular template, they do whatever they feel like and i love it, just listen this song and you’ll hear those melodic, yet heavy as fuck riffs rip it up like no other! B-side doesn’t dissapoint either, The Flipside kicks it with a sick guitar solo and by now you should already noticed that the record hasn’t been recorded in a studio that has polished every little detail of the sound, as Black Floyd’s Analog Lab has done an excellent job with Upright, as it did with few latest Foreseen records, so check them out as well (Upright shares two members with them too, in case you didn’t know)! You can hear everything pretty thorough on this record and the roughness just gives these songs more edge. Outside Looking In moves smoothly between heavier parts into more mosh friendly territory towards the end of the song; “To walk on the wildside, to live and die, outside looking in with no ways to get back in”. Drowning finishes Here To Disappear and it’s pretty cool that they give a nod to one of the finest bands ever from Finland on this track with lyrics, you heard of Down My Throat, right? As i already mentioned probably couple of times, Upright definitely has put out their best record this far and i guess we’ll just have to wait for a full-length or something next? You can check this shit out right here and please support your scene, drop your dimes straight to the band (they got shirts too) or the labels by picking the 12″.
Upright -Bandcamp (listen all their releases)
