INTERVIEW: Ruben Alvarez – Upon A Burning Body

Since their inception Texan groove metal heavyweights UPON A BURNING BODY have shared a long standing relationship with Sumerian Records but they have since migrated to pastures new in the form of Seek & Strike in preparation for their impending fifth studio album entitled Southern Hostility which was released last Friday (read our review here). We caught up with guitarist Ruben Alvarez prior to the release of the album to get some insight into this new chapter and what we can expect from this release.

Southern Hostility is due for release on June 7th, what can we expect from this release?

Ruben: I feel like this is something that has taken us back to the first couple of records as far as intensity goes. When you’re working with the label there can be a lot of influences involved and I feel like we lost our centre y’know? With this record I feel like we’re bringing the energy back and the intensity back. It’s exciting, we worked with two producers who helped us write vocals, hooks and stuff. They’re younger so they have a fresh take on music and we’re kind of older now and a bit out of the loop! [Laughs]

Speaking of record labels you have signed with Seek And Strike going into this release, was it time to shake it up a bit?

Ruben: Yeah, definitely. We were with Sumerian for so long, we have four albums out so we just needed a change and we wanted to see what was out there for us and like you said mix it up a bit, start a new chapter and just reinvent ourselves. We felt we kind of hit the ceiling with where we were going and we wanted to break that barrier and try something different.

Do you have any concepts or themes that you wanted to get across with this release?

Ruben: Mainly we just wanted it to be raw and to bring back that energy that those old metal bands had. Right now we live in an age where everything is overproduced and I feel like it just needs to go back to the roots and what started it all, that pulse. There are a lot of bands which are getting towards retirement, when are the younger bands going to step up, take the reins and keep metal alive?

Did receiving chart status with previous releases add any kind of pressure going into this album?

Ruben: Definitely, it was kind of nerve wracking at first but once we found the sound that we were happy with we kinda honed in on that and it took off. We were writing song after song and everything we pretty much wrote in the studio. I came in with a lot of pre-production tracks and we ended up changing things a couple of times and we found we’d wrote a couple of tracks with this tuning and this vibe and we ran with it. We all knew after we had wrote it that we were onto something great.

You have released the track King Of Diamonds, how has it been received?

Ruben: Compared to the last couple of releases where we found a few people were reacting negatively it all seems positive this time round! I love reading the comments and reading peoples reactions like “They’re back!” and that’s what we wanted.

How did the decision of the Feed My Frankenstein cover come about?

Ruben: We were looking for something which was older which we could put our spin on it. We didn’t want to cover anything too new as we wanted to have the opportunity to bring the production and heaviness to the table, we landed on this song and we were sat on so many tracks like ROB ZOMBIE and things that are nostalgic to us and then we heard this track and it was perfect. We all grew up around the Wayne’s World era and watching that move so it took us all back. It just happened to be the first concert that Danny attended with his father so it made perfect sense. It sounds great and I love it.

You guys have been pretty consistent releasing an album every two years or so, what keeps you inspired?

Ruben: For me it’s just reaching those people who need music. When we play shows we meet people and it’s a release for them, they need it and they work 9-5 week in and week out and they’re just looking for a concert to go to or our music has helped them through some tough times and its uplifted them. I think that is what keeps me going, getting that response and what more could you ask for? You’re changing peoples lives and allowing them to live through your music and that’s great.

That’s awesome. The World Is My Enemy Now got me through some tough times myself so I’m really appreciative of that.

Ruben: Ah thank you. That’s the thing with our records, they have a good mix of fun songs and strong messages and that’s the way we are. We’re a lifestyle band we take what we’ve lived and put it out there and people can learn from it or get through whatever they’re going through.

You have a small string of dates to coincide with the album release including a hometown show, I bet that is going to be wild!

Ruben: Oh yeah, it’s been a while. We’ve been off since September and this is the longest break we’ve ever had. Switching labels, trying to find our sound and just taking our time to make sure it’s a nice release and just build up that hype. These three shows should be wonderful and it’s going to be great to get back on stage. I don’t think I’m ready yet conditioning wise though, I’ll probably be out of breath [Laughs]. Gotta hit the gym!

[Laughs] I can imagine it gets pretty hot up on those stages at times!

Ruben: Definitely. We always bring it and we’re not a band to just stand around so it’s all part of the process!

As you progress through your career and the material builds up how do you find putting together set lists for shows?

Ruben: I think now it’s great because since we’ve had so many records we can take the highlights from each one. We now have a set which is all great songs whereas before when we’ve headlined we’ve had to chose some of the songs which are lesser known so it’s definitely a set list which is going to be great from front to back.

What does the remainder of the year have in store for Upon A Burning Body post album release?

Ruben: At the moment we are booking tours and getting things lined up, we’ve got to hit the road and see how these songs get over live. Right now we’re looking to get support slots on the bigger metal tours as I think that’s where we wanna be. We’ve played Mayhem and we played a tour with ALL THAT REMAINS and the crowds responded so well to us. I feel like that’s where we need to be and grow into that. I think that’s the game plan as of now, get out there into that world!

Southern Hostility is out now via Seek & Strike.

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