Unloco

Texas-based Unloco delivers hard-core, adrenaline-induced art fused with musical melody with its first major full-length album, Healing. Paralleling the angst-ridden sound fashioned by Korn and Cold Chamber, Unloco presses the speakers with bass-driven rage and anger. Emerging out of the new breed of commercially successful metal bands, Unloco will prove to be the brightest of them all. Composed of vocalist Jose Buenas, guitarist Brian Arthur, bassist Victor Escareno and drummer Pedro Navarrete, this Latin-flavored quartet hits the ground running as it invites attention with bone-crunching rhythms and hypnotic melodies.\nPropelled by hard-pounding kick drums and poignant guitar riffs, "Useless" captures the band's musical savvy. Maintaining a subtle balance between heavy and accessible, "Useless" churns out a firestorm of wailing vocals and razor-sharp guitar riffs while dropping melodic utterances into the mix. From the outset, bass-driven "Panic" adds fuel to the album's fire with its deep-throated, infuriated rants and raw guitar riffs. Likely to have crossover appeal as it fuses metal with hip-hop, "Whimper" boasts a violent fury of disgruntled, bouncing lyrics and adrenaline-pumping guitars. \nStandout track "Face Down," which is Unloco's first single, proved most palatable to my tastes. Commencing with hypnotic, electric-acoustic guitar strumming, the song blossoms into an emotionally charged ballad as Buenas' vocals morph into high-octane, rasping bursts. Entertaining a sound similar to the Deftones, "Face Down" chronicles Buenas' alienation from the world. \nBy capitalizing on the rap-metal genre governing 21st century popular culture, Unloco runs the possibility of reaching commercial success. Healing is a barrage of rigid, high-octane, orgasmic rock. The speaker-shredding sound will likely become more common as the band gears up to tour alongside other disparate acts like System of a Down and Kottonmouth Kings this summer. Despite the moodiness coloring the lyrics, it doesn't prove superfluous and is consistent with the rage incorporated by most new bands on the scene today.