Bury Tomorrow Actually Listen To Criticism, Re-upload 'Black Flame'

1 May 2018 | 1:38 pm | Alex Sievers
Originally Appeared In

Kudos, Bury Tomorrow, kudos.

Kudos, Bury Tomorrow, kudos.



During the second week of April, U.K. metalcore outfit Bury Tomorrow dropped a new song called 'Black Flame', and it was a fine enough anthemic melodic metalcore tune from a band that's well-known for putting out anthemic melodic metalcore tunes. Yet just last week, 'Black Flame' was taken down from all online streaming platforms, including the band's 160K+ viewed music video on YouTube as well.

Don't miss a beat with our FREE daily newsletter

So why did this all happen? Well, this takedown was the response to the massive wave of criticism the group received from die-hard fans and casual listeners alike about their latest single's mix and production.

See, guitarist Jason Cameron's clean vocals were the biggest point of contention, with there being this hissy static and extra white noise being present in his parts. So whenever his distorted and oversaturated vocals (which didn't really help matters here) would pop up, they stuck out and for the wrong reasons. This issue was also quite noticeable when the song transitions directly from Cameron's cleans - like in the chorus - over to frontman Daniel Winter-Bates' screams, whose vocals sounded fine and gelled with the track better. While it was perhaps nothing super egregious in the grand scheme of musical errors and while it was perhaps a subtle matter, it was definitely distracting for many listeners, myself included; taking away from the rest of this actually solid track's arrangement, decent hooks, and the overall impact.

While the original video has been taken down, you can hopefully hear what I'm talking about in this reaction video from YouTuber Truant MYFHC that was uploaded two weeks ago. Just ignore his vaping, head-banging and semi-endearing excitement for this new Bury Tomorrow track and hone in on those vocals and the mix.

So did Bury Tomorrow and their producer or engineer just not notice this? Was it due to some slight bleed over from another recording, a gear issue, or something not properly being isolated in the mix? Was it a plug-in or an EQ stuff-up? Or did someone on their team just merely upload the wrong version of the song, not realising until it was too late? Well, either way, I only have this to say to the band: kudos, Bury Tomorrow, kudos.

Seriously, most bands wouldn't at all bother with changing things like this. I'd argue that most bands would rather just stick their heads in the sand because it's their music and their art, so what the fuck would anyone else know, right? Wrong, and it's really great to see a band take on the criticism and amend the matter in question after getting so much feedback on it. Strong feedback that was mostly negative, yes, but much of it also constructive and honest criticism from real fans only wanting to hear the very best from a band that they love.

Honestly, this is really fucking commendable on the band's part, especially in this day and age, and even if I don't come to like Bury Tomorrow's upcoming new album, also titled 'Black Flame' (which is out July 13th), they've now got some goodwill in my books. So I really must give credit to a band who actually listened to their audience's comments and made sure a change happened in order to better sell and aid the music.

Check out the newer version of 'Black Flame' below. Enjoy!