Uniform & The Body – Everything That Dies Someday Comes Back (Review)

This is the second album from Uniform & The Body, a collaboration between industrial rockers Uniform and experimental metallers The Body. Both are from the US.

I haven’t reviewed Uniform before, but I like 2018’s The Long Walk. As for The Body, you can see some examples of my appreciation for their work here, here, and here.

This album blends the accessible side of rock/pop song structures with noise/industrial/experimental/trip-hop elements. The tracks are warped and corrupted with these components, as electronics and synths smother tortured guitars and an atmospheric delivery provides a framework for creative exploration for both artists.

Vocals are shared between the singers of Uniform and The Body. The former is a punk-like snarl and provides the bulk of the vocals, while the latter is as uniquely disturbingly shrill as always, and provides the most of the rest. Like almost everything else here, it works. Guest female vocals also appear on Patron Saint of Regret, and are particularly good.

The songs are effective and enjoyable, finding a middle ground between harsh hostility and commercial songsmithing. As a result, this is music that makes the most of both, providing songs that are dark and punishing, but also melodic and emotive. This is a rare combination, and is part of the reason that this album is as enjoyable as it is, (the only weak track here is Waiting for the End of the World, which is a dark ambient track that doesn’t really go anywhere).

Everything That Dies Someday Comes Back sounds like a collection of 80s pop songs if they were reimagined by an avant-garde industrial artist. For this reason, and many others, you should make sure you check out this sterling collaboration.