Urn – The Burning

After almost 9 years and a half since their last album, the Finnish band Urn decided to smash our heads with a comeback release. And what a comeback it is! Pure hell at its finest from the beginning to the end. Full of catchy and surprising riffs with an overall sound that makes it impossible to just listen it only once.

It’s an old school thrash metal experience covered in black metal pins that rears its head in 2017 to renew many expectations regarding this scene.

The Burning is a full-length released this year on 28^th July on CD.

With a cover-art being designed by Rok of Sadistik Exekution fame; be prepared for 40:27 minutes of pure hell worship.

Tracklist:

Resurrection – 01:27

Celestial Light – 04:58

Hail the King – 03:36

Morbid Black Sorrow – 05:13

Sons of the Northern Star – 04:17

Nocturnal Demons – 04:04

Wolves of Radiation – 04:36

All Will End in Fire – 04:18

Falling Paradise – 03:23

The Burning – 04:35

The album starts with an instrumental called Resurrection, a well-chosen title for the beginning of a comeback album. This tune is an introduction into the atmosphere that is about to come.

The second track – Celestial Light –  strikes directly with a cascade of riffs perfectly merged with the speed of the drums and a classic raw scream, distinguished by a powerful thrash rhythm. The second part of this track derives a slightly melodic direction which becomes complementary with the beginning of it. It’s followed by a drum beat storm that marks the beginning of the Hail the King – a masterpiece with a plain and clear Motorhead tune and Ace of Spades riffs that sounds as a real tribute to honor Mr. Lemmy Kilmister. The entire album is created in the classic style of the 80s thrash metal with an impeccable production. Starting with Morbid Black Sorrow, things get a lot faster and darker. There are also slower parts packed together with fast riffs and short intervals of a cleaner guitar. In Wolves of Radiation the tune gets more different, becoming much more melodic and precise, leaving the raw sound for the first time, but maintaining the black-thrash atmosphere completed by the vocals. The guitar receives a well-defined role becoming the track’s reference point. In the following song, the tempo modifies just to make way for some brutal sections, in an accurate succeeding. A touch of crust-punk (think GISM) can be heard in the Falling Paradise. The album ends with the track giving its name, in a rhythmic timbre, with a profoundly melodic nostalgia feeling. The entire production just rips the hell apart without any mercy.

After all these years their style remains a particular one, delivering another masterpiece in their unique way. As far as black-thrash metal goes on, I personally see this album as one of the greatest releases in the last few years so go ahead, give it a spin and bang your heads.

Also, don’t miss their show in October at The Old Grave Fest in Bucharest!