Review by Felix on September 20, 2019.

Heavy metal is solid home cooking. Progressive metal is gourmet dining (at least in its own opinion). Speed metal is fast food of the better kind. But let's get down to the nitty-gritty. Black thrash metal stands for the meal you get in the shabby restaurant with the low-cost food. Slightly rancid, a little bit oily, anything else but healthy and full of flavor enhancer. Anyhow, it tastes so well! The Finnish cooks of Urn have entered their kitchen - where hygiene is written in very small letters - again and dish up their first, well-seasoned meal after a hunger period of nine years. Main man Sulphur has received support from two dudes of the glorious Sacrilegious Impalement and therefore it comes as no surprise that The Burning hits the spot. (But don't be confused, the involvement of these guys does not result in a pure black metal album.)

Of course, the comeback record does not confront the listener with overly complex compositions, the guitar work sees absolutely no sense in trying to anticipate the metal riffs of the 22nd century and external influences are not identifiable. And believe me, this description is rather diplomatic. In other words, ignorance is bliss. Urn deliver nothing else but well-hung riffs that form easily traceable songs. The material breathes the spirit of underground metal during the entire 40 minutes. By the way, it is an album with many highlights that exemplify the glory of this spirit impressively.

"All Will End in Fire" leaves its personal signature because of the raging opening, the nearly lenient bridge and catchy "hail hail hail" background vocals during the chorus. The song represents the entire material of The Burning very well, because it is not excessively brutal, but aggressive and vile enough to scare part-time metal "fans". "Sons of the Northern Star" takes the same lane while impressing mainly with its punchy and catchy chorus. In addition, the guitar contributes some spooky notes. "Nocturnal Demons" offers a wild ride, quick, excellently flowing and equipped with the necessary pinch of melody. In view of these brilliant tracks, it is a little bit sad that a small number of tracks do not fully come into their own. Well, Urn's music does not necessarily need high velocity; the quite gloomy "Wolves of Radiation" - please note its nearly melancholic chorus - certifies the ability of the band to write comparatively slow yet fascinating tracks. But it remains a miracle why the band exactly chose "Celestial Light" as the first regular track in view of its partly lame approach. (And it is even more incomprehensible that this song was chosen for a promotion sampler of the record label.) Anyway, Urn avoid throwaway tracks and compact tunes such as "Falling Paradise" make fun. The same applies for "Morbid Black Sorrow" with its pretty strong melody lines.

While comparable bands like Condor from Norway or Eurynomos from Germany follow a more brutal line, Urn do by far not wallow in clemency as well. They just show different facets without crossing the borderlines of the genre. Furthermore, their music sounds vital and there is nothing to complain in terms of agility and aggression. The Burning is probably not an essential album for the black thrash community, because it offers (only) very generic songs. Nevertheless, I strongly recommend listening to it, because Urn show sustainably that black thrash is still a force to be reckoned with - although or right because it tastes a tad rancid.

Rating: 7.8 out of 10