Review by Felix on March 30, 2025.

Misanthropic bitterness and total grimness are two of the usual ingredients when it comes to black metal. High speed and sharp riffs can typically be found when we speak about thrash. Urn's new album Demon Steel represents the eternally ugly bastard genre black thrash, but as amazing as it is – the aforementioned four components do not play a very significant role here. Instead, the material of the Finnish horde has a melancholic touch from time to time, while simultaneously a certain coolness shimmers though the notes. Urn are by no means self-ironic, but they do not become one with the style they perform, at least not as an end in itself, and this distanced approach, another amazing finding, does not hurt their authenticity or the sinister heaviness of the material.

"Wings Of Inferno" marks the melancholic highlight of the album. Its opening melody fragment is wiped away by biting guitars, but the pretty harmonic verse gains the upper hand quickly. A sad and wistful bridge as well as the triumphant yet desperate chorus add even more value to the song and the "carry me faaar" screams send shivers down my spine. The casual side of Urn shimmers through the lines of "Are You Friends With Your Demons". Don't be fooled by its up-tempo hammering, the chorus has almost poppy earworm qualities. Feel free to insult me right now – but this wording is a compliment for once, because the smoothness of the song's flow results in a very coherent and catchy yet abysmal listening experience. These two tracks are probably those with the most surprising vibes, but the more expectedly arranged pieces have something to say as well.

"Heir Of Tyrants", the first regular number, starts with menacing, thrashing guitar tones like a bulldog pulling on the chain in front of its kennel. Albeit this song also houses a quite melodic instrumental part, it leaves no doubt that the four-piece still stands knee-deep in the morass of moral depravity. Nevertheless, the more or less almost warm sound adds a charming component even for mainstream (metal) listeners. But those who like it edgy do not need to fear a polished production; it's just a professional one which brings all elements into their own. Only Moonblood fetishists, who prefer to go to their damp, mouldy crypt for a good night's rest, should keep their hands off Demon Steel.

Despite a lot of good tracks and the different moods the band covers, their sixth full-length is not an outstanding milestone, because a few comparatively unexciting tracks have sneaked into the tracklist as well. "Burning Blood's Curse" or "Iron Star" are okay, but nothing more, and the latter cannot keep the promise that the air raid siren makes at the beginning. Anyway, Demon Steel meets the pretty high expectations, because it houses enough killers that show the unbroken potential of the semi-legendary formation. "Ruthless Paranoia" is just one of them. It's simply a pleasure to hear how its intensive verses flow into a catchy, harmonic yet violent chorus. "Cold Void Skin" with its Deströyer 666 compatible guitar leads turns out to be another candidate for my private best of Urn tape (little nostalgic reminiscence). So at the end of the nearly 44 minutes, it is clear that mastermind Sulphur did not only contribute strong, malignant vocals to Demon Steel. He also presents a line-up that convinces as a whole. Therefore it does not come as a surprise that the great musicality, the tight interaction and the coherent overall picture make this release, despite its little weaknesses, to a highly welcome extension of the band's discography.

Rating: 7.8 out of 10