It would be safe to say Urne would make an incredible high jump team.This is due in large part down to their ability to keep clearing the impossibly high bar they set themselves each time they put something out
Their debut album Serpent & Spirit was comfortably one of 2021’s best heavy releases. Delivering on and expanding upon every promise the e.p Mountains of Gold made. Expectations then were through the roof for the follow up album.
A Feast on Sorrow, Urne’s second full length is a glorious masterwork of heavy music. Taking everything they learnt on the previous album and drilling down into it’s core. They manage to weave an album that defines heavy in all its form..
The Flood Came Rushing In is well named, as it hits you with a tidal wave of riffs and drums that sounds like someone has awoken a very angry kraken. It hits a groove about half way through that you’ll find impossible to get out of your head. Frantic, immediate and the perfect way to kick off the album.
A Stumble of Words is another highlight that takes the listener on a visceral 11 minute journey into the abyss, navigating you through an ever changing rollercoaster of challenging emotions and razor sharp riffing.
Becoming the Ocean & The Burden, the albums pre pre-release singles gave us a tantalizing taste of what was ahead. They do however have a lot more potency when listened to in the context of the album, where they can be fully absorbed as part of an entire body of work.
The Long Goodbye/Where Do the Memories Go? is one of the most devastating songs you are likely to hear all year. Proving without a shadow of a doubt that Urne have a deep understanding of how to write songs that are not only emotionally complex and nuanced, but also musically rich and resonant, creating something truly spectacular, densely layered and that will stay with you for a long time after it has finished.
Working with Joe Duplantier and writing from a deeply personal place has given Urne an opportunity to create one of the finest metal albums of recent years. On A Feast of Sorrow they display a maturity and growth in songwriting that is akin to Metallica leaping from Kill Em’ All to Ride the Lightning.
There are moments on here that you will double back to time and time again just to ensure your ears have heard it correctly. Brutally heavy and soul stirringly sad sometimes both at the same time. Joe Nally really comes into his own on this album as he bares his soul for the world to see & hear. Through anguished screams, and soaring, aching melodic choruses we feel every single thing he feels through his tour de force performance.
With this album Urne have poured their heart and souls into creating an absolute masterpiece and in turn they have made a case their case for the title of being named the best metal band in the UK right now.
A Feast On Sorrow is Out on August 11th Via Candlelight Records
