(c) Steph Evans
Although they had been playing gigs in and around London for years beforehand, “A Vision Of The End” came out of nowhere for many. Burner catapulted themselves onto the musical map with their brute sound between hardcore and metal, which brings punk, crust, math, black and death into the big mixer, among other things. A year later, after a headliner tour in Great Britain and various support slots, the first regular album is now available „It All Returns To Nothing“ in the starting blocks and is out for pure destruction.
Irresistible elemental force in eleven chapters turns everything into rubble. The main focus is of course “An Affirming Flame”, which not only stands out because of the exorbitant playing time of over seven minutes. There is more than enough freedom here to really live out the Blackened Death parts. After a cumbersome intro, it immediately moves forward with elemental force, resting on hardcore foundations and yet incredibly evil. Nasty sawing, monstrous groove and frightening reduction result in a wild whole with a break of several minutes. When the cauldrons rattle again at the end, it’s all in vain.
All around there is space to pursue a wide variety of ideas more closely. The foaming stomp of “Pillar Of Shame” aggressively tackles treacherous dirt crusts, while the opening “Hurt Locker” rethinks Converge’s chaotic-metallic hardcore approach and presents a version all of its own. “EF5” exerts almost unbearable pressure, especially with its broken drums, while the world around is successively escalating. And also “Pyramid Head”, which goes through the ceiling from a standing start and whips its way through the madness of being, doesn’t want to go unmentioned.
Yes, it can actually be a touch more disturbing. Burners add additional metallic extremes to the mix, which really suits them. Accordingly, the album-length debut always seems to escalate and yet seems almost Zen-like in its raging anger. “It All Returns To Nothing” is the mantra for the failure of a society doomed to damnation, even more chaotic and rough than the already broken small format, really beautifully intricate and yet wonderfully concrete in its aggression. The change to the album format succeeds across the board.
Rating: 8/10
Available from: 06/23/2023
Available through: Church Road Records
Facebook: www.facebook.com/burnermetal
Category: Magazin, Reviews