Released on: 28th March 2025
Riffs galore. Blackened riffs; thrashing riffs. URN– (the Finnish kind,) Demon Steel; riffs ov metal.
Did someone mention riffs? Demon Steel is URNs’ sixth studio album and contains 101% genuinely elating riffs. In fact, the guitar work is not only vibrational-y adroit but technically brilliant too. Even if the mastering is cookie cutter. However, it works fine to assert this album as a genre piece; it is clear and uncomplicated. With much emphasis on the riffs.
Hovering over the fine line between cheese and cream Demon Steel has a lot of play to it. The album is not easy listening but being metal would you expect that. No. It is, as they say, a headbanger. Hammering out fierce blast beats to accompany the aforementioned riffs. Where with never a moment still Demon Steel ejects awesome arpeggios and dutiful harmonies effortlessly. The aura of which is contained, neatly, in a harsh miasma of technical brilliance that floats between speed and power.
URN deliver quantity and quality in their riffs. With the only real let down being the ambiguous tone of the album that sounds like almost every other metal outfit going. The skilled musicianship is– just– enough to make it stand out. But, not by much.
8/10
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