Before I sit in front of the computer to torture the keyboard while writing an album review I always take a look at the band's biography to make the first acquaintance and know what might happen after the play button is pushed. In this case, I chose to go the other way around because I thought the band's name was cool and so was the cover artwork. So, allow me to write a few lines talking about what I think on THE BURNING's first blood on the Metal scene.
This four piece band that hails from Denmark (King Diamond rules) managed to ink a record deal with Massacre Records through their fierce life performances and the very good demo reviews. If you visit the band's official MySpace page you will read the following lines in the end of their biography: No Swedish twin guitars, no clean sung choruses, no trendy haircuts...all fire. This quote pretty much describes what is happening in Storm The Walls. Of course I am talking about the music here and not about their haircuts because I really don't give a f**k about their looks!
Underachievers Unite enters and get you by the throat; the down tuned ton-heavy guitar and the tormenting vocal growl clearly state that THE BURNING have the intentions to present a raw blend of Thrash and Death Metal underlining the quoting lines above. The use of a single guitar gives brings the bass guitar in the front, giving to their sound a certain dynamic that can also be found in bands like DESTRUCTION and SODOM. Indeed, the rhythm section is solid as hell and in songs like The Gospel, The Dotted Line or Snakes Of Life  some influences are revealed that can be tracked down to THE HAUNTED, SOILWORK and of course SLAYER. The songs remain focused on the neck snapping rhythm grooves with a fast drum work and on the guitar leading riffs that have completely replaced the solos. My only objection in Storm The Walls are the vocals that most of the times follow the Metalcore recipe under an almost screaming-my-lungs-out profile. Songs that could damage your neck are Hours
The above sums up the debut album of the Danish band THE BURNING that was released through Massacre Records in the 12th of December. Despite the fact that the album adds nothing groundbreaking to our beloved extreme noise music scene it can give away some enjoyable moments of relentless headbanging and moshing.