Just when I thought 2020 couldn't add anything great to my life, along came this album! AVOID out of Seattle, Washington absolutely kills it with their new album "The Burner". Heaviness all the way throughout, with a sense of intensity that rivals all the craziness going on in the world. Harsh lyrics, blasting guitars, and pounding drums, all the ingredients needed for a totally kickass album. If you are in need of something to get your head banging and your thoughts racing, then you have stumbled upon the proper album.

The first song, "FlashBang!", starts off the album with a massive bang. A nice introduction leads into a heavy paradise. Drums blazing, vocals screaming, and guitar racing, everything that is needed for an intricate, but powerful album introduction. Raw power is drawn out and presented in this song. It is lyrically strung together in a way that the most powerful and important lyrics stand out, but the rest of the lyrics left in a line are just as important as their predecessors. There is certainly more to come with this album. Just continue reading, or even better, go listen to the damn thing.

"Hostage At A Beach House Party" is another great addition in this musical masterpiece. It is a bit more on the harmonious side of things, but it definitely doesn't disappoint when it comes to delivering those heavy sounds we all crave! The underlying rhythm of this song is fast and heavy, the lyrics are sung and screamed in such a way that the blending is of utter perfection, making this song ever the more powerful in the overall message and tone that it delivers. Pain and power, along with a sad outlook on life, are all the things needed to make a great dark and emotional heavy metal song.

The last song I am going to discuss with you is "Heat". This song is the most emotional of the album. Within its lyrics, it holds emotional weight that would cost you at least $200 dollars to talk through with a therapist. This music holds the emotional vulnerability of the artist and shows a great portrait of the inner workings of who the band really is. Music should be a tool to perceive the soul's deepest yearnings, and that is what this album is all about.

If you are looking for something to bring you to that deep emotional place you like to visit every so often, or if you just want to jam out and bang your head, you definitely need to give this album a shot. AVOID does a great job at packing all the important aspects of music into this album. Now it's up to you, the listener, to decide if you want to travel down that road with them.