BURNING is an old fashioned Heavy Metal band from the north east of the Netherlands. After a well received debut album "Nightmares" from 2016 and "The PID Files" EP from 2018 they have now returned with their second full length album called "Scourge Of Humanity". And to make a long story short, it is a very well balanced album.

Opening song "Black Pope" is also released on YouTube and was an instant hit for these guys. Once it gets off the mark you know what you're in for: old fashioned Heavy Metal that relies on good riffs and straight forward vocals that have that soothing atmosphere that enhances the Metal experience. BURNING has started with their most radio friendly song.

The heaviness in conjunction with easy listening vocals continue on  "Keep Me Safe". Here's where it becomes very obvious that the sound of the voice is supposed to very heavily influenced by the love of KISS by their singer Hugo Koch. Somehow those vocals feel too light a lot of the time, even though they seem to fit in nicely. Thankfully that is evened out because the music accompanying that trait is in a way that it still is heavier than most of what their peers have made. "Leatherface", "You Are Invited" and "Follow The Crowd" have a whole different feel, as the riffs used and the music combined make you think you are listening to OZZY OSBOURNE songs of the Zakk Wylde era. The vibe is enchanting and somewhat  safely dangerous at the same time, making these very interesting songs.

"Bodyfarm" is quite a fast song for BURNING, but it has a kind of flair that makes it very pleasant, and still threatening enough to be commanding. The extra in this song is in the guitar solo, which has been recorded by Dennis Stratton , the original guitarist for IRON MAIDEN. You can easily hear that he must have been instrumental in determining the guitar sound for those Heavy Metal masters. The title song "Scourge Of Humanity" starts off with a lot of drums, and then evolves into another lighthearted groovy heavy metal song.

The fastest and heaviest song on the album is "Taking Out The Thrash", which has a definite ANTHRAX feel. This is also the most impressive song on "Scourge Of Humanity" as far as I'm concerned. Here they leave behind the friendly feel and give us some of the variation that makes an album become really interesting. Wish they'd put this one on the album a bit earlier. All together this is a nice album.