Death Metal band CASKET hailing from Reutlingen, Germany were formed in 1990. During their long history, they recorded five demos and four full-length albums. After 30 years of band history, "Urn" is their first EP but enriched with a few live tracks. "Urn" was mixed and mastered by Roman Schönsee (SATYRIAN, THE BLOODLINE) at Found Sound Music. The EP was released via German label Neckbreaker Records which is specialized in Death Metal. "Urn" has a length of more than 33 minutes.

So, after their last album "Unearthed" in 2017, CASKET come up with new material. The traditional Death Metal outfit were always an insider tip and they have a very loyal fan base in Germany. "Urn" is a 5-track old school hammering with the brute force of down-tuned guitars. It all starts with "Bombing Graves", a straight forward, mid-tempo track with powerful guitar riffs, a lot of grooves, growling vocals at the low end of the guttural range, and a few leads with little technicality near the end of the track. The strength of CASKET is the clever mixing of their rhythms. "The Rope" is slightly faster in tempo compared to the opening track. There are also more changes in rhythm with a number of blast-beat outbursts along the track. The texture is a bit chaotic at times while the lead guitars, although kept short, are contributing to the song very well. "The Rope" was released as video and the YouTube link is given below.

The tempo in "Amnesia" is, once again, faster compared to "The Rope". The guitar riffing is straight forward and simple. The middle break introduces a once more chaotic sound with a few leads and some crazy drum lines being involved. "Amnesia" features Ralf Haubersson (HEADS FOR THE DEAD; REVEL IN FLESH) as a guest vocalist and he introduces a bit of vocal contrast to the low growls of Schorsch. The assault continues with "To Separate The Flesh From The Bone" which is introduced by crunching bass lines, apart from that, it seamlessly continues with the chaotic textures of "Amnesia". There is an acoustic guitar part near the end which comes a bit unexpected, but fits perfectly to the song. "Amnesia" features Roman Schönsee as a guest vocalist. "Final Predicament" is the last song of the new material and it has very similar textures, rhythm, and riffs as the songs before.

There are three live tracks that were recorded at the Piece Of Loin Festival in 2019. "Onwards To Destruction" and "Kill The Red Lamb" come originally from the "Unearthed" album while "Faces Of The Dead" was originally released on the 2008 album "Upright Decay".

CASKET do what they do best, they play raw traditional Death Metal with a no nonsense sound, but still with sufficient variation to keep it interesting. The technicality of riffing, leads, and also drums is kept simple but very effective, especially when it comes to the drums. "Urn" has its best moments whenever there is a change in textures and rhythm. The sound is very much dominated by the low guitars which unfortunately is at the expense of the sound quality of the drums. CASKET deliver an EP that will be liked by their fans and they will be excited to see the new songs played live very soon.