Iron Will of Power

Urn

URN was formed during the winter of 1993, and the first rehearsal tapes were recorded […]
September 24, 2019
Urn - Iron Will of Power album cover

URN was formed during the winter of 1993, and the first rehearsal tapes were recorded shortly after that. In 1997 URN released their very first official promo tape, which was recorded at the infamous Perkele studio in Kuopio, Finland. URN entered the studio to record their very first full-length which was created in only two days! In 2001, '666 Megatons' was finally released upon this world and in that same year, URN toured alongside DESTROYER 666, CARPATHIAN FOREST, SABBAT (JP) and UNPURE.  The busiest years in the band's career followed with extensive tours all around the globe. After years of playing live and several line-up changes, low motivation and lack of interest kicked in. All members of URN now focused on several other musical (solo) projects. After a nine-year hiatus, "The Burning" was released in 2017. "Iron Will of Power" is their latest offering, and contains nine tracks.

"Downfall of Idols" leads off the album, opening with charming guitar notes until the main riff hits hard. It has a Blackened Thrash sound to it...old school on both fronts. The vocals are somewhere in between shouts and screams, and the solos are about what you might expect, with a focus on technicality over musicality. "Malignant Strange Vision" is similar in pace and sound. It feature a fast and technical assault on the ears. The riff changes every now and again as well, bringing a little diversity to the table. "Funeral Oath" is another slab of aggressive Metal with rolling drums and a focus on the riffs themselves. The vocals don't have quite as large of a presence as previous tracks.

"Prayers" opens with a slower, mid-tempo pace that quickly turns to thunderous drumming and riffing. The have the heavy and aggressive side of the genre down pretty well, but some more diversity would help. And enter "Gates to Hyboria." It's a stripped down instrumental with some alluring but depressive tones. These kinds of "off-the-path" tracks really help break up the intensity and repetitiveness of the genre. "Demonlord" has a harrowing opening, with some heavy accents before the chaos ensues. There is a little bit of what you could call a chorus here but it's not much, followed again by a technical guitar solo.

"Hunted" is a shorter song where the focus is again on the riff and guitar solo. At this point in the album you should expect some diversity but it just isn't there. "Will to Triumph" closes the album; the longest song at just under seven minutes. It has a regal quality in the opening. It's a fairly standard Blackened Thrash Metal song from there, at least until just after the half-way mark, when it picks up steam, and then it ends abruptly. Overall, this was just mediocre for me, and didn't take many chances. At this point in the band's career, what you hear is what you are going to get. It was actually underwhelming for me.

5 / 10

Mediocre

Songwriting

4

Musicianship

4

Memorability

3

Production

7
"Iron Will of Power" Track-listing:

1. Downfall of Idols
2. Malignant Strange Vision
3. Funeral Oath
4. Prayers
5. Gates to Hyboria
6. Demonlord
7. Spears of Light
8. Hunted
9. Will to Triumph

Urn Lineup:

Sulphur - Bass & Vocals
Axeleratörr - Lead & Rhythm Guitar
Gravementor - Drums

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