London metal trio Urne look upward and reach for the skies on impressive third album.
Few bands have ground away with quite such good results as Urne. The London trio have slowly but surely earned their stripes as A Very Good Band, and with the help of previous albums Serpent & Spirit and the excellent A Feast On Sorrow they’ve built a solid reputation as one of heavy music’s finest operators. On Setting Fire To The Sky, it feels like the record that could finally change their fate and see them emerging properly from the underground – not by chasing trends, but by perfecting and expanding the vision they’ve been carving out all along. It’s their strongest, most complete statement yet.
Opener Be Not Dismayed makes that clear instantly. It detonates with the kind of authority usually reserved for bands with far more years under their belt, smashing classic thrash propulsion into modern heft. The riffs bite hard and Joe Nally’s roar carries a new sense of conviction. It’s Urne stepping into the light without losing the darkness that defines them.
Weeping To The World follows as one of the album’s emotional peaks. Anthemic as Urne could ever be and strangely life-affirming, it shows how far Joe’s vocals have come. His melodic confidence lifts the song into genuine fist-in-the-air territory without blunting its weight. It’s heavy metal as catharsis, clutching hope without sounding naïve.
The album’s midsection is where Setting Fire To The Sky really stretches its limbs. The title-track balances urgency with grandeur, while The Ancient Horizon – a song inspired by metal’s forefathers – employs soaring leads to create something so devastatingly authentic it makes it feel timeless.
Then comes Harken The Waves, a true behemoth. Featuring vocals from Mastodon’s Troy Sanders, it’s not a gimmick but a meeting of equals, their voices entwining as the song swells and crashes like a tidal force. At the other end of the spectrum, Breathe is quietly breathtaking, with Jo Quail’s cello adding a majestic, aching beauty that lingers long after the final note fades.
Urne have always burned fiercely. With Setting Fire To The Sky, that flame finally feels impossible to ignore.
Verdict: 4/5
For fans of: Mastodon, Gojira, In Flames
Setting Fire To The Sky is out now via Spinefarm Records
