.::SCRATCHtheSurface Webzine::.: The Burning

The first thing that hits you with the first few songs from “Hail the Horde” is how close to The Haunted and At the Gates Denmark’s The Burning sound like these days.
That was clearly a surprise for me considering the Danes were always massively influenced by the work of Pantera, and although this newest record is still indebted to the US thrashers, just clap your ears to “The Nihilist Life” and tell if that doesn’t sound slightly like “Mouth for War”, there’s a Swedish influence reminiscent of Gothenburg’s finest overbearing these new songs.
Perhaps it was the new guitarist Alex Kjeldsen formerly of Dawn of Demise that brought in a whole new array of influences as the main riffs to songs like “Godless” and “Flames Be Your Friend” sound like they could’ve come from the creative minds of Patrik Jensen and Anders Björler. Even though The Burning have morphed into a slightly more interesting proposition, trading those linear, straightforward riffs and shout-along chorus for a more evolved and refined riffage, they still lack some substance and genius to warrant a privileged place in our stereos. (5/10)

Band info: www.myspace.com/theburningdk
Label info: www.massacre-records.com
For fans of: The Haunted, At the Gates, Pantera

If you’re unfamiliar with Denmark’s The Burning, the band churns out a straightforward and crunchy Thrash-influenced Metal with some Hardcore and Death-Metal ingredients thrown in for good measure. The Burning are mostly renowned in their homeland for their intense and no-holds-barred live performances that already made them win the Best Live Band prize at last year’s Danish Metal Awards.
“Reawakening” is the group’s second full-length work that follows a very successful debut record entitled “Storm the Walls” and it’s basically an intense 47 minutes ride of highly energetic and straightforward Metal that goes straight to business. The dense and punchy guitar work of Rasmus Normand is all over the place, veering from a slow-paced groove somewhat reminiscent of Pantera to a faster and more brutal approach sometimes akin to a hard hitting Death-metal act like Dying Fetus. The rhythmic section comprised of bassist Thue Moller and drummer Tobias Host Now is tight and pounding, not too dissimilar in structure and intent to a Hardcore styled group like Sick of it All. Now add a genuinely ferocious and aggressive vocal performance delivered by Johnny Haven and you get a pretty damn close idea of how “Reawakening” sounds like.
Although the album as a whole sounds pretty enjoyable and memorable, I’ve found most of songs to be slightly similar and repetitive, which could become a bit tiresome after repeated listens.
Nevertheless, apart from that small complaint “Reawakening” is a rather good collection of killer grooves and downright catchy riffs. (6.5/10)

Band info: www.myspace.com/theburningdk
Label info: www.massacre-records.com