One of the bands relentlessly kept in the dark shadows of the Finnish Extreme Metal underground is definitely Urn. A combination of wrong choices, lack of touring and label support hasn’t done any good for the band around Jarno “Sulphur” Hämäläinen (or Jarno Graves), but after the disappointing business with Season Of Mist and the Covid-9 pandemic it felt the band was further away from finding their niche. But then there was Osmose Productions, a label that was already interested in the band before their signing with Season Of Mist. The French label wasted no time with reissuing the majority of the band’s back catalogue including a compilation with demo and split tracks. And here it is, Urn’s sixth full-length album: ‘Demon Steel’.
In the pretty personal interview I had with Jarno in Wolfkult Religion #5, he shows himself to be a pretty discouraged and even somewhat bitter musician suffering from the lack of recognition for his work and a pretty tough couple of years behind him. With his story in mind, ‘Demon Steel’ suddenly sounds very different. Things fall much more into place, for example the catchy ‘Are You Friends With Your Demons’ makes much more sense knowing what’s behind it. The same goes for the title of the previous album, ‘Iron Will Of Power’.
Jarno’s yearning for a bit of success is heartfelt and that makes it hard to not like ‘Demon Steel’. But even without his heart’s cry, this new Urn album has much to offer for the ones who has been following the band or has a knack for Heavy Metal-drenched Black Metal. Not every song is equally interesting, but as a whole ‘Demon Steel’ feels like a more well-rounded album than anything the band did before. Especially in terms of catchy and choppy riffs and melodic leads and solos ‘Demon Steel’ is a clear step up from previously released material. Jarno’s somewhat blaring vocals on the other side needed a bit more time to get used to, but still remain the weaker link in the whole scheme of things. A song like ‘Ruthless Paranoia’ proves that not all songs are equally essential,
Compared to previous albums it is clear that the role of much better guitarists paid their dividends in the melodies and tighter riffing. In songs like the aforementioned ‘Are You Friends With Your Demons’, ‘Iron Star’ and especially ‘Wings Of Inferno’ the leads are downright amazing and a real upgrade to the familiar Urn sound. Speaking of which, anyone who is looking for real Black/Thrash Metal, like the band used to deliver back in their earlier days, will most likely be disappointed. In the context of managing expectations: ‘Demon Steel’ has much more in common with a band like Midnight or later Deströyer 666 than with Nifelheim or Aura Noir.
As much as I would like to, I doubt ‘Demon Steel’ is going to provide a real “breakthrough.” Jarno himself calls it this best Urn album ever, and you can definitely make a case for that, but this is not a genre where great fame is easily achieved. On the other hand, shifting the focus and accepting Urn’s position as a solid underground entity that’s always determined to deliver their best record might give some peace of mind. And, frankly, such an attitude is admirable and ultimately earns credit from supporters as well. But, whether we will ever see another Urn album remains to be seen, in a recent statement of Instagram Jarno states that from now on he’s only focussing on his solo-project Graves. Time will tell… (FelixS)
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Urn have never sounded like they give a fuck about making life easy for the listener. Demon Steel comes in with that filthy Finnish Black Thrash attack and gets straight to the fucking point. This is the kind of Metal that sounds better when it is loud, ugly and slightly out of control.
The roots are easy to hear. German Thrash Metal, early Black Metal, Venom, Bathory, Celtic Frost, early Samael and Unholy all sit somewhere in the bloodline, but Urn do not simply copy those sounds. The riffs come out with their own Finnish character, rough around the edges and full of that old underground spite. There is also a strong Heavy Metal instinct underneath the aggression, especially in the way some of the guitar lines are built. You get a riff that sticks, then suddenly the whole fucking thing goes for the throat.
What really works on Demon Steel is the guitar work. It is not just speed for the sake of speed. There are proper riffs here, the kind you can remember after the song has finished. Some have that old German Thrash bite, others sound darker and more primitive, while certain passages have that classic Heavy Metal sense of movement buried underneath all the distortion and filth.
The drums give it that physical punch. You can feel the momentum when Urn speed up, but the slower parts have just as much weight because the riffs are doing the work. The vocals sit right in the middle of all this like a pissed off bastard who has been waiting all night to start a fight. Nothing clean or comfortable about it.
There is also a certain darkness that separates Urn from straightforward Thrash. That is where the early Black Metal and Unholy influence becomes important. The riffs can be melodic without becoming pretty, and there is always something rotten underneath them. One moment you are nodding along to a killer Metal riff and the next you get hit with something far more sinister.
Demon Steel also carries that old Heavy Metal spirit that seems to have disappeared from a lot of Extreme Metal. The songs are built around riffs first. That matters. You can have all the speed and aggression in the world, but if the riff is shit, the whole thing falls flat. Urn understand this.
And there is no shortage of Finnish fucking attitude. This sounds like Metal made by people who grew up with the old records, absorbed the good stuff and then decided to make their own version of the madness. Saatanaa!!! Perrrkele!!! whatever the hell was being shouted in the rehearsal room, it somehow ended up in the riffs.
That is what keeps Demon Steel interesting. The influences are there, sometimes very clearly, but they are part of the band’s language rather than the whole conversation. Black Metal gives it the darkness, Thrash gives it the attack, Heavy Metal gives the riffs their hooks and Urn throw the whole bastard into the fire.
Demon Steel is fucking Metal. Dirty, hostile, riff driven and completely at home in the underground. Put it on loud, preferably when nobody is around to complain and if they did ask them ‘Are You Friends With Your Demons?’
Jumalauta! (Deen “Brother Darkness” Gabriel)
