“A legacy enshrined in blood.”
From the moment It All Returns To Nothing begins with “Hurt Locker”, you’re hit with a confrontational wave of gloom and piercing aggression. Thrashy, metallic, hardcore riffing; intricate percussion; and piercing vocals make Burner’s presence immediately known, and it’s a hell of an impression. A band that feels as if it’s pulling in equal measure from classic and modern influences, the way in which Burner toe the line of classic hardcore and thrash, along the more oppressive and blackened metalcore edge that many bands of today are exploring, provides nothing short of an electrifying sounds.
As the album progresses we are met with ferocious, frenetic guitar work reminiscent of everything from the worlds of Converge, to The Agony Scene, all the way to Heriot; and vocal performances akin to mid-to-late-2000s deathcore such as Veil of Maya and As Blood Runs Black. Title track “It All Returns To Nothing” provides a dense look at the spread of the sound you’ll find across the majority of the record, with those same angular riffs intertwined with percussive chugs and hyper-speed blasts to keep any avid mosher firmly on their toes.
Mid-album cut “EF5” further demonstrates Burner’s ability in combining influences, as we’re introduced to a groove metal-esque break around the track’s mid-point, leading to a truly disgusting breakdown at its conclusion. Earlier track “Pillar of Shame” further explores the album’s blackened side, with further mind-melting blasts and enough of a reverb-laden, gloomy soundscape to keep things as oppressive and violent as possible.
Despite just how strong of an impression Burner make here, however, the key element holding It All Returns To Nothing back, in my eyes, lies in its pacing and dynamics. There is plenty to love in its balls-to-the-wall, gloomy, oppressive atmosphere and angular riffing, but Burner do very little to break up or spread out those moments. It’s all very full-on, until it strangely… isn’t. For instance, mid-album interlude “Trinity” seeks to break up the blistering pace a tad, but simply come across as hamfisted and unfitting. The track that precedes it ends with such ferocity and energy, but is wholly and unceremoniously cut off by the inclusion of this lacklustre, if aptly eerie, instrumental.
The album as a whole suffers from the otherwise blistering pace, too. Admittedly, and as evidenced by my enthusiasm for many elements present here, it only puts a bit of a damper on it, as many of the tracks here are very well constructed, but it’s begging for more energetic peaks and valleys. Penultimate cut “An Affirming Flame” exemplifies what this album needs perfectly, as through its comparatively lengthy seven-minute runtime (in an album comprised of almost exclusively two- and three-minuters) it sees the band truly embracing their breadth as a unit. A more cohesive ebb and flow is present in this single track than much of It All Returns To Nothing as a whole, and it’s obvious through the creation of this song that Burner understand they can craft something this varied, and I wish that creativity was carried through the remainder of the album’s tracklist.
With all that said, It All Returns To Nothing is still a hell of a time. A beyond serviceable and wholly oppressive slice of gloomy, thrashy, blackened hardcore that is more than worth each of the 34 short, but incredibly dense minutes of its runtime. Though it left me yearning for a tad more variety akin to what is seen in “An Affirming Flame”, what Burner have pieced together a debut LP that is sure to make a hell of an impact.
7/10
It All Returns To Nothing is due for release this Friday, June 23rd via Church Road Records, and you can pre-order the record here.