Album Review: Urne - Setting Fire To The Sky
Reviewed by Dan Barnes
Album number three from this London trio has big shoes to fill, coming three years after the band’s sophomore release, A Feast of Sorrow, this equally grandiosely titled all-important third album, Setting Fire to the Sky, finds the trio delving into Heavy Metal’s glorious past, while pushing forward with some of the most exciting and forward-looking tunes.
Formed after Joe and Angus quit Hang the Bastard, and after recruiting drummer, James Cook, Urne set about exploring the possibilities of the stoner/ sludge genre, and what would happen if they introduced modernity to classicism. The answer is the debut recordings The Mountain of Gold EP and Serpent and Spirit and A Feast on Sorrow full lengths, which attracted the attention of Bloodstock Open Air, Damnation and Incineration, as well as calls to play Brutal Assault and Summer Breeze.
Most recently, Urne spent their pre-Christmas out with Orange Goblin and Grand Magus, in one of the sweetest touring package of 2025, where they were able to road test tunes from this new album.
Show opener on that jaunt is also the first track on Setting Fire to the Sky, Be Not Dismayed, which begins with some deceptively harsh acoustic guitar, a little folky perhaps, which launches into a choppy riff. Wasting no time with niceties, it bucks like a bronco, blasting and blistering as it revels in its huge sound. The Spirit, Alive hides a gothic defiance within its pummelling guitars and oppressive chorus; and last spring’s Harken the Waves single is nine and a half minutes pushing the genre through epic movements, at once galloping, another time slimy and dripping with disgust, it’s a feast of a tune that demands immediate and repeated relistening. The album version presented on Setting Fire… features the contribution of Mastodon’s Troy Sanders, which might go some way to explaining the number of times the Atlanta titan’s influence is heard.
The progressive elements of Urne’s sound is most richly served on the record’s longer tracks, which, like Harken the Waves, allows the band to flex their creative muscles and stretch their wings. The title track begins with a dark and oppressive stomp, almost like jackboots are approaching. Angus’ chopping and chugging riffs complement Joe’s drawl and guttural rasps; there’s an odd combination of Gojira’s whiplashing energy and a distinctly black metal vibe. Those Gojira chops can be heard on the seven-minute Toward the Harmony Hall, where Joe’s vocal ability is put to the test through the soulful chorus and mournful final third, in which Angus’ guitar adopts a morose tone.
Further evidence of Joe’s vocal prowess can be heard on Weeping to the World, where his mid-range melodic abilities are demonstrated through the laidback choruses, especially when compared to the angular verses. The Ancient Horizon, however, has a particularly anachronistic feel, a hefty doom chug and an old-school, chest beating, riff to lay the foundation for its spiralling solo, paying homage to forefathers of the scene like Blackmore and Dio.
The final couple of Setting Fire to the Sky’s tracks are its most unusual: Breathe resurrects a tune Urne have had in their collective back pocket for a decade or more, built around an orchestral sound it utilises the talents of cellist Jo Quail to conjure winter landscapes with an organic and melancholic quality. There’s almost a respiratory ambience, as though the notes were themselves breathing.
Trying to explain Urne’s sound would be a little like attempting to plat smoke, or to herd cats: an utterly unfeasible and ultimately pointless exercise. They use harsh, yet cultured riffs, blistering solos and massive walls of sound, alongside delicate introspection; always shifting, rarely settling for any length of time, yet always coherent and fulfilling. Epic in scope and execution, Urne channel their inner Mastodon, Gojira, Opeth, Death and more, meaning Setting Fire to the Sky is making an audacious early bid to be among the final reckoning for 2026’s best album come December. You be brave to bet against it.
