Release Date: 25 September 2026
South London-based Burner released their highly anticipated sophomore album, No One Is Coming To Save Us, and delivered a masterstroke in fusing diverse elements from across the extreme musical spectrum. Where some bands have reached the heights of mass appeal, Burner have reached the heights of intensity. The band’s sound is firmly rooted in metalcore, but this new release leans so heavily into black metal, death metal, hardcore, and more that the overall sound is refreshingly innovative, and, dare I say, original. It is a bleak album about humanity, as vocalist Harry Nott explains: “This is an album about human behaviour: that people create endless cycles of violence by repeating the mistakes of the past, forging a brutal history that we fail to learn from.” With a little help from guests such as Trivium’s Matt Heafy, the band has provided a soundtrack to human destruction and corruption in real time.
The album opener, ‘The Third Revelation’, is an eight-minute epic that prepares the listener for the breadth and texture to be expected on the album. It opens with atmospheric post-metal guitar work, building to a dense unload of groovy guitar work and guttural vocals before switching to menacing black metal, then back again. It’s a statement piece — the band will meld genre styles as they see fit to ensure that the soundscapes give weight to a bleak appraisal of humanity.
The follow-up, ‘What Will You Give?’, is a call to action and embodies the clear-cut politics of the album — it is pro-democracy and anti-authoritarian — in lyrics such as “So what will you give to fight for today? When it’s our freedoms they betray?” It fits comfortably within the hardcore space, which channels the earnestness of the lyrics urging listeners to resist, and the presence of Josh Middleton of Sylosis enhances the song without overshadowing it.
‘Blood River’ continues the speed and aggression by showcasing Nott’s brutal vocal range alongside Jack Bryant’s nimble drumming and groovy guitar. Fans of Burner will be familiar with the wall of deathcore, resulting in a surprisingly symphonic hook: “Feel the sands of time slipping from your hands, Rivers of blood that flow through these ancient lands.” Anthemic, yet still brutal.
‘Sunrise, Parabellum’ is a standout track and features a strategically brilliant appearance from Trivium’s Matt Heafy on another of his extracurricular side quests. At under three minutes, it’s one of the shorter offerings, yet packs a hell of a punch by delivering the speed of thrash and the brutality of traditional death metal. Heafy and Nott interplay in a lyrical back-and-forth that culminates in a unified scream of “Prepare for war” and a ‘blegh’-infused breakdown that would satisfy the most jaded headbanger, as the lyrics conclude: “In the name of civilisation, I am your annihilation.”
‘A Shattered Visage Lies’ and ‘Accelerationist’ maintain the aggression established at the start of the record, yet draw on two currents of extremity. The former leans heavily on a black metal sound punctuated by tremolo picking and dissonant chords, with atmospheric quiet moments and a sluggish breakdown to wrap up. The latter runs under two minutes and wastes no time, imploring listeners to annihilate systems of control, backed by a healthy dose of uncompromising hardcore.
Echoes of guitar notes on ‘Agony of Peace’ provide a moment of respite before death metal blast beats mark a transitional phase into symphonic blast waves, as Nott’s hair-raising vocals convey the generational angst of a world consumed by sin. That ability to incorporate diverse elements into something more brutal than the sum of its parts is ambitious and refreshing. Space is the key ingredient — Burner understands that the heavier and darker moments are made more impactful by the contrast of the quiet moments, and songs such as ‘Agony of Peace’ are where the tension builds, and the payoff is earned.
Heaviness is the watchword for ‘Wish Granter’ and ‘Kurtz’ as the band return to the familiar hardcore-tinged territory. Rapid drumming, sinister guitar and pugnacious breakdowns demonstrate Burner’s mastery of the fundamentals while committing themselves to the evolution of their sound. Juxtapositions are on display on ‘Kurtz’ in its mid-song transformation into a mournful blackgaze epic, interrupted by intermittent hardcore sections. A final guest appearance by Anthony Lucero of Cult Leader adds another layer of darkness and ferocity, another example of features selected for the betterment of the song.
The metaphorical black metal gloves are off for ‘My Hands Become Weapons’, bringing another menacing bite to its political commentary. Again, the loud moments are enhanced by the quiet moments: an ambient lull accompanies a clip from the 1943 anti-fascist propaganda film ‘Don’t Be a Sucker’, produced by the United States Department of War.
The album opens with an eight-minute epic and ends with one. ‘Agnus Kai’ reminds you of the album’s musical diversity, as breakneck metalcore riffs yield to punishing hardcore breakdowns, then serene post-metal atmosphere and blackgaze ruthlessness. Every moment imparts the emotional gravity and dire politics the album has covered, and you will be participating in the oft-repeated line: “If we can’t change ourselves, then we must be living in Hell.”
No One Is Coming To Save Us is heavy and diverse, but not for its own sake. Burner wear their influences on their sleeves and understand the importance of utilising genre conventions if it serves the song. The heaviest moments are offset by the quiet ones, thereby changing what audiences consider heavy, as every earsplitting moment has to be earned. As genre boundaries become increasingly porous, bands have latitude to forge their own niche and create ambitious projects. Burner has altered the meaning of extreme and created a political commentary on the world that is not black enough to be black metal, death enough to be death metal, or hardcore enough to fall into that camp. It’s not a crossover album either; it’s a Burner album. It’s the Burner sound.
Recommended Tracks: ‘Sunrise Parabellum’, ‘Kurtz’, ‘What Will You Give?’
Rating: 9/10