Style: Progressive metalcore, melodic metalcore, groove metal, hardcore, mathcore (harsh vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Darkest Hour, Lamb of God, Harms Way, Enforced, Zao
Country: United Kingdom
Release date: 25 September 2026

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Keep it simple, stupid: a sentiment nearly universally scoffed at in modern progressive heavy music. Should the track be longer? Should we add more layers? Can we make this album any more inaccessible to outsiders? Yes, yes, and yes goddamnit, shouts every progressive metal musician these days. Of course, twenty-minute progressive epic tracks can achieve peaks and valleys unmatched across other genres, but let’s be honest: are you always in the mood to get all pseudointellectual and pompous about your metal? God, I hope not. Surely like many of you, I frequently crave an album that provides a straightforward punch-to-the-gut adrenaline surge of good time. If that describes you in any way, have I got an album for you!

The British genre-mashup metal act Burner have compiled an addictive, pummeling collection of tracks in their second LP, No One is Coming to Save Us. With a heavy streak of the Darkest Hour’s melodic metalcore aggression, Burner get the juices flowing with volatile riffs and bludgeoning grooves. Streaks of melancholy add depth to No One is Coming to Save Us, accomplished by the addition of interspersed gentle acoustic passages and melodic guitar lines which run in parallel to the savage metal galloping. No track better encapsulates the breadth of Burner’s sonic versatility than album opener and track of the year candidate, “The Third Revelation”. The introductory delicate, isolated clean guitar and backing piano effectively establish a somber atmosphere of helpless dread for the current state of society, which is savagely interrupted by a crawling distorted groove. Tension continuously builds throughout the track which culminates in a fiery peak as vocalist Harry Nott’s spoken word, delivered with fury through gritted teeth, explodes into harsh cries of rage. The softer passages in the mid-point of “A Shattered Visage Lies” and the opening of “The Agony of Peace” greatly benefit to the overall flow of No One is Coming to Save Us, limiting the onset of CTE brought on by the surrounding headbang-inducing riffage.

But enough of this tender stuff. No One is Coming to Save Us is packed full of memorably brutal—yet undeniably fun—riff after riff. Burner combine the technicality and sonic variety of modern death metal with the blunt aggression of hardcore into a compelling and unified whole. If there is any justice in this world, guitarist Nathan Harlow’s savagery will be fueling violent mosh pits across the globe for years to come. In mixing up his attack through varied tempos within and between tracks, alongside the rabid drumming of Jack Bryant, Harlow shows proficiency blending subgenres by stringing blastbeat-fueled tremolo picked melodic licks, death metal gallops, and soul-crushing glacial riffs together seamlessly. The breakdowns following guest vocalist Matthew Heafy’s (Trivium) declaration “Prepare for fucking war!” in “Sunrise, Parabellum” and the closing section of “Wish Granter” brutally bludgeon listeners with the gravity of one thousand suns—suffocating, adrenaline-spiking crescendos that, even if for a brief moment, will transform each listener into a gain-obsessed gym rat. 

Burner’s vocal and instrumental performances are delivered with an unrelenting intensity that is consistently engaging from start to finish. Many -core albums tend to blur together from monotony, which is far from the truth for No One is Coming to Save Us. In addition to the aforementioned interspersed soft elements, by bookending the album with the more grand tracks “The Third Revelation” and “Agni Kai”—with the latter concluding with an uptempo, distorted callback to the opening theme of the album—No One is Coming to Save Us has a fitting dramatic conclusion to the fiery opener. In between, Burner deliver rapid bursts of punk-filled aggression in “The Accelerationist” amongst the death metal grooves of “Blood River” and the black metal-tinged “The Agony of Peace”. With the sonic variety, yet sustained intensity, Burner have an unrelenting stranglehold on the listener’s attention from the initial to final note.

No One is Coming to Save Us contains vocal guest appearances by Josh Middleton (Sylosis) on “What Will You Give” and Anthony Lucero (Cult Leader) on “Kurtz” in addition to the previously mentioned Matt Heafy guest spot. While Heafy’s addition worked well, the cumulative effect of these outside performances detract from Burner’s overall impact. The Brits pack such a powerful punch that these guest performers come across as more of a distraction than an addition to No One is Coming to Save Us. While remaining consistently engaging and avoiding bloat from an album length under fifty minutes, shaving five to ten minutes off would have allowed Burner’s volatile flame to shine even brighter, avoiding any ounce of listener fatigue that may set in towards the end of the album.

In combining melodic metalcore with death metal-leaning hardcore, Burner have achieved one of the highest compliments I can give to an album: I crave it. If a couple of hours have gone by since my last listen, I’m jonesing for another spin. It’s brutal, violent, and utterly addicting. No One is Coming to Save Us will likely be fighting for a spot on my year’s end list; do yourself a favor and listen to it now.

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Recommended tracks: The Third Revelation, Sunrise, Parabellum, The Agony of Peace
You may also like: Man Must Die, Undeath, Maul, Shields
Final verdict: 8/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram

Label: Church Road Records

Burner is:
– Jack Bryant (drums)
– Finn Gannon (bass)
– Nathan Harlow (guitar)
– Harry Nott (vocals)
With guests:
– Matthew Heafy (vocals on “Sunrise, Parabellum”)
– Josh Middleton (vocals on “What Will You Give?”)
– Anthony Lucero (vocals on “Kurtz”)