Many times on this webzine I’ve examined the pros and cons of Spotify. So has damn near every other online music outlet of the past decade. Instead of berating you with the usual statistics and Corey Taylor quips (just joking on the latter) on how nobody makes money off music anymore, allow me to present one of the positives of streaming: new discoveries. Thanks to curated playlists and song/artist “radio stations”, we now have instant access to bands who, if it weren’t for these resources, would likely remain undiscovered by us, the fans. One such band is Bürner.
About a month ago, as I was cruising home from a show out in the far western Chicagoland suburbs, I put on one of my favorite ’80s metal deep cuts, “Diggin’ That Grave” by Jesters of Destiny. As Spotify proceeded to go through similarly natured cuts on the song’s accompanying radio station, they put on a track I was completely unfamiliar with by a band called Bürner. Upon further research, this was an up and running Swedish power trio with a new album on the horizon. Coincidentally, a press kit for their latest, Hittin’ the Target, was sent a week or two later.
So what the hell do they sound like, you may ask? Well, to put it very bluntly, Bürner owes a lot to another little power trio you may be familiar with, Motörhead. This is a no frills, no BS, raucous heavy metal/hard rock release with more than a few nods to punk and speed metal. Hittin’ the Target is a short and rotten beast of a release, sandwiching 10 songs in the span of roughly 33 minutes. Quite truthfully, I’m glad it doesn’t run any longer, because if it did, it might just fall in danger of overstaying its welcome. Instead, we’ve got one hyperactive hard and heavy outing on our hands, that rocks harder than a knockout blow to the head.
While the song arrangements and riffs come straight out of the Motörhead playbook, frontman/guitarist Björn Ohlson’s vocals sound akin to those of Bon Scott or even his predecessor Alex Harvey. They especially stand out on the more swaggering, rock n’ roll inspired cuts like “Bring Me the Fire” and “Come Blow the Horn”. Neck snappers “Warrior” and “Bloodstorm” check off the speed metal box, pushing drummer Jan Andersson’s double bass skills to their limit, while “Soulmate Killer” is more or less a palette cleanse with its sly, sinister impact. The rest of the album can be described as a party-ready, hard rockin’ metalpunk amalgamation. Whether it be the cheeky “Burnerator”, rowdy “Baptized in Gasoline”, or pummeling “Beer Before Glory”, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to dissect this release.
Now if I had a dozen beers and a few hard drinks in me, I’d probably appreciate Hittin’ the Target more. Instead, I’m sitting here in my office, sandwiching this review in between my 9 to 5 grind and longing for the weekend. For what it’s worth, it is a good album, and there’s no reason you shouldn’t add it to your Saturday night debauchery mix. The only way you won’t dig it is if you’re allergic to fun, which if you are, have fun being a dork! More rock n’ roll for the rest of us!
6 out of 10
Label: Time to Kill Records
Genre: Heavy Metal/Hard Rock
For fans of: Motörhead, AC/DC, Tank