new music: stream the first new music from hardcore legends burn in 16 years. ‘…from the ashes’ makes punk history again #soundcheck

Burn is one of those bands spoken of with hushed reverence. Maybe loud reverence, actually. Their 1990 debut self-titled LP, along with Quicksand’s Slip (which featured Burn drummer Alan Cage), and Fugazi’s 13 Songs was instrumental in defining the following 20 years of hardcore. Though Burn never quite achieved the crossover success that the other two acts did, they’ve remained an active band since their 1989 inception. Their last record, 2002’s Last Great Sea, was intended as a demo for a larger project that was never completed. Then 14 years of silence. But if maximum volume is what Burn does best, you have to respect their long silences (10 years separate their first and second releases too). This is a band that only puts out music when they have something that needs shouting. There’s no filler.

Their latest, …From The Ashes picks up exactly where they left off. “Novelist (Drums of War)” is a classic post-hardcore rager in a world where “post-hardcore” now just means “So, I haven’t spoken to you in a few years, but I’m selling tickets for $50 a pop so my band can play Warped Tour. How many can I put you down for? One for each breakdown in our crossover single?” While “You Can’t Stop Me” is a blistering blast of NYHC. “We Don’t Stand A Chance” reminds you why Alan Cage is one of the best damn drummers in punk history. Frontman Chaka Malik may be more well known for his work in Orange 9mm, but behind the mic in Burn he’s a goddamn force of nature. If past history is any indication, and this is all we’ll hear from Burn until 2027, at 9 minutes and 24 seconds, you can play this out 615,064 times until the next EP comes out and still never get bored. That’s just science.