Ural are a thrash metal band from Italy formed in 2010 releasing four albums to date – ‘Party With The Wolves’ (2016), ‘Just For Fun’ (2019), ‘Psychoverse’ (2023), and ‘Anthropic Genetic Involution’ (2026).
Hailing from the birthplace of Gianduja (a luscious mix of chocolate and roasted hazelnuts) and home to one of Italy’s oldest and most successful football clubs Juventus, Turin thrashers Ural return with the bands fourth album stacked to the rafters with bruisers and bangers! For thirty three searing minutes and nine songs, ‘Anthropic Genetic Involution’ will knock ya for fucking six! For six! For six hundred and sixty six more like, ‘Extreme Paranoia’ a fast paced opener that’s quickly into its stride to bang the head of everyone right from the off! And when I say bang, I mean fairly vigorously, Ural devastating the ground they hurtle across as ‘Break The Fall’ moves the album on with a little punk energy! Well quite a lot actually, the energy level shooting through the roof as the Italian thrashers keep the pedal firmly pressed to the metal, every mosher everywhere turning maniacal with only one thing on their minds – to head bang fucking hard! And across the album’s first two songs, Ural have delivered the ideal opportunity, ‘God Of Lies’ dropping a couple of gears to become a ground shuddering thunder-stomp! The punch here is weighty, the band sprinkling a dash of groove metal across ‘God Of Lies’ as Ural start to vary their approach to thrash metal music!
The fastest song heard so far ‘Wrong Children’, soon slows down – and quickens again as the band adopt a tempo changing gear shifting stance to keep every listener guessing in which direction the song will turn next! And even though it takes many turns, ‘Wrong Children’ remains in the heart of thrash metal territory, as does ‘Wasteland’ – which maintains the bands penchant for pace variation! The band have been roaring through the gears – both up and down since ‘Anthropic Genetic Involution’ began, and methinks that’s a practice the band are gonna employ for the rest of the album too, ‘Rat In A Cage’ entering the fray at a hundred miles an hour! The band are at full throttle here to add a touch of the iconic “metal gallop” to the bands soundscape, every fan of traditional metal turning their head in the direction of Turin for this one!
And taking variation to its limit and beyond, Ural are at their most diverse as the Italians deliver their interpretation of a jazz song! Yes readers, you read that right – jazz, ‘Flat Black’ a song composed by American jazz musician J.J. Johnson at the beginning of the 1960’s and released on his ‘A Touch Of Satin’ album in 1962! Fuck me were any of us even born back then! It’s a definte no from me and a likely no from Ural too, the band err, well you know what – I’m gonna let you make your own mind up about this one, ‘Terror Eyes’ instantly returning searing thrash to the fore! And at pace too, everyone who said “WTF” to the previous song, now smiling from ear to ear as highly head bang-able thrash pours forth! And to round the album off, ‘…to Change your Vision’ is actually a continuation of ‘Terror Eyes’. And this second part is heavier, groovier and more doom laden than anything else on ‘Anthropic Genetic Involution’.
Overall, a varied and diverse album of thrash metal, Ural serve up a tempo shifting, pace changing array of songs.
TRACKLIST
Extreme Paranoia
Break The Fall
God Of Lies
Wrong Children
Wasteland
Rat In A Cage
Flat Black (J.J. Johnson)
Terror Eyes
…to Change Your Vision
Ural: Facebook
Release Year: 2026
Label: Xtreem Music
Category: Album
Country: Italy
Reviewed by Iron Mathew for Frenzy Fire and Metal-Roos.
