Formed in the mid-2000s, PitchBlack have always been one of Danish metal’s most overlooked heavy hitters. A band is sitting between old-school melodeath grit and European thrash aggression, building a reputation on intensity instead of trends. They debuted with Designed to Dislike in 2007, followed it with The Devilty in 2011 (which landed them spots at Copenhell and Download UK), and resurfaced in 2020 with Death & Disbelief after a series of lineup shifts. Now, on their newest offering, Walking on Burning Ground, PitchBlack return with their strongest lineup and their most vicious, confident work to date. They give the world an eleven-track album that feels like both a warning siren and a battle-cry.
From the moment “Let’s Fight” kicks the door open, you can hear the band’s intention. The riffs snap with thrash-born sharpness, the drums punch with no studio trickery softening the blow, and the production carries that organic grit that modern metal rarely allows itself anymore. That’s thanks in part to PitchBlack handling the production themselves, but it’s the mixing and mastering team that pushes the record into its final feral shape. Jacob Bredahl (Livløs, Horned Almighty, Lifesick) gives the album its teeth, while Brad Boatright (Nails, Obituary, Corrosion of Conformity) seals everything in a blistering wall of sonic heat. The result? Heavy, unvarnished, and alive.
Tracks like “La Hora de la Muerte” and “Evil Prevails” carry the unmistakable DNA of Scandinavian death metal. There are whipping tremolo lines, pummeling rhythms, and melodies that cut like frostbite. But the band’s thrash influence is louder here than ever, especially in the surgical pacing and riff-first songwriting. No padding. No cinematic filler. Just violence and velocity delivered with a surgeon’s precision.
“Taste My Flesh” and “Here to Stay Crusty” inject a crust-punk filthiness that widens the band’s palette without leaving melodeath completely behind. There are moments where the vocals lean into a Phil Anselmo-esque shout that are broad, barky, and chest-heavy. Occasionally, it tends to clash with the sleeker, more Scandinavian melodic passages. When most of the riffs are icy and surgical, the more southern-metal vocal approach can feel out of place.
Meanwhile, “Burn the Cross” and “Crossing the Line” lean into darker, moodier territory, trading speed for weight and tension. The emotional high point of the album is “Emotionless Blessings and Fine Dining”. This is a track that balances groove, atmosphere, and rage with some of the band’s most cutting lyricism to date. If any song predicts where PitchBlack could go next, it’s this one.
By the time “Last Chance” closes out the 49-minute runtime, the album’s themes have carved themselves into you. It’s full of personal conflict, societal decay, moral crossroads, and a world teetering between collapse and catharsis. Walking on Burning Ground doesn’t offer solutions but demands accountability. Fans of At The Gates, The Haunted and Pantera will enjoy this brutal offering of an album.
PitchBlack aren’t reinventing melodic death metal. They’re trying to reignite it. Overall, the album is a wonderful piece of work, but nothing is groundbreaking or too memorable. However, there is razor-sharp riffing, searing production, and a fire-under-your-feet energy that can’t be denied. If you’re here for guitars, you’re eating well but the rhythmic and dynamic pacing doesn’t always shift enough. A couple songs blur together, especially in the middle third of the tracklist. Walking on Burning Ground is a testament to a veteran band still fighting like they’ve got something to prove.
