URNE’s Joe Nally on Setting Fire To The Sky: riffs, soul, spirituality and finding hope in heavy metal
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On this episode of the Now Spinning Magazine Podcast, I’m joined by Joe Nally — bassist, vocalist and one of the driving forces behind London heavy metal powerhouse URNE.
If you’ve been following URNE’s journey, you’ll know they’ve never been afraid to wrestle with the darker corners of existence — but their new album Setting Fire To The Sky feels like a genuine moment: heavier, broader, more dynamic… and somehow more hopeful, without losing that swagger that’s always been part of their DNA.
And Joe is a brilliant guest — open, funny, thoughtful, and properly into music in the way our community will instantly relate to.
From Tesco to “that riff”: how the album kicks the door in
We begin right at the start of the record, because track one is an absolute statement piece — that teasing, almost-acoustic build… then BANG: a killer riff that feels like classic heavy metal done right.
Joe tells the story of how part of that intro arrived in the most normal place imaginable: Tesco. A random moment. A spark. A frantic phone recording. Then legging it over to guitarist Angus (leaving the hummus and pita bread behind!) and turning it into something huge.
What really stood out to me here is URNE’s approach to writing: no endless overcooking. Joe’s rule is basically:
If it doesn’t come together quickly, leave it.
That mindset seems to have helped the songs feel instinctive — like they’re falling out of the band rather than being forced into shape.
“Metal”… but not only metal
One of the joys of this conversation is hearing what’s really inside URNE’s musical DNA.
Yes, you’ll hear the big foundations — Priest, Metallica, that classic “you know something’s coming” acoustic intro energy. But Joe also talks about how he listens to a lot of soul music — Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding — and how he wants melody to come from that emotional world, not just “metal melody”.
And then you get those curveballs:
Toto / Peter Gabriel influence creeping into “Weeping to the World”
A chorus vibe that someone clocked as Duran Duran (and Joe couldn’t believe they nailed it!)
A very conscious desire to make songs that work live — because URNE are a band that’s built to win hearts the real way: on stage
Angus: underrated, melodic, and making every note count
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Angus is a seriously underrated guitarist.
In the chat, Joe explains how Angus can absolutely rip… but he’s also obsessed with hook, melody and note choice. He’s not trying to cram “a thousand notes a second” into every solo — he wants the solo to mean something.
We even get the brilliant detail that Angus always has one solo per album he’s convinced “isn’t good enough”, while everyone else is begging him not to touch it.
Big production, louder drums, and why “polite” isn’t the point
This album sounds massive — properly recorded heavy metal where the instruments have weight, space, and impact.
Joe credits producer Justin Hill, who also helped coach the vocal performances in the studio, and the mix from Johan(who Joe notes works front-of-house for Gojira and Mastodon, and mixes Gojira), with a clear mission:
Make it big.
There’s also a very “URNE” moment where Joe laughs about comments online saying the drums are too loud — and his response is basically:
You’ve never been in their practice room.
And honestly? I’m with him. Heavy metal drums aren’t supposed to be polite.
The title, Dio, Blackmore — and “setting fire to the sky”
One of my favourite parts of the episode is Joe explaining the meaning behind the album title.
It’s inspired by something Ronnie James Dio wrote (in connection with watching Ritchie Blackmore playing those long solos) — the image of a guitarist “setting fire to the sky”.
That tells you everything: URNE are modern, but they carry the torch for what came before — not by copying it, but by honouring the spirit and pushing forward.
Vocals, stamina, and learning to survive tour life
Joe is brilliantly honest about vocals.
He’s always been able to do the aggressive vocal — that “angry voice” — but singing with confidence was a different journey. He took vocal lessons, and for this record he also adjusted technique to protect himself on tour.
There’s a fascinating bit where he talks about some vocal performances you hear on albums that sound intense… but are recorded close to speaking or whisper volume. Joe, meanwhile, was going in thinking you have to go full force every time — until he realised that wouldn’t be sustainable.
It’s a really valuable insight for any singer who loves heavy music.
The emotional core: anxiety, grief, and choosing uplift
We also go deeper — because URNE’s last album was emotionally heavy, and Joe shares that his dad has Alzheimer’s, and he couldn’t write another record living in that darkness.
So Setting Fire To The Sky is intentionally more uplifting, more spiritual, more hopeful — while still being URNE.
The closing stretch is especially powerful:
“Harken the Waves” (nearly 10 minutes, an epic journey)
“Breathe” (a brave, intimate ending — recorded early morning for that deeper, rougher voice, and designed almost like an ASMR comfort piece)
We also talk about the guests:
Troy Sanders appears in a way that feels genuinely part of the song, not a “token feature”
Jo Quail contributes beautiful cello parts — and URNE’s philosophy is: if you invite world-class talent in, use what they give you
Community, festivals, and that “music is church” feeling
Right near the end, Joe describes something I think every music fan recognises: that feeling of walking into a venue — the smell, the buzz, the lights dropping — and it feeling like a spiritual experience.
He even shares an incredible moment at Bloodstock, watching young kids sprint past wearing NWOBHM patches(Saxon, Praying Mantis…) and thinking: you’re about to have the best time of your life — and I’m jealous I can’t experience it for the first time again.
That’s what this album taps into: heavy metal as community, identity, and hope.
Where to find URNE
Joe mentions the band’s website and socials — if you search URNE / URNE Official you’ll find tour dates and updates quickly, and the album Setting Fire To The Sky is out now.
And yes — my usual message applies: stream to discover, absolutely… but if you love it, buy the CD or vinyl and support the band properly.
Phil Aston | Now Spinning Magazine
