Italian extreme metal band URNA, active in the underground scene for more than two decades, will return this year with a new album. Titled “The Great Jihad,” the record will be released on October 16, 2026 via ATMF, the label that has supported the band since the release of their landmark album Sepulcrum.
The first single from the forthcoming record, “Second of Three,” has already been unveiled. The track suggests that URNA remain faithful to their distinctive musical identity while simultaneously pushing some aspects of their sound into new territory.
A More Poisonous and Tense Version of URNA
According to the band, The Great Jihad is intended to be an even more poisonous, tense and aggressive work than their previous releases. Its foundation remains rooted in the crushing atmosphere and strong connection to funeral doom that have long been defining characteristics of URNA. However, the faster passages move towards a much harsher and more abrasive form of black metal.
Even at their most brutal, however, URNA do not abandon the atmospheric side of their music. Vast, almost sideral melodies emerge from the darkness, contrasting with the density and aggression of the individual passages. The result is an album that balances oppressive heaviness with moments of strange, otherworldly beauty.
Occult and esoteric atmospheres remain among the central elements of the album.
Their First Album Entirely in English
Another significant development concerns the language of the lyrics. “The Great Jihad” is the first URNA album to feature lyrics entirely in English. The only exception in the band’s previous discography was their 2003 debut, Justa Funebria, which was originally performed in Italian. Subsequent releases traditionally relied primarily on Latin.
Conceptually, URNA once again explore RM’s personal spiritual journey through Hermetism. The central theme is the notion of duality, examined from an esoteric perspective and explored through its many different forms and manifestations. The title The Great Jihad should therefore not be understood solely in a literal or political sense. Within the context of URNA’s work, it forms part of a broader spiritual and symbolic framework.
A New Line-Up and a Long Road to Completion
The album also introduces new collaborators to the band’s line-up. Sibilans, known for his work with Anamnesi and Simulacro, performs drums, while T of Sangue Nero handles bass.
The album itself was an exceptionally long-term project. Recording took place during several sessions between 2014 and 2025, at various locations across Italy and the United Kingdom. The final mixing and mastering were completed in early 2026 at 322 Studio, run by MZ.
The album artwork was created by Francesco Gemelli.
An Album More Than a Decade in the Making
The story of The Great Jihad began shortly after the release of “Mors Principium Est” in 2013. Early demos for the new album were already taking shape soon afterwards, but the project subsequently entered a prolonged hiatus. URNA eventually returned to the recording process several years later, only for the pandemic to cause another interruption.
It was not until 2025 that the band finally completed the album, bringing to a conclusion a journey that had begun more than a decade earlier.
This is far from the first radical transformation in URNA’s history. The band emerged in 2003 with Justa Funebria and gradually expanded their original abrasive black metal foundation to incorporate funeral doom, electronics and increasingly prominent esoteric elements. Sepulcrum marked an important moment in the band’s history and became their first release through ATMF. It was followed by Iter ad Lucem (2009) and Mors Principium Est (2013), both of which further developed their uncompromising musical vision.
The Great Jihad therefore arrives as the culmination of a long creative process, while simultaneously opening another chapter in URNA’s ongoing search for their own musical and spiritual expression. Over more than two decades, the band have explored various forms of extreme metal without abandoning their commitment to darkness, atmosphere and esoteric symbolism.
Much has changed since 2003. URNA have not.
https://urna.bandcamp.com/track/omnis-infinita-mens-est-gremium-et-sepolcrum-universi