Credit: Monstercat
Burning Out
[By: Virtual Riot]
Genre: Brostep
Rating: 60
Cohesiveness: 55
Track quality: 68
Beginner-friendly? nah
Written 2026/05/11
Burning Out is presumably the little brother album of last year's Stealing Fire. Unfortunately, it doesn't look to outshine its sibling.
Where Stealing Fire was diverse and lit ablaze by its borrowing of legendary samples, Burning Out's flame is candlestick in comparison. Its wax has been consumed till it is a fraction of its previous height, and from that diminutive height, Virtual Riot finds himself a little stuck. Ultimately, Burning Out is more of the same. Perhaps that's intended, as per the name - more likely, it is a situationally ironic inversion of what made Stealing Fire so successful as a record.
To be clear, neither record particularly bothers with making a tracklist of itself. Neither record spreads itself across a lengthy narrative, or a sprawling atmosphere, or even that much of a clear message. Sure, there's the sampling motifs, but all in all the tracks in both records are largely self-contained. In that, Burning Out doesn't bother with intros and interludes in the same way its older brother did. This is probably for the best - in Stealing Fire the structural tracks felt somewhat purposeless, as if holding together skyscrapers that were never built. Burning Out also, in some arbitrary sense, clumps its tracks together better, with the vocal-heavy section (from the freeform bass "Paralyzed" to the synthpop closer "till the end") bringing up the rear in a fashion that seems reasonable enough as a structural decision, whilst the first few tracks are tougher, harder-hitting dubstep cuts.
But - to continue this comparison - cohesive quality was never the selling point of Stealing Fire. The older brother was successful because its tracks were fresh, and punchy, and they allowed Virtual Riot to explore everything from his classic brostep style all the way to out-of-left-field ideas, like a Mongolian throat singing drop, or a drawn-out melodic house finale. Brunn doesn't exercise the same creative freedom on Burning Out, though, and much of it feels almost as a reiteration of style - the heavier stuff on this record, like "Fire & Forget" or "Statues", are outshined by "Dino Killer" and "Believe What You Want"; meanwhile, Burning Out's attempt at a melodic closer "till the end" pales in comparison to the beautifully liquidy "Holding On To Smoke" that Stealing Fire possessed. None of these rehashes are inherently bad, but their sheen is dullen, their otherwise fresh new surface tarnished by having been left outside for too long.
Does this mean Burning Out was doomed from the start, purely because of the existence of its older brother? I'd argue not - even as a standalone record, variety is scarce, and the quality of the tracks fail to compensate for the sacrificed cohesiveness.
Does this mean Burning Out is a bad record? Again, I'd argue not. Many of these tracks still present the strong elements of Virtual Riot's production, complete with a collaborator list of acts like Eliminate, Said The Sky, Viperactive. Burning Out is, unlike Stealing Fire, more of a collab album, and it draws its main power from this pool of talent.
And there is undoubtedly plenty of talent here. Said The Sky chips in with a lovely melodic bass cut, Viperactive's brash hybrid trap turns "What U Got" into a snappy, rhythmic roller of a track, Dodge & Fuski power "Found You" with a myriad of genres, and even Tokyo Machine gets a say in the action with his crunchy video-game-esque style. But intermittently impressive performances, both from the collaborators and from the vocalists and from Virtual Riot himself, don't give this album enough substance to stand out. I suppose, ultimately, that is my problem with Burning Out - with the wax burned to a stump, substance is difficult to come by, even amidst undoubtedly solid production.
Listen on Spotify here.
Burning Out
A very fast-paced, upbeat opener with an optimistically clubby vocal sample that moves into a fairly standard Virtual Riot dubstep drop. The four-on-the-floor that immediately follows it is notable, as is the "Frontier Psychiatrist" sample, but nothing really sticks out. The final trap drop tries, and somewhat succeeds, but it isn't enough.
Fire & Forget
"Fire & Forget" is another punchy dubstep cut that fires and is immediately forgotten. It doesn't quite make itself known as anything other than a Virtual Riot track given the fairly linear rhythm, even if the dubstep is nice and heavy and the sampling is brash enough to be enjoyable. There's another fun little final switch, but again, it isn't enough.
Sh*t's On Fire
This cut is another trademark Virtual Riot bass track, but it juts out. The more abrasive, minimal mix surrounds the drops - the two drop sections bounce off each other really nice, and the deeper final drop is given enough substance and length to make it work. The mix suffers a little throughout, sure, but I don't mind it.
The First Time
w/ Tokyo Machine
A soft-spoken yet somewhat corny sample makes way for a crunchy drop that fuses both of these two producers' styles together very tastefully. Structurally, "The First Time" isn't anything crazy, but the sound design is well-put-together.
Aura Farming
w/ Eliminate
Ignoring the title makes this track so much better. Eliminate's style interplays really nicely with Virtual Riot's own, and the fusion produces a track that sounds very well-rounded. It's well-written, with a load of interesting sections over a dense 4 minute runtime, and the sound design is an easy highlight, between the higher leads and the intermittent stabs.
Found You
w/ Dodge & Fuski, CHROME
CHROME pitches in a strong vocal, and these two producers are no strangers to working together - it shows in first drop, with a strong, cohesive lead melody and a lot of complex production. The second drop is particularly good, with its soaring supersaws, and the final houes drop cements the variety this cut has.
What U Got ⭐
w/ Viperactive
Possibly the snappiest cut so far, "What U Got" brings forth whipping rhythms and broiling basslines and a generally fun attitude towards itself. On one hand it's serious and constantly throws punches; on the other, its sampling and energy is not particularly sensible.
Statues
"Statues" opens with the most imposing intro on this record, and quickly justifies itself in a loud, single-minded drop. The main bass growls and roars over the guitar backing in the breakdowns, and the simpler approach to songwriting in favour of grander offdrops is appreciated.
Paralyzed
w/ YDG, Luma
Luma's vocal is great, it really is, but the drop completely kills all hope of the track supporting her. The lead sounds somewhat promising - somewhat - but it's quickly killed by a deceptively weak freeform bass drop and some bizarrely squelchy sound design to match.
Yellow Lights
w/ Said The Sky, HYMNALS
I suppose this section of the album was written to be more vocal-dominant, and "Yellow Lights" does a better job of bringing out HYMNALS' voice and her lyricism. Said The Sky contributes his euphoric brand of melodic bass, and this track ends up sounding quite pretty.
Best of Me
w/ Blanke, Dia Frampton
Dia Frampton's vocal is another strong one, and Blanke and Virtual Riot have the sense to not rush headfirst into a heavy drop. The first build is cohesive and upbeat, as is the first melodic drop. When the heavy production turns up for drop 2, it's a little tone-deaf but still works well, and doesn't overstay its welcome.
till the end
w/ Seelie
"till the end" fits as a final track. Its more toned-down, cutesy vocal inhabits the spacious track structure for a chiller, particularly happy closing track. It's more of a breather at the end than anything, much less a grand finale, and I think that fits, even if it isn't the strongest individually.
- What U Got w/ Viperactive ⭐
- Found You w/ Dodge & Fuski, CHROME
- Statues
- Aura Farming w/ Eliminate
- Sh*t's On Fire
- Best of Me w/ Blanke, Dia Frampton
- The First Time w/ Tokyo Machine
- Yellow Lights w/ Said The Sky, HYMNALS
- till the end w/ Seelie
- Fire & Forget
- Burning Out
- Paralyzed w/ YDG, Luma