UMUR "Faster than Death" is the eighth full-length studio album by US thrash metal act Hirax. The album was released through Doomentia Records in February 2025. It´s the successor to "Immortal Legacy" from 2014. Although Hirax have remained active and have released some demos, splits, and other minor releases in the 11 years between the two full-length studio albums, it´s still a long time to wait for a new album. In true Hirax style the listener only gets nine tracks and a total playing time of 21:45 minutes (their 1986 sophomore studio album "Hate, Fear and Power" famously only features a 16 minutes playing time), so it´s not like they´ve spend all those years composing a wealth of material for the world to hear.

"Faster than Death" is a release featuring no surprises and for most Hirax fans that´s how it should be. It´s powerful, raw, and either fast-paced or heavier mid-paced thrash metal with lead vocalist Katon W. de Pena´s distinct sounding raw shouting vocals in front. The musicianship is strong and everything is delivered with the right amount of intensity and passion. These guys are professionals and fans of raw old school west coast US thrash metal should find a lot to appreciate here. Raw staccato delivered vocals, powerful thrashy riffing and drumming, and blistering screaming lead guitar work. "Faster than Death" is well produced too and upon conclusion it´s another high quality release from Hirax and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Merciless" is the eighth full-length studio album by US crossover thrash metal act Body Count. The album was released through Century Media Records in November 2024. It´s the successor to "Carnivore" from 2020. Body Count has had a remarkably consistent lineup with the bulk of the band members having been part of the lineup since "Manslaugther" from 2014. The lineup has actually only changed once since as lead vocalist Ice T´s son Little Ice was added to the lineup on "Bloodlust" (2017) as backing vocalist. "Merciless" features quite a few guest appearences though. Among others from Corpsegrinder (Cannibal Corpse) and Max Cavalera (Sepultura, Soulfly, Cavalera Conspiracy).

So, by now Body Count is a tight nit unit and a well playing band. Stylistically the material on "Merciless" more or less continues the hardcore influenced thrash metal style of the preceding albums with Ice T delivering politically charged lyrics featuring topics like racism, hatred, anger, war, and other merry subjects...in other words it´s just as it should be on a Body Count album. Ice T spits out venom in a nicely aggressive and raw shouting singing style and while the occasional nod towards his rap past is heard here and there, it´s not in any way a dominant part of the vocal style on "Merciless".

The sound production is to my ears a bit on the thin side and it could have prospered from a more bottom heavy sound, but other than that it´s a professional, clear, and powerful sounding production job. Paired with the strong musicianship and the well composed and entertaining material "Merciless" is overall another high quality release from Body Count. It won´t win over music listeners, who didn´t appreciate what came before, but on the other hand it will most certainly please the loyal fanbase and it has the potential to win Body Count new fans. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Descent into Lunacy" is the debut full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act Cryptorium. The album was released through Personal Records in November 2024. It´s the follow-up release to the July 2023 "Cryptic Bloodlust" demo, although a few teaser singles (featuring album tracks) were released in the months leading up to the release of "Descent into Lunacy".

It´s obvious when listening to "Descent into Lunacy", that although two out of the three members of the band also performed on the "Cryptic Bloodlust" demo, Cryptorium have opted for a lot of changes to their sound since the demo. Gone are the blackened snarling vocals and instead the vocals are now death metal growling and even occasionally some effect laden juicy growling (call them whatever you want...). The thin trebly production style found on the demo remains though, which provides "Descent into Lunacy" with a lo-fi production value atmosphere, although it´s more a matter of deliberate production choices than bad quality recording equipment. There are clear nods toward Dismember in the way some of the riffs are constructed and the filthy and murky production values may also be a homage to the early Dismember releases.

Cryptorium don´t quite reach the excellence of their more famous influences though and although I do hear both promise and interesting songwriting ideas in addition to strong musicianship, "Descent into Lunacy" still feels a bit like an unfinished product to me. The ultra raw production job will probably also be an obstacle to some, and I could personally also have wished for a less abrasive sound production. When that is said "Descent into Lunacy" is still a good quality death metal release and a 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

Nightfly Bionic Swarm was one of my favourite albums of 2021. Technical thrash, not unlike Vektor. A dynamic album packed with great riffs, strong hooks and excellent musicianship. Four years later Cryptosis are back with album number two, Celestial Death.

One of my most anticipated albums of recent years, I’ll come out with it straight away and say my initial impression was one of disappointment, though it has grown on me somewhat since. Whilst still in the cyber thrash territory of Bionic Swarm the most obvious change is the greater dominance of keyboards, especially mellotron. Synths and mellotron were present last time around but didn’t overshadow the razor sharp guitar work of Laurens Houvast. He’s not totally obliterated, but his riffs often (not always, especially later in the album) merge into the barrage of keyboards taking the edge off them. Having said that, though still solid, on the whole they lack the memorability of last time and nothing here blows me away like Decypher, Prospect Of Immortality or Transcendence did.

Having got the negatives out the way Celestial Death is still a fine album and if I’d not previously heard Bionic Swarm I’d probably be singing its praises a lot more. There’s still plenty of good songs on offer like the blackened thrash of Ascending and Reign Of Infinite, perhaps my favourite here. More progressive elements, largely down to the keyboards are on display which never a bad thing as far as I’m concerned. The melodies are still there but require a few more plays to reveal themselves and that melancholic vibe I liked about the debut is still there too as is the excellent musicianship.

You’ve probably grasped by now that I’m not as blown away by Celestial Death as much as Bionic Swarm but all respect to Cryptosis for showing some growth. After my initial disappointment and having had time to digest the album better with repeated plays I’m still happy with and enjoying this. Writing this review helped me focus on its strengths and I’m still more than eager to hear where they go next.

UMUR "Memoria Viva" is the third full-length studio album by Spanish, Barcelona based progressive death metal act White Stones. The album was released through Reigning Phoenix Music in June 2024. It´s the successor to "Dancing into Oblivion" from August 2021 and features the same quartet lineup who recorded the predecessor. Bassist Martín Méndez (who also plays rhythm guitars on this release) is known as the long-standing bassist in Swedish progressive death metal band Opeth (only Mikael Åkerfeldt has been with the band longer than Méndez), and Méndez involvement in White Stones has of course provided the band with publicity other similar artists maybe haven´t had the opportunity to receive.

When that is said White Stones fully deserves to be mentioned as an interesting and worthwhile progressive death metal act regardless of Méndez involvement with the project. White Stones of course can´t escape some comparisons to Opeth, but although both Opeth and White Stones are at their core progressive death metal artists and some of Méndez playing style and Opeth involvement shine through here and there while listening to "Memoria Viva" (and on the two preceding album releases from White Stones), White Stones actually sound very little like the more well known and prolific Swedish act (despite Opeth keyboard player Joakim Svalberg also guesting, making the Opeth connection even stronger).

One of the core elements of White Stones' sound are the heavy organic grooves of the music. There´s an earthy, at times psychedelic, and quite creative touch to the band´s songwriting, and although heavy death metal riffs and growling/harsh Spanish lyric vocals are part of said sound, "Memoria Viva" is actually more an atmospheric and experimental progressive metal album than a death metal/black metal ditto. 70s hard rock and progressive rock, and 60s psychedelic heavy rock are all music styles which have influenced the sound of "Memoria Viva". Paired with the extreme metal elements it makes for an interesting and relatively unique listen. Maybe Enslaved at their most space rock/progressive metal mood could be mentioned as a reference. The tracks will take you through different musical landscapes and dynamics and although they are reasonably accessible, they do take a few listens to sink in. A good example of the diversity of the album is a track like the 6:58 minutes long "Humanoides". But even before we reach the halfway point of the album "D-Generación" has introduced a melodic aspect of the band´s sound and "Zamba de Orun" showcase flute playing (courtesy of session musician José Ignacio Lagos) and both classical music influences as well as an obvious nod towards Jethro Tull.

"Memoria Viva" features a powerful, organic, and detailed sound production, which suits the material perfectly. This is a high quality release through and through. The songwriting is intriguing and varied, the musicianship is on a high level, and topped off with a well sounding production job like this one, "Memoria Viva" continues the streak of high quality musicial output and fans of adventurous progressive metal with growling/snarling vocals should take note of this album. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "The Scarred People" is the tenth full-length studio album by Swedish metal act Tiamat. The album was released through Napalm Records in November 2012. It´s the successor to "Amanethes" from May 2008. There has been one lineup change since the preceding album as guitarist Thomas Wyreson has left and has been replaced by Roger Öjersson (who would later join Katatonia). Wyreson (originally known as Thomas Petersson) had been a member of Tiamat in three seperate periods 1990-1994, 1996-1999, and 2001-2008.

Stylistically the material on "The Scarred People" is more or less a continuation of the by now fully established gothic metal sound with the occasional psychedelic rock touches which Tiamat have played since he mid-90s. "Amanethes" brought back some of the band´s early extreme metal elements, although they were only a small part of the sound of the album. The heavier and more aggressive elements from "Amanethes" are not found on "The Scarred People" although it´s still occasionally a pretty heavy and dark gothic metal album. Tiamat as usual have written a both memorable and effective release, and the performances and the sound production values are also of a high quality.

Although I personally found "Amanethes" a bit more interesting than "The Scarred People", this is a release you don´t want to miss if you´re already a fan of Tiamat. On the other hand "The Scarred People" is not a Tiamat release which will win over those listeners who haven´t found Tiamat intereting since they left their doom/death metal roots behind now many years ago. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Amanethes" is the ninth full-length studio album by Swedish metal act Tiamat. The album was released through Nuclear Blast in May 2008. It´s the successor to "Prey" from 2003 and it´s a comeback album for the band after a 5 year long hiatus. There have been no lineup changes since the predecessor although guitarist Thomas Petersson has changed his name to Thomas Wyreson (if anyone wondered if it was a new member of the band). It would be Wyreson´s last album with Tiamat though as he left after recording "Amanethes". Wyreson was at that point on his third stint with Tiamat, having been a member of the band in the periods 1990-1994, 1996-1999, 2001-2008.

Although the last couple of albums by Tiamat have all been good quality releases featuring a gothic metal sound with touches of psychedelic rock (think mid- to late 90s Paradise Lost with touches of Pink Floyd and 80s goth rock influences), the occasionally more harder edged sound on "Amanethes" is a welcome addition to Tiamat´s sound (best heard on "Equinox of the Gods"). They haven´t included extreme metal elements like this since the early 90s. When that is said this really isn´t that extreme and it´s only on occasion that Tiamat dig deep and present the listener with a few extreme metal parts and elements, but it´s quite effective when it happens. Otherwise "Amanethes" in most other ways pretty much continues the gothic metal/psychedelic rock style which Tiamat have played since the mid-90s.

The musicianship is on a high level on all posts and although lead vocalist/guitarist Johan Edlund maybe isn´t the most skilled or distinct sounding vocalist, he still manages to deliver some both effective and memorable vocal parts and melodies. He is the classic example of getting much out of little. "Amanethes" features a well sounding production job too, and it´s a good quality release on all parameters and even manages to stand out a little from the last couple of releases because of the return of the exteme metal elements (however few and far between they are). A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Panic Prayer" is an EP release by US death/thrash metal act Inhuman Condition. The EP was released through Listenable Insanity Records in July 2023. It´s the follow-up release to Inhuman Condition´s second full-length studio album "Fearsick" from Jule 2022, although the two releases are bridged by the August 2022 "Covers" EP, which features covers of artists like Death, Metallica, and Faith No More. "Panic Prayer" features three new original tracks, a cover of "Godzilla" by Blue Öyster Cult, and four live tracks, which in their original studio versions appear on the band´s first two full-length studio albums.

Stylistically the three new original tracks continue the powerful and raw death/thrash metal style of the two preceding albums. It´s music which can´t be called either death metal or thrash metal, but features elements from both genres. Drummer/lead vocalist Jeramie Kling has a commanding and raw growling delivery which is fully intelligble and the music is loaded with raw heavy riffs and powerful pounding drumming. It´s music designed for a live environment and I can almost see the mosh pits and headbanging crowds before my eyes.

"Godzilla" was originally one of the greatest hits of Blue Öyster Cult (the opening track from their 1977 fifth full-length studio album "Spectres") and it´s given the death/thrash treatment here, and actually blends in pretty well with the original material, which means that Inhuman Condition have managed to put their own spin on the track, which in my opinion should always be the primary objective when covering the music of another artist.

The live tracks feature a relatively raw sound quality but I wouldn´t call the sound lo-fi. It just sounds very authentic and a bit like someone in the back recorded the show. So, it´s not bootleg quality but only just a notch better than that. Overall "Panic Prayer" is a good quality release featuring enough quality material to warrant a purchase. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Fearsick" is the second full-length studio album by US death/thrash metal act Inhuman Condition. The album was released through Listenable Insanity Records in July 2022. It´s the successor to "Rat°God" from June 2021. The trio lineup of Terry Butler (bass), Taylor Nordberg (guitars), and Jeramie Kling (vocals, drums), who recorded the debut album is intact on "Fearsick". The tracks "I'm Now the Monster" and "King Con" features guest guitar solos by Rick Rozz. Both Rozz and the three permanent members of Inhuman Condition were at some point members of US death metal act Massacre and the band is named after Massacre´s 1992 "Inhuman Condition" EP.

The material on "Fearsick" doesn´t sound much like Massacre though, although there´s definitely an old school death metal edge to the album. It´s instead a thrashy old school death metal style, which sounds a little like Power Trip gone death metal. Kling has a commanding and raw growling vocal delivery which is fully intelligible and both his vocals and his powerful drumming style are great assets of Inhuman Condition´s music. There are zero contemporary influences heard on "Fearsick" (no groove laden heavy riffs, no break-downs, no hardcore influenced screaming vocals, and no clean vocals), which sounds like it´s culled directly from the late 80s/early 90s US brutal thrash/death-thrash metal scene. Artists like Solstice, Demolition Hammer, and Devastation aren´t the worst references.

"Fearsick" features a powerful, raw, and well sounding production job. It´s not terribly different sounding compared to "Rat°God" and in that respect there hasn´t been much development between the two releases, but I´m sure that´s not really the point. This type of music is just meant to crush you skull and send you on a murder spree, and that´s exactly what you´re prepared to do after listening to "Fearsick". A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

martindavey87 ‘Time Requiem’ is the 2002 self-titled debut album by Swedish progressive power metal band, Time Requiem. Formed by keyboard player Richard Andersson, the band plays a style very typical of progressive metal, with a strong neoclassical influence, and an emphasis on powerful vocals and fantasy-themed lyrics.

The most prominent aspect of Time Requiem’s music is shredding, and it comes in boatloads! Andersson and guitarist Magnus Nordh are absolute beasts on their instruments, furiously ripping up the chromatic scale at every opportunity. It makes for some lavishly flavoured riffs and colourful solos, but sadly it does get a little repetitive after a while.

Most of the songs are very strong and well-written, but also rely on similar tropes. At times, they sound very reminiscent of other bands, such as Symphony X, Dream Theater and Stratovarius. But if you can accept a group wearing its influences on its sleeves, then you might just enjoy tracks such as ‘Watching the Tower of Skies’, ‘Time Requiem’, ‘Milagros Charm’, ‘Visions of New Dawn’, ‘The Aphorism’ and the absolutely psychotic instrumental, ‘Brutal Mentor’.

‘Time Requiem’ can be challenging to sit through in one go, especially if you’re not keen on the sheer technicality of the music, but perseverance and repeated listens can be rewarding. Over time, the album grew on me, and while the band offers nothing new or unique, this is a very solid debut, and I’m excited to hear where things will go with future releases.

martindavey87 ‘Alive!’, released in 1975, is the first live album by legendary American rock band, KISS. It’s often cited as their best album, period, and is the definitive summary of their music and legacy on one recording. So why do I feel like it’s a bit overrated?

Barely two years into their career, it’s impressive that this is the bands fourth release, and with three albums to draw material from, there’s a wealth of songs for their live shows. The problem is I’m just not really into those first few albums.

Don’t get me wrong, I love KISS. But my love of KISS pretty much starts from what would be their next studio album and onwards (that album being the fantastic ‘Destroyer’). Yeah, the live versions of those original songs sound better, and “how KISS are meant to be heard”, but mostly, those songs still don’t really do much for me.

That’s not to say that I don’t like this album, because I do. Despite the cheesy dubbed crowd noises, there’re still some great performances on here. Songs like ‘Deuce’, ‘Strutter’, ‘Hotter Than Hell’, ‘Cold Gin’ and ‘Rock and Roll All Nite’ probably sound better here than they would on their studio recordings, but then, that might also be because I rarely, if ever, listen to the studio recordings.

‘Alive!’ is no doubt regarded as a classic album, and sometimes considered one of the greatest live albums of all time, and that hyperbole may be the very reason why I feel it isn’t. I think it’s good, maybe even very good, but one of the all-time greatest? Sorry, to any KISS fans reading this, but no. Not for me. Just a “good” live album, but one that I’m not likely to listen to that often.

UMUR "The Craneal Hunger Seed" is the first demo recording by Spanish, Sevilla based death metal act Mawkish Ingestion. The demo was independently released in 1995. Mawkish Ingestion formed in 1994 and disbanded in 1997. "The Craneal Hunger Seed" was their only output.

Stylistically the four tracks on the 19:19 minutes long demo are gore drenched old school death metal. It´s savage, raw, noisy, and brutal as hell. There is an energy level on the demo which is through the roof. The songwriting is effective and there is good variation in terms of tempo and different riffing styles. The vocals are pretty sick and alternate between juicy brutal growling and snarling screaming. All the traits of goregrind are here, but this is ultimately more in the death metal camp. Not everything works on the demo and when the band try to branch out too much applying acoustic guitars and guitar solos, they take things a bit too far as they simply don´t have the skills to pull it off.

When that is said "The Craneal Hunger Seed" is still a highly entertaining death metal demo, and it´s a shame that Mawkish Ingestion never got the chance to record and release an album´s worth of material. I would have been very interested to listen to such a release. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "A Forgotten Dream" is the debut full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act Internal Decay. The album was released through Eurorecords in May 1993. It follows the release of the 1991 eponymously titled demo. Internal Decay formed in the Swedish capital of Stockholm in 1991. The band had however existed from 1987 under several different monickers. Internal Decay went widely unnoticed although they were a Stockholm band and the fact that "A Forgotten Dream" was recorded at Sunlight Studios, but of course not all Swedish bands from those days experienced success. None of the tracks from the 1991 demo appear on "A Forgotten Dream" in re-recorded versions, so all material on the album is new material.

While the material on "A Forgotten Dream" in some ways continue the old school Swedish death metal sound of the 1991 demo, Internal Decay have added considerable amounts of melody and a blackened touch to their music since the release of the demo. As a result "A Forgotten Dream" is a bit hard to tag correctly, but blackened melodic death metal isn´t the worst description if you ask me. The vocals are aggressive snarling rather than deep death metal growling. It´s artists like Unanimated, Dissection, and Necrophobic who come to mind, but Internal Decay are not quite as accomplished and they rely a bit more on epic atmosperic parts (with an ethnic Scandinavian edge). The often abrupt tempo changes and the slightly limb drumming are two of the features of the album which drag my rating down along with the often simplistic atmosphere enhancing keyboards.

Internal Decay are obviously a skilled band on a lot of parameters and they certainly also have some interesting songwriting ideas, but they struggle to make all the ends meet and when their drummer provides a weak link in terms of the musicianship things just don´t add up to an overall great release. But fans of melodic Scandinavian death metal with an old school blackened death metal touch may find more here to appreciate than I do. A 2.5 - 3 star (55%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Internal Decay" is the eponymously titled first demo recording by Swedish death metal act Internal Decay. The demo was independently released in 1991. Internal Decay formed in the Swedish capital of Stockholm earlier the same year. The band had however existed from 1987 under several other monickers. This demo would be their only demo release before being signed to Eurorecords for the release of their May 1993 debut full-length studio album "A Forgotten Dream". None of the tracks from this demo survived to be re-recorded and included on "A Forgotten Dream".

Stylistically the five tracks (one is a short intro) on the 16:35 minutes long demo are in an old school death metal style, featuring heavy brutal riffs, growling vocals, and morbid leads. Nothing is particularly unique here but the songwriting quality is decent for a 1991 Swedish death metal demo. The same can be said about the sound production which is also of a decent quality. All in all a good quality Swedish old school death metal demo, but nothing out of the ordinary for the style or the time. A 2.5 star (50%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Cryptic Bloodlust" is the first demo recording by Swedish death metal act Cryptorium. The demo was recorded at the band's rehearsal space in Orminge, Stockholm, May 13th, 2023, and it was released in July 2023. Cryptorium formed in 2022 and "Cryptic Bloodlust" is the band´s only demo before getting signed for the release of their 2024 debut full-length studio album "Descent into Lunacy". The lineup is a bit mysterious as the person who recorded the drums have asked to be anonymous...the remaining lineup are Knalle Arvidsson (bass, backing vocals) and Fabian Larsen (guitars, vocals).

Stylistically the music is a savage and raw old school death metal style, but the vocals are raw raspy snarling and firmly belong in black metal territory. It´s the only part of the band´s sound which smells like black metal though, although the thin and trebly sound production could also point in that direction. The music itself is death metal though. It´s not particularly interesting or memorable death metal and although Cryptorium can certainly play their instruments and the hateful snarling vocals also make an impact, it all comes off a bit unfinised or maybe just a little immature.

It´s not a bad quality demo, but it´s not a demo which makes my blood boil either. None of the tracks from "Cryptic Bloodlust" would survive to be re-recorded and included on "Descent into Lunacy" (which actually isn´t entirely true as "Schizophrenic" was re-recorded during the sessions, but left off the debut album), and few will probably miss them. A 2.5 - 3 star (55%) rating is warranted.