UMUR "Hornets of the Pogrom" is the 3rd full-length studio album by US death metal act Arghoslent. The album was released through Drakkar Productions in March 2008. It´s the successor to "Incorrigible Bigotry" from 2002 and features a couple of lineup changes since the predecessor as bassist Kommando has been replaced by Einzelganger and lead vocalist Von Demonicus has been replaced by The Genocider. Arghoslent have not toned down their lyrics dealing with neo-Nazi/white Supremacy topics, endorsement of the transatlantic slave trade, and hateful rants against jews, so consider yourself warned before reading on/listening to the album.

"Incorrigible Bigotry (2002)" was quite a few steps up in quality from "Galloping Through the Battle Ruins (1998)" and "Hornets of the Pogrom" actually accomplishes being an even better quality release. Stylistically this is melodic death metal with a great drive and some convincing aggressive growling vocals. The album is loaded with killer riffs (both fast tremolo riffs and heavy riffs), harmony guitar melodies and leads, and a great raw and brutal energy/power. While this is old school influenced death metal to the bone, there is a strong traditional heavy metal influence in the music too, which is both audible in the way some of the riffs are constructed but also because of the many melodic elements featured on the album.

The musicianship is strong and I especially enjoy how the drums are played, driving the music forward with great aggression and power. The growling vocals are relatively one-dimensional in nature, but they are well sounding, brutal, and fairly intelligible, suiting the instrumental part of the music perfectly. "Hornets of the Pogrom" features a powerful, detailed, and overall very well sounding production, which does exactly what the best productions do...provide the material with a golden platform to shine.

White Supremist lyrics and image aside, "Hornets of the Pogrom" is a high quality death metal album with strong melodic sensibilities. Arghoslent are even relatively unique sounding, although the elements they use to create their sound are hardly original. They manage to combine all elements to a sound of their own though, and the final result is pretty damn brilliant. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.