UMUR "The Grand Leveller" is the 2nd full-length studio album by UK death metal act Benediction. The album was released in October 1991 by Nuclear Blast Records. There´s been a lineup change since the release of "Subconscious Terror (1990)" as lead vocalist Mark "Barney" Greenway left Benediction to join Napalm Death as a replacement for Lee Dorian shortly after the release of the debut album. Mark "Barney" Greenway was quickly replaced by Dave Ingram who also toured with Benediction in support of "Subconscious Terror".

"The Grand Leveller" features what I think of as the epitome of old school death metal. The vocals are one-dimensionally growling but not in an unintelligible way, the guitars are downtuned, gritty and pretty simple, the drummer only occasionally use double bass pedals and instead play mid-paced punked D-beat type beats or slower doomy beats, the lyrics and the general atmosphere are dark and morbid and the sound production has that analog/ organic and slightly muddy quality to it, that fans of the genre usually desire.

While the lyrics on "The Grand Leveller" are both morbid and circles around the darker sides of life as is the case on most old school death metal albums, they are actually quite clever for the genre. The inclusion of excerpts from letters sent by David Berkowitz ("The Son Of Sam") in "Jumping at Shadows" and excerpts from letters sent by "Jack the Ripper" in "Born in a Fever" suit the lyrics of those tracks brilliantly and further enhances the already morbid atmosphere of the album.

Both "Jumping at Shadows" and "Born in a Fever" are definitely among the highlights of the album. Other standout tracks include "Graveworm" and "Child of Sin" but there´s nothing sub par on the album which is amazingly consistent in quality. The original vinyl version only featured 8 tracks while the CD version included the "Senile Dementia" and the Celtic Frost cover "Return to the Eve" as bonus tracks.

The musicianship is solid but nothing out of the ordinary. Drummer Ian Treacy still sounds a bit clumsy and occasionally plays some awkward things, but thankfully he has improved since "Subconscious Terror" and his style of playing suits the rest of the music fine.

"The Grand Leveller" is yet another great death metal album from the golden year of 1991. Personally I think the quality of the band´s output throughout the years has been inconsistent and I somewhat agree with those who claim that Benediction shouldn´t be counted among the greatest UK death metal acts. But if you ask me "The Grand Leveller" stands as something speciel in the band´s discography and deserves recognition as one of the greatest old school UK death metal albums from those days. A 4 star (80%) rating is fully deserved.

Vobiscum Heavier than the previous album, the only change was the singer, "Dave Ingram" instead of "Mark" Barney "Greenway." The sound of the album is generally heavier than "Subconscious Terror", the riffs are also better designed.

"Ian Treacy" holds up the sticks again and very helpful in the improvement and evolution of the band.

It seems that the two guitarists are more inspired, "Darren Brookes" and "Peter Rewinsky" improved their technical merits for the band.

"Paul Adams" in the first moment seems inaudible but only seems ... arrives at his bass and do not let the pick away from the strings.

The voice of "Dave Ingram" fits better with a sound proposal for the band.

This album contains a cover song of "Celtic Frost -" Return to the Eve. "

Even with some passages still drawn to resemble the first album, here you can see a maturing of the band.

For those who enjoyed that line quite a bit dragged from the first album, the track "Vision in the Shroud" is a good tip, although shake a little later. "Opulence of the Absolute" has a "Benediction" more aggressive.

Overall, "The Grand Leveller" also recalls a bit the "Subconscious Terror", because the difference is only one year, but it's still another step of maturity. Worth it.