UMUR "Descend into Madness" is the debut full-length studio album by US, New Jersey based heavy metal act Deadly Nights. The album was independently released in January 2016. "Descend into Madness" was recorded at Shorefire Recording Studios and produced by Deadly Nights and Manowar bassist Joe DeMaio. Deadly Nights was formed in 2009 and released the "Lost Souls" EP in 2013.

The music on "Descend into Madness" is traditional heavy metal. It´s hard rocking, melodic, and organic sounding. The latter is especially true when it comes to the rhythm section, who are both really well playing and who help ensure that the music features an authentic touch. I´m especially impressed by bassist Sandman, who is placed relatively high in the mix, and delivers a busy and powerful performance. The rest of the band are very well playing too, and Deadly Nights are obviously a skilled bunch of guys. Lead vocalist Kaan also delivers a strong performance, although he doesn´t have the most distinct sounding voice.

The lyrics and the general imagery on the 10 track, 29:58 minutes long album is horror themed, and that approach works very well for Deadly Nights. Although the band´s music isn´t as such dark in nature, the lyrics do provide a slightly gloomy atmosphere to the album, which along with the powerful music, is a great combination. To my ears there are hints of a Misfits influence here and there, but it´s not too obvious and the influence from artists like Iron Maiden and Saxon are much more dominant.

There are several strong tracks featured on the album, and I´m gonna mention "From Hell" as one of the highlights, but "Descend into Madness" is through and through a consistent quality release. The sound production is powerful, clear, and well sounding too, so upon conclusion "Descend into Madness" is a strong and promising debut album by Deadly Nights. The album features a good combination of rawness and melodic sensibility and a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.