UMUR "If at First You Don't Succeed" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US thrash metal act Hades. The album was released through Torrid Records in 1988. Hades was formed in January 1978 by guitarist Dan Lorenzo. The band´s first release was the "Deliver Us from Evil" single from 1982. in the following years Hades released several minor releases like demos, splits, and singles, before signing to Torrid Records for the release of their debut full-length studio album "Resisting Success (1987)". There´s been one lineup change since "Resisting Success (1987)" as guitarist Scott LePage has been replaced by Ed Fuhrmann.

Stylistically the material on "If at First You Don't Succeed" pretty much continues the thrash metal style of "Resisting Success (1987)". The band are well playing and they have a distinct sounding lead vocalist in Alan Tecchio. His predominantly high pitched vocal delivery is a bit unusual on a thrash metal album, and provides the album with a US power/progressive metal touch. Some of the tracks are also a bit out of the ordinary for thrash metal (in particular the 9:04 minutes long "Aftermath Of Betrayal"), but "If at First You Don't Succeed" is still a thrash metal album first and other things second. Hard edged thrashy riffs and rhythms, skilled lead guitar work, and a generally powerful delivery of the material.

Upon conclusion "If at First You Don't Succeed" is a decent thrash metal release with a fairly original sound, as a result of the high pitched vocals, but it´s not an extraordinay release in terms of the quality of the material. For that the tracks aren´t memorable enough, and the sound production isn´t helping the album either. It´s not a major issue, but the production could definitely have been better sounding. So it´s an album with both great ideas and high quality musicianship, but also an album which could have benefitted from more catchy material and a much better sounding production. Honestly I had hoped for a bit more considering what I think was a promising debut in "Resisting Success (1987)", but a 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating isn´t all wrong.