UMUR "Demancial" is the debut full-length studio album by Chilean power/thrash metal act Krudo. The album was released through Digmetalworld in January 2012. Krudo were formed in 2001, so it´s been quite a few years before they´ve been able to put out this debut.

In terms of musicianship that´s audible too, because these guys are incredibly well playing/singing, which is usually something you get from practicing for a number of years before releasing anything. Stylistically the music on "Demancial" is a combination of US power- and thrash metal with some nods toward groove metal and progressive metal. I´m reminded of artists like Biomechanical and One Machine, which are also artists who combine those genres. The most important difference here being that Krudo have chosen to write lyrics in their native language.

Krudo´s combination of US power- and thrash metal is quite a potent one and at times pretty raw and hard edged with lots of double pedal drumming, heavy aggressive riffs, and a lead vocalist in Cristián Arriola who delivers his US power metal type vocals in a very convincing manner. The harshness of the sound is never at the expense of melody though, and "Demancial" is overall also a relatively melodic release, which in addition to it´s harsh moments feature some dynamic less powerful moments too.

The sound production is professional, detailed, and powerful, which suits the music well. At 10 tracks and 68:56 minutes "Demancial" is a bit long though, which is a minor issue and in my opinion it´s an album which would have worked better with a shorter playing time. Krudo´s sound is quite massive and requires attention, which can be a bit hard to swallow for nearly 70 minutes. Other than that luxury problem (which probably isn´t even an issue to most people), "Demancial" is a high quality US power/thrash metal release, featuring high level musicianship, well written compositions, and a well sounding production, and a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.