UMUR "The Day of Retribution" is an EP release by Swedish doom metal act Nemesis. The EP was released through Fingerprint Records in September 1984. Nemesis were a pre-Candlemass band featuring later Candlemass main composer/bassist Leif Edling on bass and vocals. Guitarist Christian Weberyd was also shortly a member of Candlemass. "The Day of Retribution" was the band´s only official release before disbanding.

The 5 tracks on the 27:26 minutes long EP are all written by Leif Edling except for the closing track "Goodnight", which was written by Angel Witch guitarist Kevin Heybourne. Right from the opening track "Black Messiah" (which was later reworked into "The Incarnation of Evil" and featured on "Ancient Dreams (1988)" the third full-length studio album by Candlemass) you hear the Candlemass link but the music on "The Day of Retribution" is not only traditional doom metal but also traditional heavy metal influenced. A track like "In God We Trust" features a strong Mercyful Fate influence (to the point where I´m thinking that any minute now I´ll hear a high pitched scream, but it never comes).

All tracks on the demo are of a very high compositional quality and the playing is generally strong too. Heavy rhythms, blazing melodic guitar solos and heavy riffs, and a surprisingly well sounding Leif Edling on vocals. He hasn´t got the most distinct sounding voice and obviously isn´t a schooled singer, but he gets the most out of his relatively limited range, and his vocals generally suit the music well.

The sound production is raw and authentic and not always that great sounding, but there is something incredibly honest about how the music sounds and how it´s delivered that it is hard to come down too hard on the sound quality. Fans of Candlemass are adviced to check this out but also fans of early 80s traditional heavy metal with a doomy edge might find this EP an interesting listen. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.