UMUR Frozen in Time is the 6th full-length studio album by US, Florida based death metal act Obituary and the first studio album release since Back From the Dead (1997). The band split up in 1997 only to reform in 2003 so that explains the lengthy break. The lineup is the same that recorded Back From the Dead. The album was released in July 2005 by Roadrunner Records.

The music on the album is unmistakably the sound of Obituary. It´s like they never split-up. The title Frozen in Time probably refers to the fact that even though the album was released in 2005 it sounds just about the same as the early nineties albums by the band. Not to say that there´s been zero development of the band´s signature sound through the years but this is just about as old school as it gets. There are 10 tracks on the album which is pretty short with its 34:20 minutes playing time. Perfect for this kind of music IMO though. There´s nothing worse than 60 minute extreme metal albums that gets tiresome about half way through. That´s certainly not the case with Frozen in Time which is an album filled with fierce energy and crushingly heavy downtuned riffs. There´s not a single filler song in sight. John Tardy´s distinct otherworldly brutal growls is still the center of attention and he sounds as pissed off as ever. The album begins with the instrumental Redneck Stomp which is an insanely groovy and heavy track. A great way to start an album. We´re then led through 9 relentlesly brutal death metal tracks and they are all of high quality. Songs like On the Floor, Insane and Lockjaw simply make my head bang so hard it hurts.

The production by Obituary and Mark Prator is excellent and help to bring out just the right emotions in the music.

Frozen in Time marks a great return of one of the major bands in death metal history. If you´re going to come back after 8 years with a new studio album you better sound like you mean it, and Obituary certainly do just that. I´m wavering here between 3.5 and a 4 star rating but after re-reading my enthusiastic review I´ll give this album 4 stars. I guess I can´t be that enthusiastic about an album if it didn´t make quite an impact on me.