UMUR "Tumultuous Travelings" is the first demo recording by US, Missouri based death metal act Timeghoul. The demo was independently released in April 1992. Timeghoul formed in 1987 under the Doom's Lyre monicker but changed their name to Timeghoul in August 1991. They recorded two demos before disbanding in 1994. They were long forgotten until Dark Descent Records opted to compile the material from the two demos and release the "1992-1994 Discography" compilation in February 2012.

Stylistically the 4 tracks on the 25:29 minutes long demo are old school death metal, but it´s of the more progressive and semi-technical brand. Add to that dark sci-fi lyrical themes and Timeghoul did actually stand out a bit from the contemporary releases in 1992. Timeghoul are a well playing band and as composers they have a good understanding of what makes an impact on the listener and a good understanding of variation and dynamics. This is fairly complex in structure and not easy listening material, but that´s of course the attraction of it...the inpenetrable gloom, authenticism, and mystery.

"Tumultuous Travelings" features a raw and unpolished sounding production, but the listener is still able to hear everything in the mix and the rawness of the sound production suits the material well. After listening to "Tumultuous Travelings" it´s understandable why Dark Descent Records opted to unearth this demo from whatever shelf it was hidden on or archive it was buried in and make it available to the world. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.