UMUR "Demo Tapes 1990 - 1991" is a compilation release by Finnish death metal act Anathema. The compilation was released through Dark Blasphemies Records in September 2015. Anathema formed in 1989 under the Funeration monicker and recorded two demo tracks in December 1990 under thta monicker before changing their name to Anathema. The two Funeration tracks have remained unreleased until now, as they have been included on "Demo Tapes 1990 - 1991", along with the material from Anathemas two 1991 demos "Promo 1991" and "Demo II".

The two Funeration tracks are early versions of the two "Demo II" tracks "Perdition" and "First Symptoms of Rotting", so while the compilation features eight tracks and a total playing time of 32:42 minutes (and features all recorded material by Funeration/Anathema), there are actually only 6 original compisitions on the compilation.

"Demo Tapes 1990 - 1991" opens with the two tracks from the "Promo 1991", which featur the best sounding audio quality of the tracks featured on the compilation. The tracklist continues with the four tracks from the May 1991 "Demo II", and Anathema have opted for a darker, murkier, and even more gloomy and morbid old school death metal style on that release. The growling vocals have a juicy phlegmatic quality to them that´s pretty vile. "Demo Tapes 1990 - 1991" closes with the two Funeration tracks, which not surprisingly feature a very raw sounding production job, but otherwise actually sound pretty great.

"Demo Tapes 1990 - 1991" is for fans of the most murky, morbid, and gloomy sounding part of the old school Finnish death metal scene, and the material in this album is a great example of why that particular scene had a lot to offer. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Demo II" is the second demo cassette tape release by Finnish death metal act Anathema. It succeeds the band´s early 1991 promo tape and it was released in May 1991. It would be the band´s last release as they split-up shortly after the release of the demo. The four tracks from this demo were included on the 2015 Anathema compilation album "Demo Tapes 1990-1991", along with the two tracks from the 1991 promo tape, and two unreleased demo tracks recorded in December 1990 by pre-Anathema band Funeration (which are actually early renditions of "Perdition" and "First Symptoms of Rotting" from this demo).

The material on this demo continue the filthy, murky, an morbid sounding old school death metal style of the early 1991 promo tape, but this demo is darker, murkier, and even more gloomy and doomy (although the band also play faster on occasion). The growling vocals have also changed towards a more unintelligible phlegmatic juicy growl (which almost sound like they are spoken into the microphone). This rather vile sounding sludgy vocal style and the occasionally non-tuned guitars provide the music with a raw and authentic atmosphere.

The sound production is pretty raw and lo-fi but ultimately suits the unpolished nature of the material. Of course this is far from studio album sound quality, but there´s still something greatly charming about these recordings. A 3 star (60%) is warranted.

UMUR "Promo 1991" is the first demo cassette tape released by Finnish death metal act Anathema. It was recorded and released shortly after the band had changed their name from Funeration. They actually recorded two demo tracks in December 1990 under the Funeration monicker but they were not officially released back then. Instead the two Funeration tracks would be included on the 2015 Anathema compilation album "Demo Tapes 1990-1991" along with the two tracks from this promo tape and the four tracks from the "Demo II" demo tape from March 1991.

Stylistically the two tracks on the 7:14 minutes long demo are old school death metal to the bone. There´s the right gloomy and morbid atmosphere to the material, the growling vocals sound like they come from a mouth filled with rot, and the brutality level is set to maximum. Anathema are fairly well playing considering that this is an early demo release by a very young band, and the two tracks are pretty decent old school death metal tunes too. Predominanlty heavy and mid-paced, but also featuring slow doomy parts.

The sound production is in the better end of early 90s old school death metal demo sound qualities. It´s raw and unpolished, but you are able to hear all details. Upon conclusion this is a promising start for Anathema and a 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.