UMUR "The Age Of The Offended" is the fifth full-length studio album by Norwegian death metal act Cadaver (the sixth if you count the 2001 Cadaver Inc album as part of the band´s discography). The album was released through Nuclear Blast in July 2023. It´s the successor to "Edder & Bile" from November 2020, which was a comeback album for Cadaver after a 16 year long recording break. Band founder Neddo (guitars, bass, vocals) enlisted prolific drummer Dirk Verbeuren (Megadeth, Aborted, Scarve, Soilwork...etc.) and created a duo lineup and it´s the same duo lineup who has recorded "The Age Of The Offended".

After a short intro ("Sycophants Swing") the first "regular" track "Postapocalyptic Grinding" may have you believe that "The Age Of The Offended" is just a continuation of "Edder & Bile" as it´s similar in style to the sharp, aggressive, and fast-paced death metal of the preceding album, but the further you get into the album, you´ll come to realise that Cadaver have done what they always do...create a unique album which somehow still ends up sounding unmistakably like them. It´s actually mostly the production values which are somewhat similar between the two albums and of course the core style, but Cadaver make sure to challenge both themselves and their audience several times during the album´s playing time. So prepare to have a few curve balls thrown your way.

While it´s contempoary Carcass which I´m predominantly reminded of Cadaver are still a different kind of beast and they successfully add both hardcore punk, traces of industrial metal, thrash metal, and traditional heavy metal elements to their death metal sound. Sometimes Neddo sings in a blackened snarling vocal style and sometimes he uses a more rough and hoarse vocal style.

Upon conclusion "The Age Of The Offended" is another high quality release from Cadaver, and I´m extremely content that "Edder & Bile" wasn´t just a one-off comeback album. Hopefully Cadaver have even further album releases in them. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

Kev Rowland It may have taken Cadaver 16 years to return with their fifth album, but the same line-up of Neddo (vocals, guitar, bass) and Dirk Verbeuren (drums) have produced the sixth after only three. I was quite a fan of ‘Edder & Bile’ and was intrigued to hear what the latest one would be like, and I was not disappointed. One of the joys of Cadaver is that while they are renowned for being a death metal band, formed some 35 years ago by Neddo and others, they are always looking to do something quite different. This time around they commence with “Sycophants Swing” which is what a jazz band would sound like if they were trapped in an asylum and forced to play the same tune for 20 or 30 years, and one can only wonder what will come next.

That next is “Postapocalyptic Grinding” where Dirk shows he can blast as well as anyone and they straddle the boundaries of death and grind, yet when they come to tracks such as “Dissolving Chaos” the result is something that is far slower and almost power metal in its approach but with some black metal overtones. This is an extreme metal album which refuses to sit solidly within just one genre and instead keeps showing what they are capable of, with their cover of “Deadly Metal” being pure thrash from beginning to end. Norwegian metal legend Ronni Le Tekrø, guitarist with old school heroes TNT, can be heard shredding like a madman all over the album. He originally came in just to play a blistering solo on that track but had so much fun he stayed! It is also interesting to note that double-bass maestro Eilert Solstad, who performed on Cadaver’s second album, 1992’s ‘....In Pains’, returns on the murderous ‘Scum Of The Earth’, adding scabrous textures and subterranean tones.

Neddo recently fought cancer and came out the other side, and has used that experience to motivate himself even more, the result being an exciting album from a band who are pointedly refusing to rest on their laurels but instead are out to show there is plenty of life in them yet.

UMUR "D.G.A.F." ("Don´t Give A Fuck") is an EP release by Norwegian death metal act Cadaver. The EP was released through Nuclear Blast in April 2020. It succeeds the release of the "Circle of Morbidity" single from May 2019 and precedes the release of Cadaver´s comeback album "Edder & Bile" (Nuclear Blast, November 2020) and acts like a teaser release for the full-length album.

The EP features 3 tracks and a total playing time of 10:36 minutes. Judging from the sound production values the material on the EP was pretty surely recorded during the same sessions as the material featured on "Edder & Bile", but left off the full-length album (or probably more correctly saved for this release).

The opening title track is a Carcass influenced affair (which is also obvious from looking at the EP cover), which is of course further strengthened by the fact that Jeff Walker guests on additional vocals. The same can actually be said about both "Deformed Insanity" and "Disgrace", which both also feature a strong Carcass influence. It´s an influence though and Cadaver still sounds like Cadaver and deliver their old school death metal with great energy, brutality, and passion. The addition of Dirk Verbeuren to the ranks has ensured that the drumming on the EP is absolutely top notch and Neddo as always perform snarling vicious vocals, sharp guitar riffs, screaming solos, and suiting bass work. This new duo lineup is positively on fire.

If you´re familiar with and enjoy "Edder & Bile", I can strongly recommned that you check out this EP. It may just be more of the same, but considering the high quality of the material on "Edder & Bile", we want more of the same...a 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Circle of Morbidity" is a one-track single release by Norwegian death metal act Cadaver. The single was independently released in May 2019. A promotional video was also released for the track. "Circle of Morbidity" would later be included as the second track on Cadaver´s fourth (fifth if you count the Cadaver Inc. album) full-length studio album "Edder & Bile" (Nuclear Blast, November 2020).

"Circle of Morbidity" is the first new material from Cadaver since the release of "Necrosis" in 2004. It marks the debut of the new duo lineup of Neddo (guitars, bass, vocals) and Dirk Verbeuren (drums). The song also features guest vocals by Jeff Becerra (Possessed). At the time of release it was a track which signalled to Cadaver´s fans that something special was in the making. This is high quality old school death metal with a snarling blackened vocalist in front. Verbeuren adds a technical dimension to the music, but he keeps his playing on a suiting technical level, and doesn´t overdo anything. He has always been a very tasteful drummer, with a great understanding of what a composition needs...and what it doesn´t. Needless to say that Verbeuren is a great asset to Cadaver.

Featuring a sharp, clear, and raw sounding production job, "Circle of Morbidity" is given the best opportunities to shine and Cadaver manage to make the most of it. This is a great comeback single from one os Norway´s most unique and influential death metal acts, and it shows great promise of what the, at the time, forthcoming full-length studio album ("Edder & Bile") would sound like. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Necrosis" is the 3rd full-length studio album by Norwegian death metal act Cadaver. The album was released through Candlelight Records in 2004. Cadaver released two albums in the early 90s and then disbanded. Guitarist Neddo (Anders Odden) opted to ressurrect the band under the Cadaver Inc name around the turn of the millenium and the band released the "Discipline" album in 2001. It was then decided to continue under the Cadaver name instead, so the band name and release history is a little confusing (is "Necrosis" actually to be considered the 4th full-length studio album by Cadaver or only the third as mentioned above). It´s not less confusing knowing the fact that the "Discipline (2001)" album was recorded by the exact same lineup who also recorded "Necrosis". In addition to Neddo the lineup features Apollyon (Ole Jørgen Moe) on vocals (Dødheimsgard, Aura Noir, Infernö, Immortal...), Czral (Carl-Michael Eide) on drums (Dødheimsgard, Aura Noir, Ved Buens Ende, Virus, Infernö...), and L.J. Balvaz (Lasse Johansen) on bass (Disgusting, Braindead, Balvaz...).

The tone and atmosphere of the album is immediately set with album opener "Necro as Fuck". That title says a lot about what you can expect from the material featured on the 9 track, 34:53 minutes long album. Stylistically the music is slightly less blackened death metal than what the band played on "Discipline (2001)", but still blackened enough not to be labelled pure old school death metal. It´s raw, punishing, aggressive, and pretty surely produced to pulverize anything standing in it´s way, and for that purpose it works well. Frenetic and highly energetic playing, a snarling aggressive vocalist, and just general savage mayhem. This is not for the faint at heart. It´s the kind of album which never lets up. It´s relentlessly aggressive and there is next to nothing even resembling a melody here. When that is said, the band do occasionally shift pace, so there are some heavy parts featured on the album although most of the tracks are performed at breakneck speed.

"Necrosis" features a raw and organic sounding production, which suits the material well. A more polished production would have taken away some of the authentic rawness of the music. Upon conclusion "Necrosis" is a quality blackened death metal release by Cadaver. It´s a natural successor to "Discipline (2001)" (despite the whole name change thing I do consider the two albums to be released by the same band) and it´s fans of that album, more than fans of the first two Cadaver albums, who will find "Necrosis" most satisfying. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.