UMUR "Infestation of Evil" is the second demo release by Swedish death metal act Carnage. The demo was independently released in November 1989. It´s the successor to "The Day Man Lost..." demo from January 1989. Since the release of the first demo the Carnage lineup has been altered with only guitarist Michael Amott and vocalist Johan Liiva remaining from the original lineup. New in the lineup are drummer Fred Estby and bassist Johnny Dordevic.

Stylistically the 2 tracks on the 9:41 minutes long demo are still influenced by the early goregrind releases by Carcass, but they are generally a bit slower, darker, and more brutal than the material on "The Day Man Lost...", so this is more a grindcore/death metal hybrid than a pure grindcore release like the first demo was. Both tracks from the demo ("Torn Apart" and "Infestation of Evil") would be re-recorded and included on Carnage´s debut full-length studio album "Dark Recollections" (November 1990, Necrosis Records), where they sound quite different from the demo versions here.

"Infestation of Evil" features a raw, murky, and brutal sounding production job, which suits the material perfectly. This is authentic, unpolished, and savage sounding, but still featuring a sound quality which is listenable. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "The Day Man Lost..." is the first demo release by Swedish death metal/grindcore act Carnage. The demo was independently released in January 1989. Carnage formed in 1988 under the Global Carnage monicker, but soon changed their name to Carnage. This early trio incarnation of the band features guitarist Michael Amott, drummer Jeppe Larsson, and vocalist/bassist Johan Liiva. Amott would subsequently go on to extreme metal stardom with first Carcass and then Arch Enemy, while Liiva would play in many different bands after Carnage. Among them the early incarnation of Arch Enemy, but also acts like Furbowl and Hearse, so Carnage was arguably one of the seminal acts on the early Swedish death metal scene. Not just because of the later success of some of the members but also because Carnage´s debut album "Dark Recollections" (November 1990, Necrosis Records) is one of the earliest Swedish death metal releases.

On "The Day Man Lost..." Carnage don´t really play death metal though, but instead a strongly Carcass influenced grindcore style. Fast blasting, murky, and featuring juicy unintelligible growling vocals. 3 tracks and a total playing time of 4:36 minutes and that´s it...it´s worth noting that none of the tracks from this demo made it unto "Dark Recollections".

The sound quality is decent enough considering that this is a late 80s grindcore demo, and compared to the sound quality on "Flesh Ripping Sonic Torment" (1987) and "Reek of Putrefaction" (1988), which are probably the two Carcass releases Carnage were influenced by at this point, "The Day Man Lost..." is actually pretty decent sounding. It´s obvious that Carnage hadn´t found their own sound at this point, but on the other hand the quality of the material, the performances, and the sound production are all of a decent quality and a 2.5 - 3 star (55%) rating isn´t all wrong.

UMUR "Dark Recollections" is the debut full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act Carnage. The album was released through Relativity/Earache Records in February 1990. There´s a twist to the release story though as "Dark Recollections" was originally paired with "Hallucinating Anxiety (1990)" by Norwegian death metal act Cadaver for a split release through Necrosis/Earache Records and "Dark Recollections" was only later in the year released as an independent album. Carnage started out as goregrind act in the vein of early Carcass, but quickly changed their sound to death metal. The band was started by guitarist/bassist Michael Amott and he is the sole founding member left in the lineup for this release. The other members of the lineup on "Dark Recollections" all came from a recently disbanded Dismember. Fred Estby plays the drums, Matti Kärki handles the vocals and David Blomqvist plays guitar. This lineup would also be a temporary one though as Michael Amott would soon leave to join Carcass and the three remaining members would reform Dismember.

The music on "Dark Recollections" is old school Swedish death metal. Recorded in the Sunlight Studios and produced by Fred Estby, Mike Amott and Tomas Skogsberg. The album has the typical brutal, fat buzzing sound that many early nineties Swedish death metal releases feature. The music is simple and brutal, yet effective and quite catchy. "Left Hand Path (1990)" by Entombed and "Like an Everflowing Stream (1991)" by Dismember are the closests relatives and valid references (in addition to sharing several members Dismember re-recorded some Carnage tracks so that reference is pretty obvious). Just like those two albums, "Dark Recollections" also features a Dan Seagrave cover artwork.

"Dark Recollections" is one of those classic Swedish death metal albums that you have to listen to in order to gain understanding of the old school Swedish death metal style. It´s a seminal death metal album from the early nineties but it´s not just a classic album it´s also a quality one within the genre, featuring decent playing, good songwriting, and a powerful sound production. It´s one of those albums that actually deserves the classic stamp. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is warranted.