UMUR "Moments in the Infinite" is an EP release by Danish death/doom metal act Caustic. The EP was released through Shiver Records in 1994 and it was the band´s only label release before they disbanded in 1997. Caustic was formed around 90/91 and released the "An Integral Sense (1991)" and the "Timid Reality (1992" demos before being signed to Shiver Records for the release of "Moments in the Infinite".

The EP features 3 tracks and a full playing time of 19:01 minutes. The title track and "Victims of Ignorance" are both new tracks while "Lacrymose Progeny" is taken directly off the "Timid Reality (1992" demo and therefore also features a different sound production. Stylistically the two new tracks pretty much continues the melodic and relatively progressive death/doom metal style of "Timid Reality (1992", although the music is predominantly a little faster paced than the music on the demo and there are some more rock oriented guitar solos featured too.

The sound production on the two new tracks is slightly more raw than the case is with "Lacrymose Progeny", but it´s still a quality sound production that doesn´t necessarily sound like it´s for demo material. Caustic are as usual a very well playing band playing both heavy riffs, acoustic sections, melodic leads/harmonies, fusion influenced drumming, and delivering aggressive growling vocals.

Upon conclusion "Moments in the Infinite" is another quality release by Caustic, although I must admit to being slightly disappointed about the direction of the two new tracks as I think the material on the "Timid Reality (1992" demo is generally a bit more interesting. Still this is a quality release deserving a 3.5 star (70%) rating.

UMUR "Timid Reality" is a cassette tape demo release by Danish, Esbjerg based death/doom metal act Caustic. The demo is the band´s second release and it was released in July 1992.

"Timid Reality" can almost be considered a full-length studio album, with 7 tracks and a full playing time of 43:00 minutes. The sound production is professional, powerful, and detailed (co-produced with prolific Danish producer Jacob Hansen), and considering that "Timid Reality" is a 1992 death metal demo and compared to the sound quality on many contemporary death metal demo releases, it´s almost impossible to believe that this is actually a demo. At this point Caustic had also forged a death/doom metal style that was pretty original for the time. The "An Integral Sense (1991)" demo showed great promise and the introduction of the band´s unique fusion influenced drumming style, but on "Timid Reality" that style is in full bloom.

Drummer Carsten Gierlevsen is the most remarkable musician on the demo, and his playing makes Caustic´s death/doom metal style stand out among their contemporaries and also provides the music with a progressive touch. The structures of the tracks are relatively progressive too though, and this is fairly intriguing music with both heavy riffs, melancholic leads/harmonies, clean guitar sections, and Søren Jansen´s distinct sounding snarling growls in front.

So upon conclusion "Timid Reality" is a high quality demo release by Caustic. The only issue I have is that some of the tracks feature sections which aren´t as interesting as the best material on the album. But tracks like "Lacrymose Progeny" and the title track pull in the positive direction. Even featuring a few compositional flaws, I´ll still call it one of the greatest Danish death metal demos from that time and a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is fully deserved (and that´s maybe even a slightly too low rating).

UMUR "An Integral Sense" is a cassette demo tape release by Danish, Esbjerg based death/doom metal act Caustic. The demo is the band´s first release and it was released in October 1991.

"An Integral Sense" features 4 tracks and a full playing time of 15:29 minutes. "Beyond the Incessible Barriers" is a short intro track, while the remaining three tracks are "regular" length death/doom metal tracks. The material is relatively well written and intriguing, and in addition to heavy doomy riffs, the listener is also exposed to an aggressive and quite convincing growling vocalist, and some melancholic guitar leads. I hear a slight nod towards very early Paradise Lost, but Caustic have something the British band never had, and that´s slightly adventurous fusion influenced drumming, which makes the music on the demo a bit different from other contemporary releases. It´s a drumming style Caustic would develop upon further on their next demo.

The sound production is pretty raw and lo-fi, which isn´s surprising when considering that "An Integral Sense" is an early 90s death metal cassette tape demo. To my ears the band got the best out of what they had to work with though, and the sound suits the music well. It´s not many Danish death metal acts from that time which stood out as anything special or original, and Caustic certainly isn´t the most original sounding act out there either on this release, but they show an intention to write original material and that´s always praise worthy. A 3 star (60%) rating is deserved.