UMUR "Symbols For The Blue Times" is the 3rd full-length studio album by German thrash/heavy metal act Depressive Age. The album was released through GUN Records in 1994. It´s the successor to "Lying in Wait" from 1993 and marks a change in musical style for Depressive Age.

The first two albums were more or less sibling albums featuring a similar technically well played thrash metal style with progressive elements and both also featured a similar sounding production. "Symbols For The Blue Times" still features the occasional thrash metal riff and rhythm, but it´s predominantly not a thrash metal release. The music is dark, heavy, and melancholic heavy metal. It´s still unmistakably the sound of Depressive Age, but it´s very much due to the distinct sounding voice and delivery of lead vocalist Jan Lubitzki. His voice and singing style define the music and ensure a unique sound and music style. His distinct sounding voice is probably an aquired taste, but those who enjoy dark and slightly gothic tinged vocals performed with great passion (it sometimes sounds like he is crying while singing) and loads of melancholy should find a lot to enjoy here.

The material is relatively diverse and some tracks are dark and somber while others are a bit more uplifting and energetic. The album also features a couple of ballad/power ballad type tracks/moments, where "Port Graveyard" stands out as the strongest and most memorable. Other highlights include the quite charming and uplifting "Garbage Canyons" and the thrashy "We Hate Happy Ends", but "Symbols For The Blue Times" is overall a consistent release featuring very few weak moments. On the other hand it´s not an album featuring many standout tracks and there are a couple of tracks I don´t remember as well as others after the album has ended. I wouldn´t call those tracks filler material because I enjoy them while they are playing, but a few more standout tracks wouldn´t have hurt. Featuring 13 tracks and a total playing time of 56:25 it could be argued that it´s a couple of songs too long, or at least that it would have stood stronger with a little trimming of the fat.

Depressive Age are a well playing band and everything is delivered with skill and the right organic touch to make the music alive and to create the melancholic atmosphere which is so important for the band´s music. The sound production is dark and heavy, which suits some of the tracks well, but other tracks could to my ears have prospered from a slightly less dark sound. Upon conclusion "Symbols For The Blue Times" came as a bit of a surprise for contemporary listeners and critics, and you´ll find very different opinions about the album out there. Some are disappointed that Depressive Age more or less shed their thrash metal roots, and some even accuse the band of jumpin on the alternative rock/metal wagon, which was popular at the time of the album´s release, and while there certainly are the occasional nod toward the most heavy end of that scene (Alice in Chains comes to mind), this is still first and foremost a heavy metal album with thrash metal and semi-progressive leanings. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Lying in Wait" is the 2nd full-length studio album by German thrash metal act Depressive Age. The album was released through GUN Records in 1993. It´s the successor to "First Depression" from 1992 and it features the exact same quintet lineup who recorded the predecessor. Depressive Age formed in East-Berlin in 1984 under the Blackout monicker but changed their name to Depressive Age in 1988. Most of the band fled to West-Berlin during the last years of the cold war, but lead vocalist Jan Lubitzki was caught during his escape and was sentenced to spend a year in jail for the failed escape attempt.

The material on "Lying in Wait" continue the semi-progressive thrash/heavy metal style of "First Depression (1992)" and the two albums are in many ways sibling releases. They feature a similar musical style and also a sound production which is pretty similar on both releases (featuring the same thin sounding drum production and guitar tone). "Lying in Wait" is maybe slightly more sophisticated in the songwriting department but to my ears it´s details. Lubitzki´s distinct sounding voice and singing style (and the strong melancholy in his delivery) is defining for the sound of Depressive Age (as is his strong German accent) and although they are often labelled thrash metal and they arguably share some traits with that genre, "Lying in Wait" (just like its predecessor) isn´t really what most people would perceive as a thrash metal release.

Depressive Age are a far more eclectic act and they include elements from both thrash metal (of the more technical kind), traditional heavy metal, and progressive metal. They even include death metal vocals on the closing track "Eternal Twins", although that is a one of. "Eternal Twins" is one of the highlights of the album, featuring lyrics about a good and an evil twin. Lubitzki performs the role of the good twin singing clean vocals while guest vocalist Peter Habermann plays the role of the evil twin and performs the aggressive growling vocals. A music video was made for the track which aired on MTV´s Headbangers´s Ball, and gave Depressive Age quite a bit of exposure.

Other highlights include "Berlin", "Way Out", and "Where", but "Lying in Wait" is a strong and very unique listen throughout. It´s an album for the more adventure seeking thrash/heavy metal listener, and it´s definitely recommeded to that type of audience. If you solely crave more traditional sounding thrash metal this is probably not for you. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "First Depression" is the debut full-length studio album by German thrash metal act Depressive Age. The album was released through GUN Records in March 1992. The band formed in East-Berlin in 1984 under the Blackout monicker but changed their name to Depressive Age in 1988. Seeking freedom the band fled to West-Berlin, but lead vocalist Jan Lubitzki was caught during his escape and was sentenced to spend a year in jail for the failed escape attempt. So Depressive Age are an act with rough real-life experiences and the scars to prove it.

Maybe that´s the reason why the band´s early albums are such dark and intriguing releases, and the reason why Lubitzki has a convincing desperate tone to his singing that you can feel isn´t theatrics. There´s definitely some real pain and despair on display here and it burns through. The best example is the heartbreaking "Innocent In Detention", where Lubitzki sings about his incarceration at an East German prison. Descriptions of forced labor in freezing cold, and physical and mental torture. The vocal lines: "And when the columns marching, To the place where we work so hard, Out in the cold, I am so tired, This, wintertime has no end, The sound of the boots is always there, It keeps waking me up", create strong images of JLubitzki´s struggles and tribulations in my mind. His vocal style is otherwise a bit hard to describe as he is a very versatile singer, able to sing both in lower registers and very high registers too (listen to his almost hysterical high pitched singing on "Never Be Blind"). He masters both raw and more melodic singing.

The music style on "First Depression" is also a bit hard to describe. I guess thrash metal is correct to a degree, as the music features both thrashy riffs and rhythms, but the album features many other elements too, and there is definitely a progressive/adventurous edge to the procedings that you don´t hear on many other thrash metal releases. It´s fairly technical music, but it´s not tech thrash and the predominantly vers/chorus structured tracks don´t exactly scream progressive metal either, so it´s more a matter of displaying a progressive attitude and having a unique sound.

"First Depression" features a sound production which is decent, but overall feels a little disjointed. The instruments don´t really geel and the impression is that the guitars sound a little thin and the drums are a little too dominant in the mix and feature a slightly unpleasant tone. So it´s definitely one of the features of the album which could have been better. "First Depression" is however still a quality debut release by Depressive Age, featuring an unusual take on thrash metal and a very unique sounding vocalist in Lubitzki, who also treats the listener to some very interesting lyrical subjects. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Electric Scum" is the 4th full-length studio album by German metal act Depressive Age. The album was released in 1996 by GUN / BMG. "Electric Scum" was the last studio album released under the Depressive Age monicker as the group changed their name to D-Age around 1999. Depressive Age started out as an alternative/ slightly progressive thrash metal act but on the band´s third full-length studio album "Symbols For The Blue Times (1994)" the thrash metal elements were few and far between. That development continues on "Electric Scum", which is anything but a straight thrash metal album.

The music on "Electric Scum" isn´t as such classifiable, but I´d say the alternative metal tag is as good a tag as anything. The music on the album features heavy groove metal riffing, clean guitars, synths, simple song structures and Jan Lubitzki´s distinct, strongly accented and melancholic but also flamboyant vocals. It´s not to neglect the importance of the instrumental part of the band´s music but it´s Jan Lubitzki´s deep register voice that ensures Depressive Age a signature sound. He is quite a unique vocalist.

The 12 track, 44:27 minutes long album is consistent in quality but there are only a few songs that stick out as real highlights. The opening title track is probably the strongest track on the album, but songs like "Cairo Crabat", "Polar Athletic Son", the Bronski Beat cover track "Small Town Boy" and the latin influenced "Companero Song" are also among the stronger tracks on the album. Too many of the other tracks are forgotten before the album is over though and it´s a bit of a shame as it´s evident from listening to some of the above mentioned highlights that Depressive Age have a lot to offer when they shine.

While "Electric Scum" isn´t the best Depressive Age album IMO, it´s still an adventurous and very unique sounding album. It´s probably very much an aquired taste if you´ll enjoy their eclectic music style, but they certainly were an interesting acquaintance in those alternative nineties. A 3 - 3.5 star rating is deserved. I´ll bump it up to a 3.5 because of the obvious will to create something unique.