UMUR Idolatry is the 3rd full-length studio album by US thrash metal act Devastation. The album was released in 1991 by Combat Records.

The music style on Idolatry hasn´t changed much since the release of Signs of Life (1989). The music that Devastation play on Idolatry is still US thrash metal heavily influenced by Dark Angel. Fast, fierce and energetic thrash metal with a brutal edge that´s probably in large part due to the Morrisound Studios, Scott Burns production. This is one of the most brutal sounding thrash metal recordings around. Had the vocals been growls, Idolatry could have sat next to an album like Spiritual Healing (1990) by Death. That´s not the case though and the vocals on Idolatry are aggressive shouting type vocals instead.

The album contains 8 quality thrash metal tracks and while the songs still sound a bit too much the same, the band have worked on creating more hooks and that trick works to a certain extent. It´s still the brutal thrashy energy that´s the real force in Devastation´s music and that part of the music works like a charm on this album.

Idolatry ended up being the last album released by Devastation before they split-up, but it´s actually quite a shame, because with this album I really feel that Devastation were on their way to creating something very special. I still think Idolatry is lacking in places ( especially the vocals could have been more varied), but overall it´s a very good US thrash metal album deserving a 3.5 star rating ( almost a 4).

UMUR Signs of Life is the 2nd full-length studio album by US thrash metal act Devastation. The album was released in October 1989 by Combat Records.

The music on the album more or less continue the Dark Angel influenced thrash metal style of the debut album Violent Termination (1987) but there´s a world of difference when it comes to the actual quality of the music. While the debut sounded old fashioned, untight and uninspired, Signs of Life is a much more energetic and tightly played thrash metal album. I´m still not the greatest fan of lead vocalist Rodney Dunsmore though. His performance here is decent but he still sounds out of breath to me and at times it´s like he has a hard time keeping up with the fast music and therefore the pronunciation of the words sounds sloppy. It´s not something that ruins my experience but it´s not a plus in my book either. The 9 tracks on the 34:05 minute long album are all quality thrash metal tracks but personally I could have done with a bit more variation and some memorable hooks. After a couple of tracks I´m beginning to think that the songs sound too much the same.

The musicianship is one of the greatest assests on the album. Tight playing, great guitar solos and fierce energy. The instrumental side of the music is not lacking.

The production is raw but powerful. It´s a pretty time-typical sound for late eighties thrash metal.

Signs of Life is overall a good thrash metal album and fans of Dark Angel will probably find it excellent. A 3 star rating is warranted.

UMUR Violent Termination is the debut full-length studio album by US thrash metal act Devastation. The album was released in 1987 by Zombo Records. Violent Termination was reissued on CD in 1996 by Defiled Records. That version features 4 live bonus tracks.

The music on Violent Termination is old school US thrash metal. I´m reminded of early Dark Angel. I was introduced to Devastation through their second and third full-length studio albums Signs of Life (1989) and Idolatry (1991), which are both some pretty well played and powerful thrash metal albums, so I expected a lot from Violent Termination. Unfortunately I have a hard time saying much positive about this album. The playing it pretty untight, the production is messy and the songs lack memorable hooks. The worst is the vocals by Rodney Dunsmore though. He sounds like he couldn´t bother less. It´s like he doesn´t really know if he should sing or talk. I don´t sense that Devastation sweat blood and broke bones when they recorded Violent Termination and the album ultimately leaves me quite frustrated. The music also sound a bit too old school when compared to other thrash metal releases from 1987. It sounds like Devastation had already recorded the album in 1984 or 1985 and only had luck to release it in 1987. Those years were crucial in the development of thrash metal and it´s like the band just skipped them.

The more I listen the more I find the album weak and uninspired so a 2 star rating is warranted. If I were new to Devastation I´d skip right to their next two albums.