UMUR "Embrace the World" is the 3rd album (and the last in their original run) by Dutch power metal act Harrow. The album was released through Power Records in March 1999. It´s the successor to "Call of the Unborn" from 1996 and features one lineup change since the predecessor as drummer Ferry Bult has been replaced by Martin Kuipers.

Stylistically the material on "Embrace the World" continue the dark and heavy power metal style (with progressive metal and thrash metal leanings) of the two predecessors. At this point Harrow have perfected their sound and style and there are therefore few surprises when listening to the album. What you do get here is high quality songwriting, high level musical performances (including a skilled and powerful vocalist in Frank van Gerwen), and a heavy and powerful sounding production, which suits the material perfectly.

I´m often blown away by the powerful nature of the riffs and heavy rhythms, and the vocals are a great asset too. Although van Gerwen can hit the high notes when that is needed, he is predominantly a more aggressive and raw sounding power metal singer, and it definitely adds to the impression of "Embrace the World" as a heavy and dark power metal release. Upon conclusion "Embrace the World" is another quality release from Harrow and although they are seldom mentioned among the greats when it comes to power metal, they certainly could deserve a little more attention. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Call of the Unborn" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Dutch power metal act Harrow. The album was released through A 2 Z in 1996. Harrow formed as far back as 1982 and released the "Fearful Awakening" demo in 1991 and the "The Rising Phoenix" EP in 1993, before releasing their debut full-length studio album "The Pylon of Insanity" in 1994. There has been one lineup change since the predecessor as bassist Johnny Fraterman has been replaced by Freddy Meyer.

"The Pylon of Insanity (1994)" featured a darker and much heavier sound than the more melodic and less heavy early releases by the band. That trend is continued on "Call of the Unborn" which is predominantly also a very dark and heavy power metal release with progressive metal and thrash metal leanings. "Call of the Unborn" is a relaltively varied album though, and it also features a couple of power ballad type tracks, and Harrow are actually a bit hard to label. They tread a fine line between the raw and heavy (semi-thrashy at times) and the more melodic and at times even progressive. The combination of genre elements works well for Harrow and the material is generally both well written and effective. You can bang your head to the heavy riffs and rhythms, but you can also sing along or marvel at the technical skills of the band.

Lead vocalist Frank van Gerwen has a strong voice and a passionate delivery. He mostly sings raw (yet still melodic) on this album, but he can hit the higher notes when that is needed. The original version of album features 12 tracks and full playing time of 70:18 minutes, so it´s a very long album. It´s not really an issue here though as the quality is high throughout. The Japanese version of the album features two bonus tracks (a cover of "Road Racing" by Riot and a cover of "Back on My Feet" by Vanderberg). "Call of the Unborn" is upon conclusion a high quality power metal album and it is fully on par with "The Pylon of Insanity (1994)" if not a notch up in quality from that album. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "The Pylon of Insanity" is the debut full-length studio album by Dutch power metal act Harrow. The album was released through Noise Records in 1994. Harrow formed as far back as 1982 and released the "Fearful Awakening" demo in 1991 and the "The Rising Phoenix" EP in 1993.

With the rather drastic change in sound between the material on "The Rising Phoenix (1993)" and the material on "The Pylon of Insanity", my guess is that the former was probably written over several years. Maybe some of the material was even written in the 80s but wasn´t released until 1993, and by that time Harrow already played a different style, but felt the old material was too good to not release (and they were right about that). Let´s just establish that the melodic US power influenced heavy metal, which predominantly featured an uplifting spirit, which was the dominant sound on the EP is not how the material sounds on "The Pylon of Insanity". Instead Harrow now play a darker and more heavy semi-progressive/US power metal style with the occasional raw nod towards thrash metal. Surprisingly there have been zero lineup changes as the two releases could easily have been recorded by two completely different acts.

Harrow are well playing and their new darker and more aggressive style of music suits them pretty well, although they also excelled in the more melodic US power/heavy metal style on "The Rising Phoenix (1993)" EP, and "The Pylon of Insanity" does still feature some sections which remind me of the style on the predecessor (an example is the chorus on "Road to Nowhere"). The riffs are mostly heavy and sharp though and the rhythms equally so. Lead vocalist Frank van Gerwen can still hit the high notes when needed, but he predominantly sings a little more raw here. "The Pylon of Insanity" features a heavy and powerful sounding production job, and upon conclusion it´s a quality debut album by Harrow. I´m a little surprised about the more heavy and dark direction that Harrow have opted to take on this album, but mostly I´m pleasantly surprised. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "The Rising Phoenix" is an EP release by Dutch power metal act Harrow. The EP was independently released in 1993, but saw a label reissue in 1998 through the Japanese Soundholic Co. Ltd. label. The reissue features no less than six bonus tracks in addition to the original seven tracks on the EP. Harrow formed as far back as 1982 and released the "Fearful Awakening" demo in 1991.

So Harrow existed quite a few years before releasing "The Rising Phoenix" and indeed they also sound very seasoned. They are skilled musicians and lead vocalist Frank van Gerwen has a strong voice and high pitched delivery. Although Harrow are an European band their style of music is actually closer to more melodic version of US power metal than the European version of power metal (although they certainly have elements from that sound too). They also have some traditional heavy metal traits, and I´m sometimes reminded slightly of Iron Maiden. There´s also the occacionally more uplifting anthemic hard rock/heavy rock part featured on the album and in those moments a band like Van Halen isn´t all wrong to mention as an influence (listen to "Moneymaker" for proof of that). This is generally just hard pounding, heavy, and melodic power/heavy metal though. They also master more dymanic tracks which the closing power ballad "Stonecold" is an example of.

"The Rising Phoenix" features a well sounding and professionally recorded sound production, and it´s not audible that this is an independent release. The material on this EP is fully on par with the quality of material by similar styled artists like early Fates Warning, early Queensrÿche, and Crimson Glory, and it´s probably fans of artists like those, who would be interested in "The Rising Phoenix". A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

Time Signature The Strength of the metal...

Genre: power metal

A lot of power metal tends to be pompuous, often bordering on the extremely cheesy. Now, this pompuousity and cheesiness has very much become an integral part of the pwer metal genre. Generally, I have no problem with this, but sometimes I think it can be too much. And then it's refreshing with power metal bands who focus on the power and on the metal and less on being epic and pompuous, such as Nevermore, Rawhead Rexx, Vicious Rumors, and Harrow.

Harrow's fourth and last album "Embrace the World" is a power metal effort which draws on thrash metal and some traditional heavy metal. While there are some symphonic tendencies on this album, the focus is on power, melody and heavy metal guitars, and the symphonic effects are kept in the background. There are also some unusual elements, which reflect a sort of progressive mindset, such as the saxophone solo on "Life Lies Down".

"Life Lies Down" is a noteworthy track because of the sax solo. Another stand-out track is the King Diamond-esque "Masquerade of War" as is the title track "Embrace the World" which is almost a regular progressive metal track.

I think that fans of traditional metal and power metal who need a break from cheesiness will appreciate this album, which is a very good power metal album. Perhaps some thrash metal fans will like it, too.