UMUR "Swallow This" is a compilation album by Finnish death metal act Lubricant. The compilation was released through Svart Records in March 2017. Lubricant formed in 1988 under the O.V.D. monicker and released one 1990 speed metal demo under that name before changing their name to Lubricant and with the name change also their music style. Lubricant released two primitive and amaturish death metal demos in late 1990/early 1991 and it wasn´t until November 1991 when they released their third demo "Swallow The Symmetric Swab" that they showed what great potential they had. It took a few years before they released anything else though, but in 1993 they released the "Nookleptia" EP/mini-album through Morbid Records, which ended up being their last release in their original run as they disbanded in 1994.

"Swallow This" is not a chronological full career compilation as it only features the material from the "Swallow The Symmetric Swab" demo and the "Nookleptia" EP/mini-album, which is eleven tracks and a total playing time of 41:17 minutes. But as the first two demos really aren´t that interesting and quite amaturish in execution and sound, "Swallow This" contains everthing you need to hear from Lubricant´s original run.

Lubricant were part of the Nokia scene along with artists like Convulse and Purtenance, but they sound quite different from the other acts on the scene. The five tracks from the "Swallow The Symmetric Swab" demo open the compilation, and they are absolutely brilliant Carcass influenced death metal with a great aggressive and brutal edge, but also quite a few groovy heavy riffs and rhythms. The six tracks from the "Nookleptia" EP/mini-album follow and here Lubricant have evolved into an experimental/eclectic sounding death metal act which were still influenced by Carcass but also incorporate quite a few groove laden riffs and rhythms and a death´n´roll influence to their music. It´s an interesting but also slightly frustrating release, because it´s inconsistent and also features a few oddball silly moments, but the material from both releases are worth the price of admission, with the material from the "Swallow The Symmetric Swab" demo being the most consistent and well working.

Upon conclusion "Swallow This" is a perfect compilation release, which serves the purpose of introducing the listener to the best material released by Lubricant and considering that the two original releases are probably very hard to find, this is a good way to get to listen to them. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Nookleptia" is an EP/mini-album release by Finnish death metal act Lubricant. The EP was released through Morbid Records in 1993. It follows the release of the rather brilliant November 1991 "Swallow The Symmetric Swab" demo. Unfortunately "Nookleptia" ended up being Lubricant´s last release in their original run as they disbanded in 1994. The material from the EP appears on the "Swallow This" compilation album (Svart Records, March 2017).

The material on the six track, 21:45 minutes long EP continues the Carcass influenced death metal style of "Swallow The Symmetric Swab" demo, but adds even more groove and experimental ideas to the mix. This is not groove metal or death´n´roll (even though quite a few parts point in that direction), but rather a pretty experimental and eclectic sounding death metal release. Lubricant obviously don´t care one bit for conventions and they do exactly what they feel like doing. That makes for a very interesting but sometimes also frustrating listen. When the band go from a groovy death´n´roll part directly into a deathgrinding Carcass influenced part it sometimes feels a bit awkward. Other times it works pretty well and it´s all arguably delivered with both great skill, energy, and charm. There´s a gleam in the eye here, which you won´t find on many death metal releases.

"Nookleptia" is relatively well produced, although I could have wished for a more brutal sounding production, but it´s still a well sounding and detailed production job. Upon conclusion Lubricant has released an experimental and intriguing death metal release, but I´m sure it´s a bit of an aquired taste, and those who want their death metal straight forward and not featuring too many oddball experimental moments will probably find this one a hard listen. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Swallow The Symmetric Swab" is the third demo recording by Finnish death metal act Lubricant. The demo was independently released in November 1991. It´s the successor to the February 1991 "Surgical Centesis" demo. Two of the songs from "Surgical Centesis" have been re-recorded and included on "Swallow The Symmetric Swab". The material from the demo appears on the "Swallow This" compilation album (Svart Records, March 2017).

Although Lubricant showed some maturation between their December 1990 "Subscription of Hydatidocele" demo and the February 1991 "Surgical Centesis" demo, both are pretty amaturish, raw, and unpolished death metal recordings, but the band have managed to take a quantum leap with "Swallow The Symmetric Swab", which is an absolutely brilliant death metal demo.

Lubricant are audibly strongly influenced by Carcass, but other than a few parts here and there, they don´t sound like clones, and they have many interesting songwriting ideas which make them sound pretty unique. They have a heavy groove in their music which is pretty unique and the many different vocal styles they use are also a great asset to their music (the odd "humorous" vocals on "Inflammatorious Pulmonectomia" should have been left out if you ask me). Deep growling and aggressive snarling are the dominant vocal styles, but there are also a couple of moments with high pitched screams and some juicy growling.

I´ve listened to quite a few Finnish death metal demos over the years, and "Swallow The Symmetric Swab" is definitely one of the most intriguing, brutal, and creative releases from the early years of the Finnish death metal scene. As the whole thing is also packed in a raw, brutal, and detailed sounding production job, there are few complaints and a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Surgical Centesis" is the second demo recording by Finnish death metal act Lubricant. The demo was independently released in February 1991. It´s the successor to the December 1990 "Subscription of Hydatidocele" demo.

Only a few months down the line and Lubricant have improved. They are slightly more tight playing, and the three tracks on the 12:17 minutes long demo are a bit more focused, although oddball moments like the duck quacking on "Inflammatorious Pulmonectomia" still occur. But especially the vocals are more brutal and aggressive this time around, and the music has also become darker, heavier, and faster. It´s not a perfect release by any means, and I´d still put it in the amatur end of the spectrum when dealing with late 80s/early 90s death metal demos, but at least it shows some promise, which I can´t say I heard on the "Subscription of Hydatidocele" demo. A 2.5 star (50%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Subscription of Hydatidocele" is the first demo recording by Finnish death metal act Lubricant. The demo was independently released in December 1990. Just nine months before the release of "Subscription of Hydatidocele", Lubricant worked under the O.V.D. and played speed metal, so the name change was the least significant change which happened in the those nine months. Going from playing speed metal to death metal in just nine months is something a bit out of the ordinary.

Of course when you listen to the material on "Subscription of Hydatidocele", Lubricant hadn´t yet matured completely into a death metal act. They still had a heavy Hellhammer/Celtic Frost influence and at times even some hardcore punk influences in their music. So this is generally a very primitive and immature take on playing death metal, and the same can be said about the sound quality which is very raw and unpolished too. The guitar tone isn´t that great and the bass is way too high in the mix. The vocals vary between aggressive shouting, screaming, and deeper growling, and even a couple of completely out-of-key clean notes.

The oddball moments makes you wonder if Lubricant really mean business or if this was just recorded during a night of heavy drinking. It´s not an early death metal demo that I can recommend, and thankfully Lubricant would get much better on subsequent releases. A 2 star (40%) rating is warranted.