UMUR "Across the Holocaust" is a one-track single release by Swedish thrash/death metal act Obscurity. The single was released through To the Death Records in September 2011. Obscurity formed in 1985 and released the "Ovations to Death" (December 1986) demo and the "Damnations Pride" (December 1987) demo before disbanding in 1988. They shortly reunited in 1992 and released a two-song demo, but they soon split-up again. "Across the Holocaust" is not new original material from a reunited Obscurity, but rather a re-release of the opening track from the "Ovations to Death" demo.

"Across the Holocaust" showcases the raw thrash/proto-death metal sound of Obscurity well. The track has strong ties to the raw German thrash metal scene, complete with fast-paced thrashy riffs, pounding drums, and raw snarling staccato delivered vocals. It´s aggressive, intense, and energetic, and although it´s not the most unique sounding track from those days, it´s still well performed, relatively well written, and pretty good sounding considering that "Across the Holocaust" is culled from a 1986 demo. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Damnations Pride" is a compilation albm release by Swedish thrash/proto-death metal act Obscurity. The compilation was released in 1998 through Scarlet Records. It features all recorded material by Obscurity from the years 1986-1992. Obscurity formed in 1985 and released the "Ovations to Death" (December 1986) demo and the "Damnations Pride" (December 1987) demo before disbanding in 1988. They shortly reunited in 1992 and released a two-song demo, but they soon split-up again.

The tracklist is not presented in chronological order as it opens with the four tracks from the "Damnations Pride" demo, followed by the two tracks from the 1992 demo, and concludes with the six tracks from the "Ovations to Death" demo.

The material from both of the 80s demos are absolutely scorching and brutal thrash metal, which border death-thrash metal, and although the sound production of the material from "Ovations to Death" is a bit rough around the edges, the tracks still shine and have great impact. The four tracks from the "Damnations Pride" demo are great quality thrash metal featuring a slightly more clear sounding production. So far so good...unfortunately the two tracks from the 1992 demo disrupts the flow of the compilation and the otherwise great quality of the material. They should definitely have placed those tracks last on the compilation, as they are in a slightly different style and features some pretty powerful hardcore/crossover influenced vocals, which doesn´t sit well with the caustic snarl of the remaining tracks. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Demo 1992" is the third demo release by Swedish thrash/proto-death metal act Obscurity. The demo was independently released in 1992. Obscurity formed in 1985 and released the "Ovations to Death" demo and the "Damnations Pride" demo before disbanding in 1988. They shortly reunited in 1992 and released this two-song demo, but they soon split-up again. The material from the three demos were compiled and released on the 1998 "Damnations Pride" compilation album (Scarlet Records).

Stylistically the material on "Demo 1992" is pretty different to the raw and aggressive thrash metal of the two preceding demos. The music is still relatively fast-paced and aggressive thrash metal, but the vocals have changed to a relatively powerless hardcore/crossover influenced shouting (which tries to be semi-melodic?), instead of the piercing snarling of the first two demos. The instrumental part of the music is well performed and the demo also features a clear, powerful, and detailed sound production, so it´s actually mostly the vocals which keep this from shining. Still a 2.5 - 3 star (55%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Damnations Pride" is the second demo release by Swedish thrash/proto-death metal act Obscurity. The demo was independently release in December 1987, almost exactly one year after the December 1986 "Ovations to Death" demo. Obscurity formed in 1985 and released the "Ovations to Death" demo and the "Damnations Pride" demo before disbanding in 1988. They shortly reunited in 1992 and released a two-song demo, but they soon split-up again. The material from the three demos were compiled and released on the 1998 "Damnations Pride" compilation album (Scarlet Records).

The material on the four track, 13:02 minutes long demo pretty much continue the raw, aggressive, and savage thrash metal style of the material from the "Ovations to Death" demo. It´s just presented in a more well defined and detailed sounding production. The sound production makes the otherwise highly energetic and raw performances sound almost human compared to the murky and savage asssault of "Ovations to Death", but don´t be fooled here, this is still intense and brutal thrash metal deliverd in high speed mode, with a snarling aggressive vocalist in front. It´s not wonder many of the Swedish death metal acts who emerged in the late 80s/early 90s cite Obscurity as an influence on their music. "Damnations Pride" is not death metal, but the caustic aggression, the brutality, and the high level musical performances, did not go unnoticed among the aspiring Swedish death metal youngsters. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Ovations to Death" is the first demo by Swedish thrash/proto-death metal act Obscurity. The cassette tape demo was independently released in December 1986. Obscurity formed in 1985 and released the "Ovations to Death" demo and the "Damnations Pride" (December 1987) demo before disbanding in 1988. They shortly reunited in 1992 and released a two-song demo, but they soon split-up again. The material from the three demos were compiled and released on the 1998 "Damnations Pride" compilation album (Scarlet Records). While it may seem Obscurity didn´t make much impact in their original run, because they were never signed and never released a full-length studio album, they actually had quite the impact on the Swedish underground extreme metal scene along with artists like Bathory, Mefisto, and Merciless, and they are often cited as a great influence on the Swedish death metal explosion of the late 80s/early 90s.

Stylistically the material on "Ovations to Death" is not death metal though, but instead a very aggressive, relentlessly fast-paced (although a few mid-paced heavy parts can be found here too), and raw sounding thrash metal style, which owes a lot to the savagery of the early releases by the German triumvirate of Kreator, Sodom, and Destruction (and to American artists like Possessed, Dark Angel, and Morbid Saint). It´s such a raw and intense release, that at times it borders sounding unhinged, but Obscurity are relatively well playing and they perform their parts with decent precision and manage to keep things pretty tight.

"Ovations to Death" is raw sounding, but for a demo release from 1986, it sounds pretty good to my ears. The drums are a bit too low and often drown in the mix, but the guitars, bass, and vocals are all audible and you can hear all details. You won´t be surprised by the music style, and you won´t find much here you haven´t heard before on releases by the above mentioned artists, but this is still a pretty extreme release for the time and especially for the Swedish scene, which wasn´t producing that many extreme metal releases in the mid-80s. It´s definitely worth a listen and also serves as a valid historical documentation of the early extreme metal scene in Sweden, which a couple of years down the line would become one of the most influential death metal scenes in the world. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.