UMUR "Rigor Mortis" is a posthumous single release by US death metal act Rigor Mortis. By the time of it´s release Rigor Mortis had changed their name to Immolation. The single was relased through Seraphic Decay Records in July 1990.

The "Rigor Mortis" single features two tracks. The first is "Holocaust" which is taken directly off the "Decomposed" demo (recorded in July 1987). The second track on the single is "Warriors of Doom", which at the time was an unreleased demo track recorded in November 1987. Both tracks are examples of early US death metal with a raw thrash metal influence. The single is a rare collector´s item, but both tracks are more readily available on the Immolation compilation album "Stepping on Angels... Before Dawn (1995)".

So while the quality of the music is on a good level, I´d probably think twice before seeking out this rare collector´s item and get "Stepping on Angels... Before Dawn (1995)" instead. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Warriors of Doom" is the 3rd demo by US death metal act Rigor Mortis. It´s a one-track demo recorded in November 1987, but initially it wasn´t released. It wasn´t until the "Rigor Mortis" single was released in 1990, that the track officially saw the light of day and by that time Rigor Mortis were known as Immolation. The track is also available as part of the Immolation compilation album "Stepping on Angels... Before Dawn (1995)".

Compared to the thrash influenced early US death metal style on the "Decomposed" (recorded in July 1987), the "Warriors of Doom" track is slightly more death metal tinged, but still with a raw thrash influence. The sound production is of a pretty good quality (for the time) considering this is a demo and the musicianship are on a good level too.

While this demo never saw an official release, I´m sure there are copies out there. At the very least the copies the band made for themselves. I guess those copies are what you´d call a real collector´s item. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Decomposed" is the 2nd demo by US death metal act Rigor Mortis. The demo was recorded in July 1987. It features three tracks and a playing time of 9:33 minutes. All three tracks are available on the Immolation compilation album "Stepping on Angels... Before Dawn (1995)". Just a year down the line Rigor Mortis would change their name to Immolation. Half of the lineup on "Decomposed" were still part of the lineup that recorded "Dawn of Possession (1991)". The debut full-length studio album by Immolation.

The three tracks on the demo are in a thrash influenced early US death metal style. The most obvious influences are early Slayer and Possessed. The vocals are semi-growling and tip the stylistic scale of the music to death metal rather than thrash metal. The music is well played and relatively catchy, but it´s not exactly revolutionary heard with the ears of today. Back then this was a pretty new and fresh musical direction though and I assume people would have found this really raw back then.

The sound quality is raw and there´s no doubt this is a demo recording, but there is a certain primitive charm to the music because of the sound. Overall "Decomposed" is a pretty good quality US death metal demo from the formative years of the genre and I´d say a 3 star (60%) rating is fair.