UMUR "From the Devil's Tomb" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Canadian death metal act Weapon. The album was released through Agonia Records/The Ajna Offensive in November 2010. It´s the successor to "Drakonian Paradigm" from 2009 and features two lineup changes since the predecessor as guitarist Vileblood Dahcnial has been replaced by Apostle VIII and bassist Sabazios Diabolus has been replaced by Kha Tumos.

Stylistically the material on the 9 track, 54:18 minutes long album continue the blackened death metal style of the predecessor, but with an audibly higher level of professionalism in the songwriting and playing departments. And maybe even more audible in the quality of the sound production. The music is relatively brutal early 90s influenced occult themed death metal. Old school at it´s core, but with a slightly blackened edge to the vocals, which provides the music with a more contemporary edge. Fans of artists like Behemoth and Morbid Angel, should find lots to enjoy here.

The musicianship is on a high level on all posts. fast sharp death metal riffing, powerful drumming, and the snarling blackened death metal growl of lead vocalist/guitarist Vetis Monarch in front. The tracks are relatively complex and most of them in the longer end of death metal tracks, so while this isn´t exactly neither technical nor progressive death metal, it´s not easily accessible or especially hook laden death metal either (although there are certainly catchy moments here and there). It takes time and several listens to appreciate, but given the right number of spins, "From the Devil's Tomb" proves to be quite the intriguing listen. Savage and brutal, but ultimately also rather sophisticated in nature.

So upon conclusion "From the Devil's Tomb" is a high quality death metal release, and a big step up from the debut album. Weapon have improved in all departments, and they have managed to create a death metal album with just the right authentic old school death metal atmosphere and sound, but still without sounding like a clone of the early 90s "classics". a 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Drakonian Paradigm" is the debut full-length studio album by Canadian, Edmonton based death metal act Weapon. The album was released through The Ajna Offensive in June 2009. Weapon was founded in 2003 by guitarist/lead vocalist Vetis Monarch. On this release the other guys in the lineup are Vileblood Dahcnial (Guitars), Sabazios Diabolus (Bass), and The Disciple (Drums, Percussion).

Stylistically the music on "Drakonian Paradigm" is death metal with a slight blackened edge. The latter is mostly heard in the way the growling vocals sound, as they are more raspy than deep growling. The instrumental part of the music is predominantly in death metal territory. The material on the 7 track, 40:38 minutes long album features tempo changes, a fair amount of brutality, atmospheric parts, and a generally adventurous way of writing songs. When that is said, the music isn´t terribly original sounding, and not many tracks stick after the album ends. It´s solid but not outstanding in any way.

The sound production is slightly amaturish sounding. The guitar tone, the way the drums are produced, and especially the clean guitar parts don´t sound professional. There are also some moments where the musicianship sounds slightly untight, and it´s hard not to take into account when rating the album. It´s still a decent release though and a 3 star (60%) rating isn´t completely wrong.

Warthur On Embers and Revelations, Weapon play blackened death metal with comparable production values and overall aesthetic to Behemoth, but with a somewhat more old school bent. The Morbid Angel influence is there, but I think Weapon manage to recapture the more direct brutality of acts like Deicide a bit more than Behemoth do. Mysterious drummer The Disciple (Paulus Kressman, if my sources are right) perhaps qualifies as the band's secret weapon here, offering up a ferocious assault packed with surprises and able to change directions and ambush you at a moment's notice. I also appreciate the fact that the band show some discernment about what they actually commit to record, recognising that 37 minutes of solid material is far better than 73 minutes of merely lukewarm stuff. If you want a take on blackened death metal which shows a skilled mastery of the classic death metal sound, you'll probably want to add Weapon to your armoury; it's not doing anything revolutionary but if you dig their influences you'll probably appreciate what they are doing.

UMUR "Embers and Revelations" is the 3rd full-length studio album by Canadian death metal act Weapon. The album was released through Relapse Records in October 2012. Weapon got signed to Relapse Records after releasing their much praised second full-length studio album "From the Devil's Tomb (2010)".

...listening to "Embers and Revelations" it´s obvious why Relapse Records have chosen to add Weapon to their stable. This is high class death metal through and through. The musicianship is excellent, the sound production professional, raw and powerful and the songwriting is top notch. Weapon are not original in a way that they create a whole new death metal direction or anything like that, their strength is more that they understand and are able to use the tools of the trade to create catchy, brutal, occult themed and varied death metal (with a blackened touch). The playing time of 37:19 minutes also ensure that the album never outstays it´s welcome. A perfect length for music in this style. While references to acts like Morbid Angel, Behemoth and Vader are valid enough, Weapon are one of those rare death metal acts that have a distinct sound even though they don´t invent the wheel. They have a decidedly "vintage" death metal sound to them, that should appeal to fans of late eighties/early nineties death metal, but still manage not to sound too retro.

"Embers and Revelations" is an instantly enjoyable release, but fortunately there are enough layers and compositional ideas on the album to ensure longivity. The snarling aggressive nature of the music is an extra plus that makes this a headbanger friendly album too. A 4 - 4.5 star (85%) rating is fully deserved.

UMUR "Para Bhakti... Salvation" is a 2 track, 14:31 minutes long EP release by Canadian black/ death metal act Weapon. The EP was released in January 2008 by Full Moon Productions and is limited to 1000 copies.

I´ve read reviews that says that later releases by Weapon are blackened death metal, but the music on the two tracks on this EP are much closer to death metal than they are to black metal. The vocals are brutal and growling and there is an old school death metal aestethics about the release rather than a black metal ditto. Weapon are quite the adventurous act and both tracks on the EP are structurally complex for the style. The band obviously have a lot of great ideas. For instance I like the inclusion of acoustic guitars that occur a couple of times in the tracks. Not during acoustic guitar interludes but under the distorted muddy guitar wall. I like the organic quality of the band´s playing which is an asset too. Those are some of the good things about the release, but there are a couple of things that also drags it down a bit.

First of all the sound production isn´t that good. This sounds like a good demo to me, but not a professional production. It´s still oddly charming though. Secondly the guitar solos are really of low quality. The least you can expect when someone plays a somewhat melodic solo is that they hit the notes and that´s not exactly the case here.

My rating has shifted from 2.5 to 3.5 during my listen to "Para Bhakti... Salvation" so I guess I´ve ended up on the compromise and therefore a 3 star rating it is.