UMUR "Prey On Life" is the 3rd full-length studio album by Swedish progressive post hardcore act Burst. The album was released in September 2003 by Relapse Records. Burst showed great progress and will to experiment with their sound on the preceeding "In Coveting Ways (2002)" EP but "Prey On Life" show Burst when they are at the top of their game. I was introduced to Burst through their 4th full-length studio album "Origo (2005)" which absolutely blew me away and purchasing "Prey On Life" was just a matter of course after the positive experience of listening to "Origo".

The music on "Prey On Life" is intriguing on many levels. First of all it´s a pretty extreme album. The vocals by Linus Jägerskog are especially extreme. I struggle to come up with a vocalist with a more caustic and aggressive delivery. This one is a blood cougher. Just the way I like my extreme metal vocals. Don´t get the wrong impression here and assume that the vocals are growls though. They are raw hardcore shouting/ yelling. The clean vocals which Burst would start using more on later releases are only featured shortly in the track "Crystal Asunder". The music itself is very energetic and while rooted in hardcore, Burst take that style and twists it completely into something of their own. References to acts such as The Ocean, Converge and the post hardcore pioneers in Breach are valid enough but Burst stand out from the crowd as something special IMO. As mentioned above the music is very aggressive but at the same time it´s also very melodic. The two guitarists compliment each other very well and it´s seldom they play the same notes. The bass and the drums are technically well played and adventurous.

Besides the high level of musicianship it´s the songwriting that needs to be praised the most. Innovative and adventurous are two words that come to mind when trying to describe the music on "Prey On Life". The album is a kind of loose musical concept with a recurrent theme in the intro track "Undoing ( Prey on Life)", the intermezzo track "Fourth Sun" that divides the album in two and the outro track "Epidemic". Picking favorites is hard for me because I adore the album as a whole but the first three songs (excluding the intro) "Iris", "Sculpt the Lives" and "Rain" are simply outstanding aggressive and technical/ progressive post hardcore tracks. Especially the latter mentioned is pure genious in my book. "Monument" and "Visionary" also need special mentions.

The production is powerful and while it´s clean enough to be able to differenciate what the instruments do at any given time it´s also raw and hits like a hammer.

From the first time I listened to "Prey On Life" I knew this album was something special. To me it´s a magical album that´s able to move my body (my head bangs and my body moves in spastic jerks) and challenge my mind at the same time. What´s even more fantastic about the album is that it keeps getting better and better each time I listen to it. I seem to discover new things every time. "Prey On Life" is an outstanding album in my book and if you need an introduction to post hardcore, I´d strongly recommend that you make "Prey On Life" one of your first purchases. Burst have developed and refined their sound on subsequent albums but the raw power of "Prey On Life" is something I dare say they will never achieve again. This album is a pure masterpiece IMO. High quality musicianship, a powerful production and outstanding and innovative compositions. A 5 star rating couldn´t be more deserved. And hell yeah you can call me a fanboy and I´ll stand proud.

UMUR "In Coveting Ways & Conquest: Writhe" is a boxset by Swedish post hardcore act Burst which includes their 2nd full-length studio album from "Conquest: Writhe (2000)" and their "In Coveting Ways (2002)" EP and a single from 1998 called "Forsaken Not Forgotten". This is a great way to be introduced to the early music by Burst instead of purchasing the releases seperately. The boxset was released in 2003 which was the same year that Burst 3rd full-length studio album "Prey on Life" was released and it was probably as a consequence of the succes of that album that it was decided to release this boxset.

CD1 features the tracks from "In Coveting Ways" and "Forsaken Not Forgotten". The four tracks from "In Coveting Ways" are excellent material while the two tracks from "Forsaken Not Forgotten" should probably be considered as bonus material as they don´t have the same standard as the rest of the material on this boxset.

CD2 features all tracks from Burst 2nd full-length studio album "Conquest: Writhe". It´s a pretty strong post hardcore album with a slight progressive edge but the material is not as strong as the material on CD1 from the "In Coveting Ways" EP.

All in all this is an interesting boxset and a very worthy purchase. A 3.5 star rating is certainly warranted. Compared to other more questionable boxsets this one is really worth your time and money. This of course only counts if you haven´t already got the original releases.

UMUR "In Coveting Ways" is an EP by Swedish post hardcore act Burst released between the releases of their 2nd full-length studio album "Conquest: Writhe (2000)" and the band´s 3rd full-length studio album "Prey on Life (2003)". The EP was released in 2002 by Chrome Saint Magnus. All tracks on "In Coveting Ways" were re-released as part of the "In Coveting Ways & Conquest: Writhe" compilation album in 2003. On "Conquest: Writhe" Burst showed lots of progress from their melodic post hardcore style but on "In Coveting Ways" they are close to perfecting their style and the four tracks on this EP could easily have been a part of the more progressive "Prey on Life".

The music on the EP is melodic post hardcore. But even though the roots of Burst music are in hardcore the four tracks on the EP features experimental twists and turns. The two longest tracks "Scavenger" and "Paradise Regained" feature multible sections while the two shorter tracks "Black But Shining" and "Ars Diavoli" are more energetic and direct but still sophisticated. For example take a listen to the fast riff in "Black But Shining" that is doubled by an acoustic guitar. That´s a great adventurous idea IMO. The vocals are raw hardcore screaming/shouting and Linus Jägerskog delivers his vocals with conviction and power. Somehow he is able to sound bit really aggressive and melancholic at the same time. I was a bit overwhelmed by the aggressive "core" edge vocal approach when I initially started listening to Burst but I´ve grown to really appreciate his aggressive vocal style.

The musicianship is excellent. On this EP Burst show what they are capable of and it´s quite a bit actually. Fast intricate riffing and a dynamic rythm section are in addition to the strong vocals some of the assets on "In Coveting Ways".

The sound production is well sounding and professional. A bit darker than the sound on "Prey on Life" but really enjoyable.

"In Coveting Ways" is a very worthy purchase for people into challenging melodic post hardcore with an extreme vocal approach. The music has many similarities to the music by artists like The Ocean, Converge, and Breach but Burst ultimately have their own unique style. "In Coveting Ways" is easily worth a 4 star rating.

UMUR "Conquest: Writhe" is the 2nd album from Swedish experimental post hardcore act Burst. The album was released in 2000 by PFC / Prank Records. The tracks on "Conquest: Writhe" were re-released as part of the "In Coveting Ways & Conquest: Writhe" compilation album in 2003.

I was introduced to Burst through their 4th full-length studio album "Origo (2005)" which is an album that literally knocked me off my feet. A brilliant releases that one. I then purchased "Prey on Life (2003)" which is the 3rd full-length studio album by Burst which is another stunning album by the band. It´s only recently that I´ve had the opportunity to listen to the first two albums by Burst and while I´ve been pleasantly surprised by both of them they are not exactly as unique as neither "Prey on Life" nor "Origo". Burst debut full-length studio album titled "Two Faced (1998)" was a pretty simple and effective hardcore album with melodic leanings that displayed the direction that Burst would take later on in their career, but only in glimpses. With "Conquest: Writhe" Burst take another step towards the more experimental sound they would perfect on "Prey on Life".

The music is melodic post hardcore with a few experimental elements here and there. An example would be the screaming (almost growling vocals) over an acoustic part in "Juxtaposed" or the choise of notes which makes this album quite different from other hardcore albums. I would go as far as to call "Conquest: Writhe" a sophisticated hardcore album. I wouldn´t go as far as to call the music progressive though. I think all songs are solid but there are few truly standout moments on the album and it does get a bit too same sounding along the way. There are not enough fixpoints/hooks in the songs to distinguess them from each other. Don´t get the wrong idea though this is good music if you like melodic post hardcore with a pretty angry sounding frontman.

The musicianship is strong on "Conquest: Writhe" and I really enjoy the melodic chords progressions and the tight rythm section. Linus Jägerskog has a pretty extreme voice and it´s probably an aquired taste but I really enjoy his brutal approach and fiercely aggressive vocal style.

The production is professional and well sounding.

"Conquest: Writhe" is what I´d call a good transition album and I´m sure that fans of "Prey on Life" and "Origo" will find listening pleasure in this one. Just don´t expect it to be quite on par with those albums. A 3 - 3.5 star rating is warranted.

bonnek Lazarus Bird is one of those albums that I almost have to trip over before I remember I own it. But whenever I remember I do I'm stunned how good it is. Long intricate songs with techical and progressive riffs, and with melodies that are both complex and catchy enough to grant endured enjoyment. There's also lots of varations between aggressive parts and slightly spacey moody sections. Somewhere betwen Mastodon and Alchemist maybe?

I guess the reason why I need to be pushed to listen are the dry hardcore shouted vocals which are not my favorite unfortunately. It depens on my mood but somehow they come off as too one-dimensional, missing the diversity of a regular melodic voice and also lacking the fear, depression, madness and other jolly moods that death or blackmetal vocals seem to conjure up. But hey, it's nothing business, it's personal.

Another criticism I tend to have on my bad days is that these guys have difficulty convincing me of their proper identity, sounding exactly like 75% Mastodon and 'something else' for the remainder of the time. The two don't always interact to create a personal sound. Symptomatic is the track 'Cripple God', which consists of Mastodon for 4'40'' and then a nice spacey outro of 2 minutes that could have been from Alchemist or Pink Floyd but that has nothing to do with the rest of the song. Other songs like 'City Cloaked' merge their two sides more successfully.

Luckily for the band I don't have a bad today so I could fully enjoy their many strengths, as in fact, I believe they're better then Mastodon, if only for not annoying us too much with nasal clean vocals. Great album!