UMUR "Omnipresent" is the 6th full-length studio album by US death metal act Origin. The album was released through Agonia Records in July 2014. It´s the successor to "Entity" from 2011. "Entity (2011)" was recorded by the three-piece lineup Paul Ryan (vocals, guitars), Mike Flores (vocals, bass), and John Longstreth (drums). "Omnipresent" features one lineup change since the predecessor as Jason Keyser has been added to the lineup as lead vocalist, allowing Ryan and Flores to concentrate more on their instruments although they are both still credited with doing backing vocals on "Omnipresent".

Keyser is a relatively ordinary death metal growler (...and there´s nothing wrong with that. He is doing a great job here) and the more dynamic vocal assault from "Entity (2011)" is toned down on "Omnipresent". There is still higher pitched aggressive vocals here and there, but they are not as dominant as they were on the predecessor. Stylistically "Omnipresent" is a bit of a change for Origin. The music style is still relatively brutal and technically well played death metal, but the technical part of the band´s music is not as much in focus as on the preceding releases. The band already began a transformation with more focus on catchy songwriting on "Antithesis (2008)" as opposed to the early releases where it sometimes seemed like the focus was entirely on the technnical aspect of the sound and very little on the actual songwriting, but it´s for example still a bit surprising to hear a D-beat drum rhythm on an Origin track, which actually happens during "Omnipresent". Sure it´s only on one track, but I´m not less surprised.

As expected the musicianship are on a high level on all posts, and while this is not as relentlessly fast and technical as the early releases, it´s still quite challenging and technically well played death metal. "Omnipresent" features a powerful and darker sounding production that what we have been used to on the early releases by the band, and it´s yet another feature to set "Omnipresent" apart from what came before. Upon conclusion it´s another high quality release by Origin, but I wouldn´t call it a step up from "Entity (2011)", which was a really strong release. "Omnipresent" is a pretty strong release, but it doesn´t quite reach the excellent mark in my book. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Echoes of Decimation" is the 3rd full-length studio album by US, Kansas based death metal act Origin. The album was released through Relapse Records in March 2005. It´s the successor to "Informis Infinitas Inhumanitas" from 2002 and features a couple of lineup changes since the predecessor as guitarist Jeremy Turner has been replaced by Clint Appelhanz, and drummer John Longstreth has been replaced by James King.

Stylistically the lineup changes do not alter the band´s trademark technical brutal death metal sound. The listener is exposed to exactly what is expected if you´re already familiar with the band´s sound on the eponymously titled debut album from 2000 or the sound on "Informis Infinitas Inhumanitas 2002)". Cold, harsh, chaotic, often dissonant, and brutal death metal played with great technical skill, fronted by a brutal growling vocalist and a high pitched snarling one. 9 tracks and a total playing time of 26:28 minutes and the album is over almost before it began, but it´s actually a suitingly short playing time in this case. And it´s got nothing to do with the quality of the music, which is high throughout, but a matter of the music being ultra brutal and inaccessible, which would probably make a longer playing time a bit of a challenge to get through, even to the trained death metal ear. To my ears "Echoes of Decimation" is actually slightly more accessible and memorable than the case was with the first two albums, but overall the album is quite the challenging listening experience.

"Echoes of Decimation" features a well sounding production job, which further helps the album sound a bit more accessible than it probably is. So the album both features a good quality sound production and some well written material (which could have been even stronger with just one or two hooks to hold on to), but you can´t write a review about Origin without mentioning how technically well playing and quite frankly jaw-dropping brilliant they are on their instruments. In other words Origin are an incredibly well playing band and they show their full potential here with lightning fast riffs, fast technical drumming, and some fairly nice vocal work too (nothing too much out of the ordinary, but still solid within the genre). A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Informis Infinitas Inhumanitas" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US, Kansas based death metal act Origin. The album was released through Relapse Records in June 2002. It´s the successor to the eponymously titled debut album from 2000 and features a couple of lineup changes since the predecessor, as lead vocalist Mark Manning has been replaced by James Lee and bassist Doug Williams has been replaced by Mike Flores.

Stylistically there haven´t been many changes despite the changes in personel. This is still ultra brutal technical death metal predominantly delivered at a frantic pace. Origin are a skilled band who execute their parts with clinical precision. It´s a relentless brutal assault on the ears, and definitely not for the faint at heart. One brutal technical riff and rhythm after another are thrown at the listener and as if that wasn´t caustic enough, we´re treated to some really brutal growling vocals spiced up with piercing snarling screams. There´s not even a hint of melody to be found on the album, and in the end "Informis Infinitas Inhumanitas" does become a bit of a one-dimensional affair because the focus is solely on technical playing, frenetic speed, and brutality. A bit more groove and mid-paced heaviness could also have made the album a bit more accessible, but that´s clearly not what Origin have aimed for here.

"Informis Infinitas Inhumanitas" features a powerful, raw, and detailed sound production. It´s in the cold and clinical end of the spectrum, but it suits the material well. So upon conclusion "Informis Infinitas Inhumanitas" is a quality brutal technical death metal release. It´s completely uncompromising though, and to my ears a bit more variation and songwriting dynamics would have made this an even better release. As it is a 3.5 star (70%) rating is still fully deserved.

UMUR "Origin" is the eponymously titled debut full-length studio album by US, Kansas based death metal act Origin. The album was released through Relapse Records in July 2000. Origin was formed in 1997 by guitarists/vocalists Paul Ryan and Jeremy Turner. The band went through a couple of lineup changes in their early years, but the lineup who recorded "Origin" are in addition to the two above mentioned, Doug Williams (bass), John Longstreth (drums), and Mark Manning (vocals).

Stylistically the music on the album is technical brutal death metal. The musicianship is outstanding and the album features more than one jaw-dropping moment of virtuosic bliss. Razor sharp riffs and lightning fast drumming. The vocals are predominantly unintelligible deep growling, but there are also higher pitched screams thrown in for good meassure. It´s incredibly intense and brutal death metal played with great technical skill.

The vocals are a bit one-dimensional both in phrasing and rhythm (often delivered in staccato attack mode), so that part of the music is actually pretty standard for the genre and nothing out of the ordinary. The instrumental part of the music is slightly more original, but mostly in the drumming department. Longstreth was at this point relatively fresh out of his stint with Angelcorpse, and listeners familiar with the aggressive blackened death metal assault of that group, won´t be surprised by the skill and creativity of the man´s drumming. He is one of those rare extreme metal drummers who are able to bring something new and creative to the genre.

The material on the 9 track, 29:46 minutes long album is well written for the style. It´s brutal, technical, and effective, but there is an issue with variation between tracks. Even after repeated listens it´s still hard to tell the tracks apart, and although each individual track is high quality technical brutal death metal, more catchy memorable moments and more variation between tracks, could have elevated the album to a higher level.

So "Origin" is a high quality release on some areas, and need some improvement in others. Overall it´s a quality release though, featuring a detailed and powerful sound production, excellent musicianship, and some decent songwriting (with the reservations mentioned above). A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

Kev Rowland This is an interesting concept, as this isn’t the current direction or sounds of the band Origin, but instead is a trip back to the very earliest days of the band. The twelve-track album includes eight new (previously unreleased) songs from the pre-Origin period, spanning from the ‘Necrotomy’ (1990-1991) and ‘Thee Abomination’ (1992-1993) eras of the band which followed by a remastered version of the band’s first ever EP from 1998. For this project band leader Paul Ryan spent five years recording all the old material on his own. As he says, “Over the years people have asked me how Origin just came to be as a band so ferocious virtually out of nowhere. This is a small summary of the Origins of Origin. Basically, I spent a lot of my youth at shows at the outhouse practicing garage grinding, basement blasting & shed shredding anywhere I️ could, composing as what my father would call 'Infernal Racket' as I was very passionate about death metal. That's all I ever wanted to do. This is by no means the current direction of the band Origin, but simply music that is the Origins of Origin. I did to the best of my ability to recreate the instrumentation of all the former members and the guys who I played this music with blended into each track (and yes there was a lot of editing!!!!). I’m officially retired from recording drums ever again!".

The end result is an album of 12 songs, which is under half an hour in length. Although recording wise this is very polished, this brutal death metal act is quite different in many ways from what I think of today with Origin as they exist now. I am a big fan of their last album, ‘Unparalleled Universe’, which shows the more technical direction the band takes now. The vocals are often distorted and screamed and add little to the overall sound of the music. It is very heavy, and the drumming is surprisingly good (which makes me wonder exactly how much editing went into that area), and while the guitars and bass are as tight as one would expect from Ryan it is the vocals and song length which really lets this down. But, this isn’t really designed for the casual listener, and if it was placed before 2000’s ‘Origin’, which in many ways is the right place for it to be, then it would have been discussed in a different way. As it stands, this may be mostly for Origin fans only as it shows where they came from, but apart from the vocals this is still a fun ride.