GwennyLOLmusic This album is just great no matter what. This album is incredibly heavy and kicks ass.

This is the band Element Eighty's first album, and 4 of the songs were remade for their self titled released 2003. This album is just really good and raw and I love it.

Individual Track Notes. Yankee Cake has a really neat verse flow, with its singing and its drumming, with the hi-hats. The song speaks about being betrayed and being better off without them. "And you call yourself a fucking friend?", "I'm insane, I loathe you. I'm alone, and better off without you". Painmaker, like with a decent amount of E80's early tracks, has multiple notable moments where the singing and the guitar riff sync up, like the pre-chorus, "Body Ache, Forsake, Penetrate, this fucking pain". A better example of this would be in Bloodshot or Pancake Land Frustrated perfectly transitions into R & M and it works very well. R & M's chorus is incredibly good and catchy.

All the songs have incredibly good and even catchy(?) guitar riffs.

Favorite track: R & M Least favorite track: Echo Song

siLLy puPPy IRISH COFFEE was one of the few hard rock bands that emerged from the early 70s Belgian scene but packed a punch that was as caffeinated and intoxicating as its namesake. Formed in the West Flanders city of Aalst out of the ashes of a band called The Voodoo which got its start playing covers by bands like Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, The Who and The Kinks, IRISH COFFEE crafted its own seamless fusion of its influences after it formed in 1970. The band delivered a rather crafty debut album in 1971 which happened to be its only release from its first run that lasted until 1975 when a car accident killed the drummer and seriously injured the bassist effectively ending the band.

While easily taken as an average organ driven hard rock band in the vein of Deep Purple or Atomic Rooster, IRISH COFFEE deceptively wove progressive elements into its soulful yet feisty performances that featured an exquisite sense of melody, an even more developed rhythmic drive and a top notch instrumental interplay of the musicians which included William Souffreau (vocals, guitar), Jean Van Der Schueren (lead guitar), Willy De Bisschop (bass), Paul Lambert (Hammond organ) and Hugo Verhoye (drums). This eponymously titled debut offered an interesting mix of early Led Zeppelin inspired bluesy rock along with the organ heavy rock of Deep Purple but also offered a bit of soulful heavy psych funk of Grand Funk Railroad along with the pop infused sensibilities of late 60s British acts like Gun.

While the album may sound a bit generic upon first encounter, this is one that sort of sneaks up on you like an internet cookie and beckons you to return. Once you sink your teeth into the intricacies beyond the instant ear wormy grooves and irresistible melodic hooks, the album reveals deeper idiosyncrasies that make the band stand out. First and foremost, the star of the show is clearly singer William Souffreau who was the chief songwriter along with lead guitarist Jean Van Der Schueren who also delivers some excellently tasteful guitar leads. Souffreau’s vocal prowess elevates the rather average musical style several notches as the groovy boogie rock style was fairly common for the day but something about a gifted vocalist that can really take an album experience up a few notches.

Another factor that offers a more complex approach than the average hard rock band is the drumming style of Hugo Verhoye which is fairly busy throughout the album’s run with amazingly complex drumming patterns that sort of seamlessly meld into the overall flow of the album’s musical style. The album stampedes into action with the heavy rocking “Can’t Take It” with its off-kilter drunken sailor boogie rock groove laced with a unique percussive drive and a ferocious guitar presence. William Souffreau immediately dominates the mood setting with his powerful soulful yet gruff vocal style while the Hammond organ slinks around in the backdrop. “The Beginning Of The End” slows things down a bit and offers a completely different style with a melodic groovy addictive guitar riff and a stronger organ presence more in the Deep Purple “Child In Time” territory. Souffreau shows off his vocal range with a passionate lyrical delivery that pretty much continues for the rest of the album.

“When Winter Comes” follows suit with the same style but “The Show (Part 1)” jumps into a high energy funk show with a super catchy groove and even more ear wormy sing-songy vocal harmony section. It sort of reminds me of the White Stripes’ “Icky Thump” which would follow decades later. This one in particular evokes a strong Grand Funk Railroad vibe. While “The Show (Part 2)” sort of insinuates a continuation in theme, the track is a bit different sounding more like the bluesy rock on Led Zeppelin’s debut however does feature a funky groove after the introductory moments. The rest of the album pretty much follows the playbook set up at this point and continues the vibrant flow of heavy percussion and bluesy guitar soloing over funk, blues and slightly progressive underpinnings all glazed over by the hefty Hammond organ use.

Although the band only released a sole album in its initial five year run, it did release a series of singles all the way up to 1974 just before Paul Lambert was killed in a car accident and Wim De Craene was permanently injured. The band reformed as Joystick briefly following the tragedy with new members but never released anything. Eventually this album would find a reissue with all the non-album singles as bonus tracks in the 90s and IRISH COFFEE even reformed in the 2000s with original members and a new lineup and has been active since 2013. While i would probably call this a second tier band in the world of organ-based hard rock from the 70s behind bands like Deep Purple, Atomic Rooster, Uriah Heep and even Qatermass, i would still consider the sole IRISH COFFEE release from the 70s an excellent slice of passionately delivered progressive hard rock that only becomes more addictive the more time you give it a listen.

UMUR "Inferno Go-Go" is the second full-length studio album by Finnish rock/metal act Mind Riot. The album was released through Godhead Recordings in 1996. It´s the successor to "Peak" from 1995.

Mind Riot started out a death metal act but already on the 1993 "Plasma" EP they started experimenting with dissonance, unconventional songwriting ideas, and alternative rock/metal elements. They completed the transition to alternative rock/metal (with a few excursions into death´n´roll territory) on "Peak", and on "Inferno Go-Go" they´ve streamlined their sound even more. The death metal elements are now completely gone from their sound, and they´ve become less experimental. The tracks on "Inferno Go-Go" are therefore vers/chorus structured alternative rock/metal tracks delivered with great energy, pace, and conviction. It´s by far Mind Riot´s most easily accessible release.

This is designed to rock hard (and rock hard they do...) and not to make you think too much. Mind Riot have already released enough "thinking man´s metal" on their previous releases. "Inferno Go-Go" features a well sounding production job, which suits the material. It´s powerful, raw, and detailed. Upon conclusion "Inferno Go-Go" is a good quality release from Mind Riot. It´s not unique or adds much new to the scene, but it´s a well composed, well performed, and well produced album, which it´s enjoyable while it plays. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Peak" is the debut full-length studio album by Finnish metal act Mind Riot. The album was released through Godhead Recordings in 1995. It´s the follow-up release to the 1993 "Plasma" EP.

Right off the bat opening track "For the Spirit" introduces the odd and experimental songwriting style of Mind Riot. "Plasma" still featured some old school death metal elements, although it was an adventurous and quite unconventional death metal release, but "Peak´s" only connection to death metal is the occasional sections featuring growling vocals. Those sections can be labelled death´n´roll, but Mind Riot also more prominently play an alternative metal style and combine it with the death´n´roll elements. Clean vocals, heavy rock/metal riffs, funky moments, and odd experimental songwriting ideas are some of the elements which make up the sound of "Peak". When Mind Riot are most weird their countrymen in Waltari isn´t the worst reference.

"Peak" features a well sounding production, and you´re able to hear all instruments and vocals in the mix. So upon conclusion it´s an interesting release. I´m not sure I agree with all the odd songwriting choices, but at least Mind Riot got balls. The death metal growling should probably have been left off this release, as the death´n´roll parts disrupt the flow of the album, and they just sound out of place. The clean vocals are predominantly well performed and relatively varied in style, but sometimes they sound a little out of key, and the female vocals which occur a few times even more so.

So upon conclusion "Peak" isn´t a perfect release by any means, and it´s also difficult to point to a group of listeners who could appreciate a release as eclectic as this. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Schizophrenia" is a full-length studio album release by Brazilian death/thrash metal act Cavalera. The album was released through Nuclear Blast in June 2024. It´s a full re-recording of Sepultura´s October 1987 sophomore full-length studio album "Schizophrenia" plus the new original track "Nightmares of Delirium", which closes the album. Normally when the Cavalera brothers work together, they work under the Cavalera Conspiracy monicker (who have released four full-length studio albums), but they opted to release a re-recorded version of Sepultura´s November 1986 "Morbid Visions" debut full-length studio album in July 2023 under the shortened Cavalera name. The Cavalera brothers also re-recorded Sepultura´s December 1985 "Bestial Devastation" EP (or more correctly Sepultura´s part of the "Bestial Devastation / Século XX" split with Overdose). The re-recorded EP was released on the same day the the re-recorded "Morbid Visions" album. Apparently they were so satisfied with the re-recording process that they have now also opted to re-record "Schizophrenia".

The early Sepultura recordings were raw, savage, and unpolished, which are usually descriptors I would praise, but in the case of the early Sepultura recordings I always felt that something was missing, so I´m one of those who think it´s a pretty good idea to release these re-recordings (and I´m usually very much in opposition when artists do re-recordings of full releases). In the case of "Schizophrenia" it´s interesting suddenly to be able to hear all the details of the riffs and drumming, which were buried in the original mess of a sound production. The Cavalera brothers have however not destroyed the album by packing it in a polished and overproduced sound production. They have respect for the original recording, so this is still a pretty raw and hard hitting sound.

"Schizophrenia" features several powerful, fast-paced, and technically well played thrash metal tracks, and it becomes more obvious when listening to the re-recorded version of the album, that Sepultura were actually closer to the sound they would achieve on "Beneath the Remains" (1989), than what the original recording revealed. Upon conclusion this re-recording of "Schizophrenia" will divide the waters as all re-recordings do, but as written above I´m pretty satisfied with the result, and I think a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Phobos" is the ninth full-length studio album by Canadian metal act Voivod. The album was released through Hypnotic Records in in August 1997. It´s the successor to "Negatron" from November 1995 and it´s the second Voivod album featuring the trio lineup of Eric Forrest (lead vocals/bass), Michel "Away" Langevin (drums) and Denis "Piggy" D-Amour (guitars). It´s also the last studio album to feature Forrest, as he was seriously injured in 1998 in a car accident in Germany and subsequently left Voivod in 2000 after a longer recovery period, which saw the band questioning their continued existence. Voivod actually shortly disbanded in 2001, but reunited in 2002 with original lead vocalist Denis "Snake" Bélanger and opted to continue with the band.

Stylistically the material on "Phobos" is a continuation of the heavy, aggressive, and at times almost brutal thrash/groove (with industrial atmospheres) style of "Negatron" and in that respect it´s fair to label the two albums sibling releases. Also because they are the only albums in Voivod´s discography which feature this sound and style. Both "Negatron" and "Phobos" are vastly different in sound to anything else Voivod have released. But that doesn´t mean it´s not unmistakably the sound of Voivod, because "Phobos" (just like "Negatron") still features the dissonant riffs and organic drumming, which are signature elements of Voivod, and of course the sci-fi lyrics and imagery. Forrest is predominantly a raw screaming vocalist, but he does occasionally deliver semi-melodic or less raw vocals (not often but a few times).

So "Phobos" is another heavy, raw, and aggressive release from Voivod featuring a savage and punishing sound production, which further enhances the rawness and heaviness of the material. It´s less surprising than "Negatron" was, and maybe therefore a little less interesting (the novelty of Voivod releases something as raw and heavy as "Negatron" has worn off by now), but on the other hand the material is both well performed, well produced, and well written. Thirteen tracks (including a relatively unnecessary cover of "21st Century Schizoid Man" by King Crimson and three shorter intro/interlude tracks) and a total playing time of 66:22 are a bit much though when the atmosphere and variation of the music aren´t greater than the case is here, and "Phobos" is therefore an album which could have benefitted from a culling. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is however still warranted.

UMUR "Negatron" is the eighth full-length studio album by Canadian metal act Voivod. The album was released through Hypnotic Records/Mausoleum Records in November 1995. It´s the successor to "The Outer Limits" from August 1993 and there´s been a significant lineup change since the predecessor as lead vocalist Denis "Snake" Bélanger has left. As the bass parts on "The Outer Limits" were recorded by session musician Pierre St-Jean, and Voivod had not found a new permanent bassist, they were now both a lead vocalist and a bassist down. Enter lead vocalist/bassist Eric Forrest who along with remaining members Michel "Away" Langevin (drums) and Denis "Piggy" D-Amour (guitars) complete the trio lineup who recorded "Negatron". Voivod would work in this trio constellation (and also release the 1997 "Phobos" album) until 1998 when Forrest was severely injured in a car accident in Germany. During his recovery period the remaining members of the band felt that they weren´t able to continue and after Forrest left in 2000, Voivod shortly disbanded in 2001.

But´s that´s of course getting way ahead of the story, as the new trio lineup in 1994/1995 was a breath of fresh air and a new start for Voivod, who did taste limited commercial success with their three preceding major label releases, but never really broke through to the mainstream. "Negatron" signals the return to a much more harder edged and aggressive style of music, and it´s probably the most heavy, angry, and punchy release from Voivod up until then. While Forrest on occasion can deliver semi-clean melodic vocals (the chorus on "Nanoman" is the best example of that), he predominantly delivers raw screaming vocals and as the riffs and rhythms are also heavy, brutal, and hard edged, Voivod have never sounded more potent. When "Negatron" was released I remember being a bit baffled by the change of musical style and if you compare the psychedelic tinged progressive metal of "The Outer Limits" with the brutal thrash/groove metal (spiced up with some industrial tinged atmospheres) assault of "Negatron" it almost sounds like it´s two different bands playing.

That´s of course not the case and if you listen a bit more closely it´s still unmistakably Voivod playing. The signature dissonant riffs are in place, and so are the organic drumming, and the sci-fi themed lyrics and image. So it´s mostly the more raw vocals and the increased heaviness of the music, which make "Negatron" a different listening experience to the earlier material by the band. "Negatron" features a raw, heavy, and punishing sounding production, and it´s the perfect sound production for the equally raw and heavy material.

The eleven tracks, 57:24 minutes long album opens with the strong trio of songs: "Insects", "Project X" and "Nanoman". The latter being the melodic highlight of the album and one of the only times Voivod sound slightly like they did on the last couple of albums. But from there the tracks become harder and harder to tell apart and remember. It´s not that the rest of the tracks are of a poor quality or anything like that and listened to individually they are actually quite enjoyable and powerful material, but as a full album listening experience there´s not enough variation between the tracks. When Voivod try something a bit different they aren´t necessarily successful either. The closing track "D.N.A (Don't No Anything)" is for example a track where Voivod go all the way into industrial metal territory and it´s quite a tedious listening experience. It´s not a good way to end an otherwise decent album and I find that I have more fond memories of "Negatron" when I simply stop the album before "D.N.A (Don't No Anything)" and imagine that "Drift" is the last track on the album.

Upon conclusion "Negatron" is another unique release in Voivod´s discography. It´s harsh, heavy, and aggressive (and not nearly as progressive as it´s direct predecessor), which may turn off some of the fans of the last couple of releases, but while the abrasive nature of the sound production, the relentless aggression of the material can be a bit hard on the ears, and the album overall lacks a bit in the variation department, it´s still overall a good quality release from Voivod, showing their most heavy and brutal side. A bit unexpected upon release but with time I´ve learned to appreciate "Negatron" more and it´s overall a nice addition to Voivod´s discography. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "The Outer Limits" is the seventh full-length studio album by Canadian progressive metal act Voivod. The album was released through MCA Records in August 1993. It´s the successor to "Angel Rat" from November 1991 and there´s been one lineup change since the predecessor as bassist Jean-Yves Thériault has left, leaving Voivod a trio on "The Outer Limits". The bass parts were recorded by session bassist Pierre St-Jean. "The Outer Limits" was produced (and mixed) by Mark S. Berry, which is quite the unusual choice, as Berry was not particularly familiar with producing heavy metal artists. Most of his production/mixing work was done for pop and rock artists.

But that was obviously what Voivod were looking for at this point. "Angel Rat" was produced by Terry Brown, which of course made a little more sense, but Voivod were obviously intent to keep developing and changing things up. To my ears Berry did a fantastick job. Some people feel that "The Outer Limits" features a sterile and cold sounding production job, and while that may be true to some extent, it´s exactly the right sound for Voivod´s music. Gone are the organic and murky sounding production values of "Angel Rat" and instead the listener is treated to a clear, sharp, and detailed sounding production, which perfectly suits the sci-fi themed progressive metal of Voivod.

While Voivod consciously chose to go for a more simple vers/chorus structured songwriting approach on "Angel Rat", "The Outer Limits" is a partial return to the more complex song structures of the late 80s releases and just a generally more creative and adventurous composition style (including the return of more dissonant guitar riffs and unconventional time-signatures). Complex tracks like "The Lost Machine" and the 17:28 minutes long "Jack Luminous" represent the most progressive tracks on the album, but they are complimented by more immediate vers/chorus structured and hard rocking tracks like "Fix My Heart" (which features an irresistible uplifting mood and energy) and the cover of "The Nile Song" by Pink Floyd (which fits in well with the original material). So "The Outer Limits" is a varied release, which brings together elements from progressive metal, psychedelic rock, hard rock, and heavy metal, and the outcome is undeniably and uniquely the sound of Voivod.

"The Outer Limits" was the last album to feature lead vocalist Denis "Snake" Bélanger until his return in 2002, and Michel "Away" Langevin (drums) and Denis "Piggy" D-Amour (guitars) would take Voivod in a much more harder edged and aggressive direction on the next couple of releases, which sound nothing like "The Outer Limits". Thus "The Outer Limits" is a pretty unique sounding release in Voivod´s discography. They hadn´t released anything like it before, and they haven´t released anything like it after. So listeners should prepare for an adventurous, varied, and intriguing progressive metal release. They can also expect high quality performances, strong and unique songwriting, and a powerful and detailed sound production, suiting the material well. A 5 star (100%) rating is fully deserved.

UMUR "Some Call It Educational and the Others Just Domestic Violence" is the second demo recording by Finnish, Tampere based death/thrash metal act Menticide. It´s the successor to the "Enforcer" demo from earlier that same year. Menticide formed in 1988 and released two demos in 1990 before disbanding.

Stylistically Menticide still play a hybrid thrash and death metal style, but they´ve become sligthly more dark and brutal on this demo compared to the "Enforcer" demo. The music has also become a bit slower and more heavy, although Menticide still occasionally play some fast-paced thrashy riffs and rhythms. The vocals are raw throaty growling and haven´t changed much since the first demo.

The sound production is a bit more murky and less powerful than on the first demo, which isn´t a positive in my book. Menticide are a pretty well playing band and all details of their music deserves to be heard, but that´s difficult when presented with these sound production values. So upon conclusion I´d recommend listening to the "Enforcer" demo before this one. A 2.5 star (50%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Enforcer" is the first demo recording by Finnish, Tampere based death/thrash metal act Menticide. The demo was independently release in 1990. Menticide formed in 1988 and released two demos in 1990 before disbanding.

Stylistically the material on the two-track, 9:09 minutes long demo is a hybrid thrash and death metal style. To my ears it leans mostly towards death metal but the music also features thrash metal riffs and rhythms. It´s generally pretty creative music featuring many different sections and complex song structures. The vocals are hoarse throaty growling. The sound production is a bit murky and sometimes sound like it was recorded behind a closed door in another room, but other than that it´s a decent sound production suiting the music well.

Upon conclusion Menticide were probably too thrashy for their own good in an environment which craved brutal death metal, but in restrospect they play a relatively unique style of music, and they are a well playing unit too, so there are a lot of quality features on this demo. A 2.5 - 3 star (55%) rating is warranted.

siLLy puPPy Venezuelan guitarist FELIX MARTIN has been on the technical guitar music scene for almost 15 years now and still remains quite unique with his self-designed 12, 14 and 16-string guitars that he has perfected the art of finger tapping on. After studying at the Berklee School of Music in Boston and relocating to Los Angeles, MARTIN has been touring with other guitar wizards ranging from Bumblefoot (with Sons of Apollo) and Marty Friedman to Tony MacAlpine across the world. MARTIN has delivered a steady stream of nerdy instrumental albums since his debut “Bizarre Rejection” in 2010 and currently in 2024 he has released his latest power trio assault THE GATHERING.

For a guitar virtuoso MARTIN plays it cool and on the 10 tracks featured on THE GATHERING he definitely showcases his two-handed double-neck guitar tapping approaches with his collection of multi-stringed guitars and accompanying 10-strong basses but he integrates inspiration derived from progressive rock and metal along with medieval music, video game soundtracks, Japanese anime themes and an abundance of jittery math rock time signatures. Unlike other modern guitar gods such as Tosin Abasi who favor djent-fueled guitar heft, MARTIN offers a gentler approach making his music a bit more light and breezy despite the incessant flow of finger-tapping techniques permeating the album’s run.

Add to that MARTIN infuses his Latin musical roots into the mix and the entire album has a bit of the jazz fusion vibe that has been more prevalent on his previous albums. First and foremost MARTIN is dedicated to intriguing melodies and dynamic rhythmic drive with the virtuosity supporting the overarching theme, a trait lost on many virtuosos although that has been changing in the 21st century as gifted guitarists have found new musical avenues to incorporate their shredding skills into. Perhaps the most dynamic feature of MARTIN’s music is the fact that his 16 and 12-string guitars along with the 10-string basses offer a huge palette of sounds and technical possibilities. Add to that MARTIN uses two hands on two necks to craft contrapuntal guitar techniques, some of the most advanced technical wizardry possible.

Each track on the album includes its own artwork of an anime character that represents it as seen on the album cover art. While usually tucked into the world of progressive metal, THE GATHERING is less metallic than previous albums and offers a cleaner less distorted array of tones and timbres. The trio is flawless in its nerdy execution of the string attacks however i find the drummer to be the least interesting of the bunch as he basically only exists to maintain a steady beat with no outbursts of virtuosity in his own right although he doers offer some moments of interest. Even more exhilarating than hearing MARTIN play is to experience the visuals on his videos where you can marvel at the beefy excessively stringed guitars that he and bandmate Joan Torres double tap with amazing grace and ease.

Overall this like any MARTIN release is impressive on a technical level and even competent as far as painting interesting melodic developments and balancing the elements involved however even with all the attention focused on the songwriting with the finger tapping a secondary process, the album still comes off as a bit one-dimensional as the tracks don’t vary significantly enough from one another and by the time the album nears its final tracks the wow factor has diminished. While MARTIN has learned the discipline of toning things down and honing his skills into a greater sum of the parts, unfortunately the music isn’t diverse enough to maintain the interest of the listener for an album’s run but the craftsmanship is rather brilliant and the clean tones and timbres that MARTIN has eked out of his guitar army is quite pleasing indeed. Personally i prefer the faster tracks as the slower ones are a little too pandering to the non-techies but really there’s nothing horrible about this album other than a little monotony at times.

martindavey87 There was a whole different hype going into Nickelback’s eighth studio album, 2017’s ‘Feed the Machine’. Rather than the usual pop ballads, the first single released, the title track no less, was instantly touted for how heavy it was, and you could instantly hear a shift in focus and determination with this album. Were we about to see a whole new Nickelback?

Well, okay, obviously not.

But seriously, this album is fantastic. If previous release, 2014’s rather disappointing ‘No Fixed Address’ was the band ticking every mainstream pop radio checklist, then ‘…Machine’ sees the Canadian quartet do away with that attitude and firmly focuses on strong song-writing, excellent performances and solid lyrics. Whether it was going to get them on mainstream radio or not, they had a vision, and with this release they executed it to perfection.

The musicianship is really on top form here, with the band at times displaying musical prowess almost on par with some of the more technical metal bands. Frontman Chad Kroeger’s fantastic voice is on top-form, and the lyrics are some of the deepest, and, well, “heaviest” the band had written in a long time. There’s lots of shredding for the guitar nerds, and the production is absolutely spot-on. Even the ballads (yes, of course there’s a few), seem more driven by solid song-writing, rather than pleasing pop radio listeners.

Highlights include the title track itself, ‘Feed the Machine’ (which I’m sure has certainly won over some of the metal crowd, but that’s just my opinion), as well as ‘Must Be Nice’, ‘Coin For the Ferryman’, ‘Silent Majority’, the monstrously heavy ‘The Betrayal (Act III)’ and the deeply powerful ‘Home’.

But honestly, this whole album is just one highlight after another. “Focused” and “determined” are two words that keep coming to mind, but it’s really like the band had a vision to release a record that would show there’re more than just a radio-friendly pop band. And while I’m under no illusion that they’ve won over their haters, the artistic merits of ‘Feed the Machine’ speak for themselves, and prove that Nickelback are indeed, a fantastic hard rock band, more than deserving of the fame and success that they’ve had.

martindavey87 Decent enough CD single, let’s see what we have here… ‘Wherever I May Roam’ is a great song. Heavy, grooving, with a nice tasty riff and some big vocals, singing about life on the road, or whatever typical nonsense you’d imagine a metal band singing about in 1991. There’s no denying it though, it’s a great song.

Then there’s a live version of ‘Fade to Black’, which, again, great song, although this could easily be one of the thousands of other live recorded versions of this track and I wouldn’t know the difference. And a demo of the title track, despite the very rough sound, it’s a nice touch, although listening to James Hetfield ‘na na na’ his way through the song is humorous for a one-off listen, but once is enough, thank you.

Overall, can’t really complain. It’s a harmless enough CD for collectors, but music fans today generally don’t really care for CD singles, do they? So yeah, one for the collectors.

UMUR "Creozoth" is the eponymously titled debut full-length studio album by Swedish heavy/power metal act Creozoth. The album was released through Escapi Music in 2005. Creozoth only existed a few years and this album is their only output. Maybe the timing wasn´t right as Lars Johansson (guitars) and Jan Lindh (drums) were simoultaniously reuniting with their Candlemass bandmates, which probably left little time for Creozoth. Other than the two Candlemass related members mentioned above the lineup consists of Torbjörn Moen (bass) and Michael Storck (vocals). The latter was a pre-album vocalist for Yngwie Malmsteen in the period 1978-1979.

Stylistically this is a pretty riff heavy traditional heavy metal/power metal release. Not doomy like Candlemass, but featuring crushingly heavy riffs and rhytms and Storck´s powerful raw vocals on top. Start to mid-90s Trouble isn´t the worst reference, although Creozoth don´t quite reach the heights of the Americans and are generally a bit more power metal influenced. Although the songwriting is both professional and the songs are well executed (and the album is well produced), I´m missing a few more hooks. I´m enjoying the album while it plays, but it´s not a particularly memorable release. Therefore this one doesn´t end in the highest end of the rating scale, but a 3 star (60%) rating is still warranted.

UMUR "Plasma" is an EP release by Finnish metal act Mind Riot. The EP was released through Subvertic in 1993. Mind Riot formed in 1990 and released the May 1991 "The March of Chaotic Priesthood" demo and the January 1992 "Exit Severed" demo before getting signed for the release of "Plasma".

The early- to mid-90s Finnish metal scene is loaded with artists who started out playing death metal but very soon changed their style to death´n´roll or alternative rock/metal, and Mind Riot is another one of those. They haven´t turned towards the alternative rock/metal style they would pursue on future releases just yet on "Plasma" though, which instead features an odd and highly experimental style of death metal. The EP features some pretty technical playing, unconventional song structures, and both male and female clean vocals in addition to the death metal growling. The clean vocals don´t sound that great though as they sound like they are a bit out of tune. The music also features a lot of dissonant riffs and some almost funky rhythm parts (I´m reminded slightly of early 90s Voivod), spaced out jazz/fusion influenced guitar solos and other odd experimental ideas.

The EP features a decent sounding production job, but the eclectic (read: directionless) nature of the songwriting is a bit of an issue. "Plasma" is all over the place, and although I can enjoy it from a musicians point of view, it´s not the most listenable release. There´s still enough quality here to warrant a 2.5 - 3 star (55%) rating though, just consider yourself warned that this is a pretty odd sounding extreme metal release, and by no means a regular death metal EP, although the music does feature normal death metal traits like brutal riffs, blast beats, and growling vocals.

UMUR "IIII - The Album of Labour" is the fourth full-length studio album by Swedish doom metal act Veni Domine. The album was released by Rivel Records in August 2004. It´s the successor to "Spiritual Wasteland" from 1998 and it features one lineup change since the predecessor as keyboard player Mattias Cederlund has been replaced by Mats Lidbrandt. The material on the album was long in the making and writing for the album began as far back as 1997 and the recordings started in the fall of 2000. I´m not sure if the album title is meant to reflect how much work the band had to put into the making of the album, or if it´s just coincidental, but the fact is, it´s an album which took a long time to write, record, and release.

Stylistically Veni Domine still sounds like a combination of the melodic and epic doom metal of Candlemass and the melodic and semi-progressive heavy/power metal of Queensrÿche. It´s impossible not to think of Geoff Tate when you hear Fredrik Ohlsson sing. His voice and delivery are very similar to Tate´s work with Queensrÿche, but Veni Domine are generally a much more heavy and doomy band, so they are by no means a Queensrÿche clone. Heavy power chord riffs and equally heavy drums, complimented by atmospheric keyboards, and the occasional lead guitar line or solo. You´ll notice right away how well playing Veni Domine are. These are high level musicians and Ohlsson is a worldclass singer.

While the material is well composed, the slow pace still means that the album sometimes feels at little long as it features eleven tracks and a total playing time of 56:38 minutes. More varied tempos and moods (this is epic and melancholic all the way through) could maybe have provided the album with the needed diversity. Every song on the album is a high quality composition, so there´s nothing wrong with the individual tracks. It´s the overall package of the album, which ends up a bit one-dimensional. "IIII - The Album of Labour" features a detailed, professional, and well sounding production job, so other than the feeling that most tracks use just about the same elements and therefore become a little formulaic, this is a good quality doom metal release from Veni Domine. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Promo 1992" is the fifth (if you discount the July 1991 "Down There..." demo they did under The Lord Diabolus monicker, which they shortly worked under) demo recording by Finnish black/death metal act Beherit. The demo was independently released in July 1992. This was their last demo release before being signed and subsequently recording their debut full-length studio album "Drawing Down the Moon" (November 1993, Spinefarm Records).

"Promo 1992" signals a shift in Beherit´s sound from their early raw and savage sounding black/death metal style towards a heavier, slower, and more experimental extreme metal style. It´s dark and atmospheric music (keyboards are now used to create dark moods) and while there are still fast-paced tremolo picked blasting black/death metal parts, there are now a lot of blackened atmospheric doom metal parts too, which is something completely new in the band´s soundscape.

The demo features four tracks, which were all re-recorded and included on "Drawing Down the Moon", so these were a taste of what a label could expect from Beherit at this point. It´s an interesting release considering the style of music found on the previous Beherit releases, but it shows a band with a burning desire to evolve and play a more eclectic form of extreme metal. "Promo 1992" features a sound production where you can hear what´s going on when the band play slow and heavy, but not when they play fast-paced parts and it is overall a pretty lo-fi and murky sounding release. A 2.5 star (50%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "The Oath of Black Blood" is a compilation album release by Finnish black/death metal act Beherit. The compilation was released through Turbo Music in September 1991. It´s considered Beherit´s debut full-length studio album by many, but that´s not really true. Turbo Music offered Beherit a very small amount of money to record their debut album, which Beherit weren´t able to on such a low budget, and Turbo Music therefore ended up compiling the material from Beherit´s June 1990 "Demonomancy" demo and the material from their February 1991 "Dawn of Satan's Millennium" EP and releasing it as "The Oath of Black Blood".

To my ears those are the two best quality releases from the early part of Beherit´s (also including the demo they released in July 1991 under The Lord Diabolus monicker), so releasing them as a compilation is not a bad idea at all. Beherit did actually record a full-length studio album in 1990, but it was shelved (because of issues with Turbo Music) and didn´t see the light of day until June 2011, where it was picked up for a release by the Kvlt label,

Stylistically Beherit inhabit a territory which touches both black metal and death metal, and they are hard to label just one. It´s harsh, grim, savage, and brutal music packed in suitably raw sounding production values. The material from the "Dawn of Satan's Millennium" EP is slightly more professional sounding, but neither the demo nor the EP material feature what most people would consider professional sound production values. This is pretty lo-fi and murky sounding, but the sound productions suit the material and provide the right gloomy and occult atmosphere for the music. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Down There..." is the first demo recording by Finnish black/death metal act The Lord Diabolus. The demo was independently released in July 1991. The Lord Diabolus was a monicker Beherit took on for a short period of time, because they had some issue with their then record label Turbo Music, and they had to change their name to release something. so this is actually not a debut demo as Beherit at this point had already released three demos, an EP, and had recorded a full-length studio album. The latter was shelved though (part of the issues Beherit had with Turbo Music) and didn´t see the light of day until June 2011, when it was released through the Kvlt label. "Down There..." was the only release under The Lord Diabolus monicker as the band changed their name back to Beherit shortly after releasing this demo.

If you´re familiar with the preceding Beherit releases the aggressive, noisy, and savage black/death metal style of "Down There..." will be no surprise. This sounds very much like the last couple of Beherit releases. The greatest difference between this release and the Beherit releases which came before it is that the band were down to a duo on "Down There...", as bassist/vocalist Demon Fornication left Beherit before the name change.

The demo features four tracks (one is a short intro) and two of the tracks were actually already recorded and included on the full-length studio album, which ended up shelved. So these versions are actually re-recorded and re-arranged versions of previously recorded versions of the tracks (which had not been released in 1991).

"Down There..." is a decent quality demo release featuring a murky, raw, and savage sounding production job. It doesn´t add much new or interesting to the early part of the Beherit (The Lord Diabolus) discography, but if you´re a fan of the raw infant sound of Beherit this demo shouldn´t be lacking from your collection. A 2.5 star (50%) rating is warranted.

siLLy puPPy Approaching nearly 60 years together as a band, it’s true that only drummer Ian Paice has been with DEEP PURPLE for the band’s entire 56 year existence with other members coming and going over the decades but the band as a commercial entity has sold well over 100 million albums in its amazingly fruitful career not to mention an early innovator of hard rock and heavy metal. It’s hard to believe that these old timers now mostly in their 70s are still cranking out the same hard driving rock that they did in the 1970s but here we are in the year 2024 and band is releasing its 23rd studio album!

After the departure of long term guitarist Steve Morse who played with DEEP PURPLE from 1994-2022, the band sallied forth well into the 2020s with guitarist Simon McBride who has honed his bluesy hard rock skills in bands like Snakecharmer and Sweet Savage. Along with vocalist Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover, DEEP PURPLE is still 3/5 of its classic Mark II lineup and along with keyboardist Don Airey who has been cranking out his meanest organ playing skills 2002, the band is determined to keep going until every last member has taken his last breath.

=1 finds Bob Ezrin back in the producer’s seat who together with all the band members crafted 13 new tracks that evoke the spirit of classic DEEP PURPLE and delivered with a loose concept of the world rapidly becoming more and more complex. After the all cover song album of “Turning To Crime” one could easily assume that DEEP PURPLE was ready to call it quits but the band demonstrates that while not up to its peak as far as energetic performances are concerned, these seasoned veterans still have a knack for writing catchy hard rock tunes that find that perfect mix of boogie rock, bluesy guitar leads and organ bombast accompanied by Ian Gillan’s distinct vocal style which amazingly has held up quite well over the decades.

The album hits the ground running with the album’s opening “Show Me” which finds DEEP PURPLE in fine form for a bunch of guys now well past their prime. What the band lacks in its energetic drive that catapulted classic albums like “In Rock” and “Machine Head” to the top of the charts, the modern DEEP PURPLE rather compensates with emotive performances focused more on the melodic touches and the crafty soulful rendering of their classic sound brought to a new era. Unfortunately some of these slowed down versions of classic DEEP PURPLE are a little on the mopey side with the track “I’ll Catch You” falling into the dreaded AOR turf, something classic DEEP PURPLE never would’ve approached!

Overall this isn’t a bad batch of tracks by one of the most famous rock bands ever to have existed but it’s also a reminder that these guys’ best days are well behind them and now they are simply doing what they love in order to keep the old adage “use it or lose it” alive and well. DEEP PURPLE has definitely been a lot more interesting since 2013’s “Now What?” and in that regard the band continues to craft instantly catchy tracks that will appeal to any long time fans of classic PURPLE. While it’s hard to fault this album in any particular way it is hard not to compare them to their glory days when the combo pack attack of Jon Lord’s classically infused organ runs with Ritchie Blackmore’s neoclassical shredding were in full force.

This is a far cry from those days but nevertheless a pleasant slice of the band in its latest formation however it seems that the much younger McBride who is only in his 40s is kept on the leash and not allowed to crank out the serious energetic drive and guitar majesty that would kick this album’s energy level up a few notches with the exception of the excellent “Now You’re Talkin” which takes nine tracks to get to. While not bad, it’s also not going to go down in history as anything that stands out in the band’s canon but rather a testament to the band’s longevity and determination to sally forth no matter what obstacles lie in their path.

UMUR "Hidden History of the Human Race" is the second full-length studio album by US, Colorado based death metal act Blood Incantation. The album was released through Dark Descent Records in November 2019. It features the same quartet lineup who recorded the band´s debut full-length studio album "Starspawn" from August 2016. Three of the four members of Blood Incantation are also involved in death/doom metal act Spectral Voice and they released the "Eroded Corridors of Unbeing" debut album with that band in October 2017, so it´s been some busy years for at least some of the members of the band.

Stylistically the four tracks on the 36:20 minutes long album continue the technical/progressive yet old school oriented death metal style of the preceding releases, but Blood Incantation have improved in all departments since their debut album. The songwriting is now more memorable and less chaotic, the band are even more well playing, and "Hidden History of the Human Race" features more detailed and powerful production values than the releases which came before.

Blood Incantation are still worshippers of the cavern mode old school death metal style of Incantation, but they are so much more than that, as they add highly technical playing and progressive song structures to the mix, making their sound and overall style relatively unique for the genre. So while this at times is both brutal, grim, and murky old school death metal with abysmal deep unintelligible growling, it´s at other times progressive and atmospheric music painting a very different picture than the basis raw and brutal death metal of the band´s music.

As mentioned "Hidden History of the Human Race" features four tracks. The first three are between 5 and 7 minutes long, while closing track "Awakening From The Dream Of Existence To The Multidimensional Nature Of Our Reality (Mirror Of The Soul)" is an 18:02 minutes long track and naturally the most progressive oriented track on the album, although the remaining tracks are by no means regular death metal songs either. Every track on the album features twists and turns, challenging musical ideas, and song structures which are quite unconventional and doesn´t feature regular vers/chorus format structures (if something is repeated it´s definitely not done in an easy commercial manner).

So this is quite challenging music and "Hidden History of the Human Race" may not initially resonate with all listeners, but it´s worth giving many spins, because as challenging as it may be, it´s also quite brilliant and the tracks have a great flow. It¨s not an easy feat to write material which is not cyclical but instead almost linear in structure without losing catchiness and recognizability, but I think Blood Incantation do a great job on "Hidden History of the Human Race" doing just that. Add to that the fact that they are still pretty authentic old school death metal and don´t appear sophisticated technical for the sake of it, and there´s a further plus in the book. A 4 star (80%) rating is fully deserved.

UMUR "First Strike Still Deadly" is an album release by US, California based thrash metal act Testament. The album was released through Spitfire Records in October 2001. The album features re-recordings of select tracks from the band´s first two albums "The Legacy (1987)" and "The New Order (1988)" (five tracks from each album) and a re-recording of "Reign of Terror". The latter was originally featured on the band´s "Demo 1 (1985)" (released under the Legacy monicker before the band changed their name to the current one). The track was later featured in a studio version as the B-side to the "Trial by Fire (1988)" single. The same version of the track was also featured on the 1993 "Return to the Apocalyptic City" EP. The version of "Reign of Terror" which is featured on "First Strike Still Deadly" features vocals by original Legacy (and later Exodus) singer Steve Souza. Souza also performs vocals on "Alone in the Dark", which was also featured on "Demo 1 (1985)" (and later in a re-recorded studio version on "The Legacy (1987)"). The vocals on the remaining tracks on the album are performed by regular Testament singer Chuck Billy. "First Strike Still Deadly" sees the temporary return of Alex Skolnick (lead guitars), Steve DiGiorgio (bass), and John Tempesta (drums).

Bands can have several reasons for re-recording "hits" or even full releases, but the most common reason is that they don´t own the rights to the original recordings, and rightfully want a piece of the cake. In the case of Testament that´s fully understandable (if that was the reason for the re-recording) as "The Legacy (1987)" and "The New Order (1988)" are arguably among their most popular and commercially successful releases. The problem with most (not all) re-recordings is that re-recordings of classic tracks are often overproduced, lack the rawness of the original recordings, and even worse lack the hunger and attitude, which you experience when you listen to the originals...unfortunately that´s true for "First Strike Still Deadly" too.

No one can deny that the album is filled to the brim with classic thrash metal tracks and that Testament can perform those tracks in their sleep, but unfortunatley it all sounds phoned it, completely lacking of power and conviction. Normally badass tracks like "Into the Pit", "Trial by Fire", and "The Haunting" sound so tame and domesticated that it´s almost painful listening to them. Skolnick is also given too much freedom and some of his guitar solos are given a slight jazz/fusion spin which really doesn´t fit the compositions. The sound production doesn´t save anything either, as it´s dry, lacking dynamics, and well...sounds cheap. So I´m afraid this one goes down in the books as a bad quality re-recording. It´s completely unneccesary too for fans of the band and I´m left wondering what the hell happened in the decision making process. It´s definitely the low point of Testament´s otherwise great discography. A 2.5 star (50%) is me being very generous.

UMUR "The Gathering" is the eighth full-length studio album by US, California based thrash metal act Testament. The album was released through Spitfire/ Burnt Offerings in June 1999. It´s the successor to "Demonic" from 1997. "The Gathering" features an all-star lineup, which in addition to the usual suspects in lead vocalist Chuck Billy and guitarist Eric Peterson, also contains James Murphy who returns on guitar, Steve DiGiorgio on bass, and Dave Lombardo on drums. Each of them prolific and skilled musicians associated with artists like Grip Inc., Death, Slayer, Sadus, and Obituary.

The music on "The Gathering" is powerful and technically well performed thrash metal. Testament brought with them the good powerful elements from "Demonic", which means the raw power and drive of that album, and then added a more melodic touch, which points back to their sound of the 80s ("True Believer" could for example well have been featured on one of the late 80s/early 90 releases by the band). The slightly more melodic touch and the fact that Billy also delivers a more diverse vocal performance (although at times still pretty brutal and raw) give the songs a more memorable sound than the tracks on "Demonic". The addition of Dave Lombardo on the drums especially provides the music with a great organic touch. He is on fire on this album. The songs are generally high quality thrash metal compositions and "The Gathering" is overall a good quality Testament album (they´ve released both better and worse).

The album features a sound production which is powerful, raw, and heavy, and it suits the music perfectly. It´s courtesy of Andy Sneap, who would return to produce quite a few of Testament´s subsequent releases. Upon conclusion "The Gathering" was the right album to release after "Demonic" alienated some fans with it´s relentless aggression and brutality. Coming from a death metal background I never felt "Demonic" more than leaned towards death metal, and to my ears it´s still a Testament thrash metal album, just a little heavier and darker than their usual style. "Demonic" however lacked a couple of other things to make it a complete release. What I missed on "Demonic" was guitar solos and the more melodic and memorable moments of earlier Testament albums, and although there aren´t that many guitar solos on "The Gathering" either, the melodic element is more prevalent here than it was on "Demonic". So on "The Gathering" the brutality and heavy riffs are just more well balanced with the tried and true Testament elements. A 3.5 (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Unreleased Studio Tracks" is the fourth demo release by Finnish black/death metal act Beherit. The demo was independently released in June 1991. It´s a two-track demo featuring one original track ("Paradise, of Thy Demonic Host"), which was exclusive to this release in 1991 and a cover of "War Command" by Blasphemy. While I´m not sure about this my guess is that the material was recorded during the same October 1990 sessions which spawned the material which was released on the February 1991 "Dawn of Satan's Millennium" EP.

"Paradise, of Thy Demonic Host" sounds a lot like the material from "Dawn of Satan's Millennium", while the 40 seconds long Blasphemy cover is a short, noisy, and pretty unremarkable track. So it´s not a releaese which is worth getting for nether the quantity nor the quality of the material. There´s nothing wrong with "Paradise, of Thy Demonic Host"...it´s actually a pretty good quality track, but it´s nothing out of the ordinary for this period of Beherit´s career either, and as written the cover song is pretty redundant. A 2.5 star (50%) rating is warranted.

siLLy puPPy Influenced by the early technical death metal skills of Death, Pestilence, Atheist and Cynic, ILLOGIST was formed in the Alpine city of Aosta in the northwestern region of Italy in 1997 by guitarist Luca Minieri and original drummer Remy Curtaz and soon joined bassist Roberto Zeppa and then a few other members who came and went until the original duo were left the only ones standing. After recruiting bassist Emilio Dattolo and guitarist Diego Ambrosi, ILLOGICIST was ready to record its debut release SUBJECTED which saw the light of day in 2004 on the Crash Music, Inc label. Prepare yourself for a thrashy deathened brutal ride into oblivion!

It wouldn’t take long for Remy Curtaz to jump ship after recording SUBJECTED leaving only Luca Minieri as a founding member. After recruiting drummer Sergio Ponti, ILLOGICIST embarked on a massive tour of Italy and Europe and has become a staple in European technical death metal ever since. This is a band that means business and it all started with this very debut featured a bedazzling array of nine tracks that bantered and brutalized the senses of nearly 39 minutes of punishing pummelation and raucous riffing rage. This is one of those bands that has the need for speed and SUBJECTED will, well, subject you to a ceaseless blitzkrieg frenzy of some of the most demanding death metal the genre has to dish out.

The album starts with a short intro of a faint scream from the distance before bursting into a neoclassical style of progressive technical death metal that sounds like what you could expect if Necrophagist met Death and perhaps a more thundering galloping thrash metal band like early Sadus. As far as the technical death metal riffing is concerned, ILLOGICIST delvers a relentless procession of fast-tempo speedfests that offer a dizzying array of proggy time signature deviations and hairpin curves well beyond anything Death, Atheist or Pestilence ever dreamed of however Minieri’s raspy screamed vocals do evoke a rather pissed off Chuck Schuldiner having a very bad day! The insane infusion of crazy time-signature riffage though is off the charts with a never-ending chugging in glitch time with fluid frills and fills finding their way into the nooks and crannies of this speed freak’s wet dream come true.

While the guitar neck melting finger breaking distorted bombast of the riffs is the strongest suit going for ILLOGICIST on SUBJECTED, the screamed vocals actually carry profundity as this band eschews worship of Satan or horror, gore and blood but rather engages in the abstract existential quandaries of spirituality and philosophy. In other words, this is nerd metal through and through! Also mentionable is Curtaz’s drumming ferociousness as he is as relentless at pummeling his drum kit into oblivion as is the guitar and bass freneticism. For whatever reason Curtaz never performed with other bands after departing so perhaps he had some health issue or lost interest but he certainly delivered some of the most relentless demanding time precision drumming skills not too far from the virtuosity of percussive wizards such as Virgil Donati.

The twin guitar attacks really add a ferocity well beyond what a single axe could pull making this an unforgiving wild roller coaster ride on the top of a speed train. This is really as demanding as technical and progressive death metal really gets. If these guys played any faster it would be imperceptible and considered noise (although some might think that already!) For those well steeped in the knotty angular brutality of technical death metal and love the most relentless of the lot then ILLOGICIST actually delivers a rather logical slab of molten metal on full fueled adrenaline mode for an entire album’s run with SUBJECTED. While the lineup would never remain the same for long and ILLOGICIST would deliver two more albums before disappearing from the scene, this debut is a force to be reckoned with.

siLLy puPPy MESSAGE was an early German Krautrock band that was founded by bassist Horst Stachelhaus in 1968 in Düsseldorf. The band is mostly compared to Nektar for its two British members: Allan Murdoch (guitars) and Tommy McGuigan (sax and vocals) as well as appearing on the same label Bacillus which specialized in early German psychedelic bands. MESSAGE was a shapeshifting band with different career moves that unfortunately kept it from finding any particular success outside of its homeland unlike the more internationally successful Nektar. THE DAWN ANEW IS COMING is somewhat of anomaly in the band’s canon since it is more remembered for its darkened heavy rock second album “From Books And Dreams” before turning to a more chilled style of brassy jazz rock on future releases.

The band also suffered a unstable lineup throughout its existence that lasted up to 1981 after releasing seven albums. THE DAWN ANEW IS COMING is the only album to feature the lineup of Tom McGuigan (vocals, sax), Billy Tabbert (guitar, spinet, vocals), Allan Murdoch (guitar), Horst Stachelhaus (bass) and Gerhard Schaber (percussion, vocals) along with James Allan Freeman who added extra mellotron and vocals. While comparisons to Nektar may ring true on the second album, this debut is less psychedelic and rather delivers a mix of more energetic rock that alternates with slower folk inspired motifs with English Tom McGuigan’s vocals sounding a bit like Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson in the way he enunciate’s his lyrics. The composiitons are somewhat complex with intricate chord changes and unpredictable meanderings into lengthy jamming sessions especially on the 8 1/2 minute title track and the near 10-minute “Heaven Knows.”

While the opening “Changes” features some psychedelic elements, “When I’m Coming” and “Evil Faith And Charity” are more akin to more straight forward English hard rock. Despite being British dominated, THE DAWN ANEW IS COMING still evokes a sense of German Krautrock in its looser delivery system and heavy use of mellotron. Although lead singer Tom MCGuigan is a native English speaker, he still delivers somewhat of a faux broken accent of some kind however the British presence left an indelible mark on the band’s sound making it sound like a hybrid of some sort which it clearly was. While the music itself isn’t nearly as colorful as the beautiful album cover art work, the band was amazingly competent in its instrumental interplay and the album is an interesting collection of five tracks although the album is rather on the shorter side at only 33 1/2 minutes of playing time. Like many classic albums of the era, THE DAWN ANEW IS COMING features bonus tracks on various reissues.

While some could write off MESSAGE’s debut as a somewhat generic representation of hard driving rock from the early 1970s as it lacks an abidance of progressive elements at this stage, the performances are still rather unique and most importantly pleasant. Tom McGuigan delivers passionate performed vocals that sound rather unique and the album sounds like a strange chimeric beast that slipped in between the world of British organ-driven hard rock from the likes of Deep Purple, Black Widow and hints of Van der Graaf Generator along with the German sounds of early Eloy, Birth Control and Wind. The occasional saxophone embellishments further add a bizarre sense of lack of direction as the album does feel a bit scattered as it progresses from beginning to end but overall i find this to be a very addictive mix that is tied together by strong rhythms, brilliant melodic songwriting and bet of all McGuigan’s animated vocal style.

UMUR "Between the Worlds of Life and Death" is the third full-length studio album by US, Denver, Colorado based death metal act Vale of Pnath. The album was released through Willowtip Records in May 2024. It´s the successor to "II" from June 2016, although the two full-length studio albums are bridged by the 2019 "Accursed" EP (at 27:32 minutes it´s only 10 minutes shorter than this album, so maybe mini-album is a more correct label than EP). So it´s safe to say that Vale of Pnath haven´t been the most prolific act in terms of output. They´ve been marred by quite a few lineup changes over the years though and of course the COVID-19 epidemic probably didn´t do anything good for them either. On "Between the Worlds of Life and Death", Vale of Pnath work as the trio of Vance Valenzuela (guitars), Ken Sorceron (vocals, guitars, bass), and Gabe Seeber (drums). The latter two are new in the lineup since the release of "Accursed". Other than the performances by the permanent members of the band, "Between the Worlds of Life and Death" also features quite a few guest performances. Mainly a host of guitarists playing solos on the album, but also Wayne Ingram (Wilderun) who is responsible for orchestration on a couple of tracks (the album intro track and an interlude track later on the album), and Kakophonix who performs cello parts.

Stylistically the material on "Between the Worlds of Life and Death" is a continuation of the technically well played death metal style of the previous releases, but the more dominant use of keyboards and the blackened growling provide this particular release with a symphonic black metal element I don´t think I heard on the preceding output by Vale of Pnath. They´ve toned down the technical playing a bit too, and focus more on epic blackened atmospheres, although there are still plenty of technical playing and complex songwriting ideas on the album. At first it may seem a bit odd to have no less than five different guest solo guitarists play on the album, but the solos are generally very well played and provide the music with a couple of blistering virtuosic moments. They are nicely melodic too.

"Between the Worlds of Life and Death" features a powerful, detailed, and professional sounding production job, and it´s overall a well sounding release, featuring a sound production which matches the material. So upon conclusion "Between the Worlds of Life and Death" is another high quality release from Vale of Pnath. I must confess to being a bit confused regarding the band´s symphonic blackened edge, because that´s not at all how they started out in 2011 on their debut full-length studio album "The Prodigal Empire". Vale of Pnath have of course developed since and the "Accursed" EP also included some blackened elements, but with "Between the Worlds of Life and Death" they go pretty much all in in terms of incorporating symphonic black metal elements to their melodic and technically well played death metal style. While this is arguably high quality music, the development of Vale of Pnath´s style does leave me with the impression that they lack a personal style and musical direction, or that they are maybe just still searching for it. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "At the Devil's Studio 1990" is in terms of chronology the fifth full-length studio album by Finnish black/death metal act Beherit. The album was released through Kvlt in June 2011, but it is in fact Beherit´s 1990 recorded debut album, which was originally shelved because of issues with their then label Turbo Music. Drummer Sodomatic Slaughter found the master tapes in 2010, and the band opted to release it.

Stylistically this is beastly, aggressive, and raw black/death metal with an emphasis on the black metal part of the band´s sound. It pretty much fits between the releases of Beherit´s June 1990 "Demonomancy" demo and their February 1991 "Dawn of Satan's Millennium" EP, and while I´m not sure, my guess would be, that it was recorded during that timeframe. It features some tracks which are exclusive to this release, but also re-recorded and re-arranged versions of some tracks from the "Demonomancy" demo and early versions of "Nocturnal Evil" and "Six Days with Sadistic Slayer", which would both be re-recorded an included on the "Down There..." demo from July 1991 when the band shortly changed their name to The Lord Diabolus.

The sound production is crude, noisy, and pretty lo-fi. It´s not a pretty sound and even fans of extreme metal may find it a hard listen. The material is also one-dimensional in nature. It´s hard to hear when one song stops and another starts. It´s one bit murky and chaotic sounding mix. The vocals are often drowned in the mix, and most of the tracks sound like they were recorded live in the studio.

So upon conclusion this isn´t the long lost forgotten gem that some Beherit fans probably wished for and while it´s similar in style to the two above mentioned early Beherit releases, I´d put both of them on anytime before this one. A 2.5 - 3 star (55%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Dawn of Satan's Millennium" is an EP release by Finnish black/death metal act Beherit. The EP was released through Turbo Music in February 1991 (recorded in October 1990 at Studioala). It succeeds the three demos which Beherit released in 1990 and it´s the band´s first release on a label. It´s also the last Beherit release to feature the original trio lineup, as Demon Fornication (bass, vocals) would leave the band shortly after the release of the EP. Further issues would appear within a short period of time, as Beherit recorded a full-length studio album, which was ready for release in the spring of 1991, but it ended up shelved and didn´t see the light of day until June 2011, when it was released through the Kvlt label. All this because of issues with Turbo Music. Because of the issues with the label Beherit even shortly changed their name to The Lord Diabolus and released the "Down There..." demo in July 1991 under that monicker before changing their name back to Beherit.

Stylistically "Dawn of Satan's Millennium" sheds most of the death metal influences Beherit introduced on the "Demonomancy" demo and although they still shift between snarling aggressive vocals and deeper growling vocals, this EP is a more black metal influenced release than a death metal ditto. Beherit still inhabit the territory between the two styles though, so it´s details which decide which way these early releases swing. What is arguably true is that Beherit play a pretty extreme form of black/death metal which is relentless in its aggression and brutality. It´s fast-paced blasting music built on fast tremelo picking and not a lot of variation, although the music does occasionally feature heavier mid-paced parts. The snarling aggressive vocals sound a bit odd and processed on this release, but it only adds to the extremity of the listening experience. It definitely sounds both evil and demonic, so if that was the goal, Beherit´s aim were true.

Although it´s a savage, raw, and not exactly hi-fi sound production, it´s still the best sounding production Beherit had up until then, and the rawness of the sound production perfectly fits the equally raw and brutal music. Four tracks (one is a dark and atmospheric intro with demonic sounding vocals), and "Dawn of Satan's Millennium" is over before you know it. 11 minutes of early 90s black/death metal for your listening pleasure. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Demonomancy" is the third demo recording by Finnish black/death metal act Beherit. The demo was independently released in June 1990. It´s the third demo released by Beherit in 1990 and the band moved quickly in terms of development of their sound and their skills.

If the first two demos were raw, primitive, and aggressive early takes on black/death metal, "Demonomancy" shows a slightly more mature and also more varied sound. To my ears Beherit add a few more heavy and brutal death metal elements and "Demonomancy" is more a blackened death metal demo than a black/death metal demo like the previous releases. Other than a few heavier and more brutal parts, the material on "Demonomancy" is still predominantly fast-paced, blasting, and aggressive snarling black metal, but as mentioned with a death metal influence, which can also be heard in the way the vocals are performed. They are somewhere in the territory between black metal snarling and death metal growling.

Considering that this is a June 1990 release, it´s quite extreme and the rather lo-fi, murky, and chaotic sounding production values further enhance the feeling that you´re listening to something which is a bit out of control...but that´s not really true, because if you listen a little closer it´s obvious that Beherit are a very well playing band, and although parts of the music may sound chaotic, that´s pretty surely the plan. This is meant to sound grim, nasty, and chaotic...

Upon conclusion this is a good quality early black/death metal demo from Beherit and certainly worth a listen by both black metal and death metal fans. When listening to "Demonomancy" it´s obvious why Beherit are considered a seminal black/death metal act from Finland. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Morbid Rehearsals" is the second demo recording by Finnish black/death metal act Beherit. The demo was independently released in March 1990, only a month after the release of the February 1990 "Seventh Blasphemy" demo. Unlike the first demo which was recorded on a four-track tape recorder and featured what can just pass as a studio demo production, "Morbid Rehearsals" is a rehearsal demo recorded live in the band´s rehearsal space on the 28th of March 1990. Three of the tracks are exclusive to this demo while "Grave Desecration" would be re-recorded and included on the June 1990 "Demonomancy" demo.

If you´re familiar with the "Seventh Blasphemy" demo it´s quite amazing how extreme the material on "Morbid Rehearsals" sounds compared to the already pretty raw, aggressive, and brutal material featured on the "Seventh Blasphemy" demo. It´s only been a month...and these guys now play unrelenting blast beats, perform screaming/snarling extreme metal vocals, and deliver a chaotic sounding black metal assault on the ears of the listener. And it´s not just because of the lo-fi and raw rehearsal recording sound quality. Beherit have simply upped the black metal values of their music and have opted for a more extreme sound.

To describe this demo as a rough around the edges raw sounding release, it a bit of an understatement, and it´s probably only the most ardent black metal fans who´ll sit through this and not find it a little hard on the ears. There is great morbid occult charm here though, and it´s certainly a promising release. A 2.5 star (50%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Seventh Blasphemy" is the first demo recording by Finnish black/death metal act Beherit. The demo was independently released in February 1990. Beherit formed in 1988 under the Horny Malformity monicker, but soon changed their name to Pseudochrist. In 1989 they finally changed their name to Beherit. After releasing three demos and an EP under the Beherit monicker they changed their name again to The Lord Diabolus and released one demo in 1991 under that monicker before ultimately changing their name back to Beherit only a few months later.

The original incarnation of Beherit was the trio of Nosteratu (guitars, vocals), Demon (bass, vocals), and The Last Slaughter (drums). This lineup recorded the three demos and the 1991 "Dawn of Satan's Millennium" EP, before Demon exited and the two remaining members changed the name to The Lord Diabolus. The name change was not solely due to the lineup change, but more a consequence of the issues Beherit had with the Turbo Music label. The label released the "Dawn of Satan's Millennium" EP, and Beherit did actually record a full-length studio album, which was ready for release in the spring of 1991, but it ended up shelved and didn´t see the light of day until June 2011, when it was released through the Kvlt label.

Stylistically the four tracks featured on "Seventh Blasphemy" (one is a dark and atmospheric demonic voice intro) are relatively simple, raw, and savage black/death metal. Considering that it´s the first demo recorded by a very young band, Beherit have actually managed to produce a decent sounding recording. It´s lo-fi, murky, and distorted, but there is exactly the right amount of aggression and blasphemous occult charm to it, which fans of the genre appreciate. The Finnish black metal scene was just starting out at this point, and "Seventh Blasphemy" is one of the first Finnish releases in the genre. It´s rough around the edges and not as extreme as some of their subsequent releases, but there are moments of promise here. A 2.5 star (50%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Mass Destroyer" is the seventh full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act Demonical. The album was released through Agonia Records in May 2022. It´s the successor to "World Domination" from October 2020. No lineup changes have taken place, to therefore it´s the same quintet lineup who recorded "World Domination" also responsible for recording "Mass Destroyer".

Stylistically this is very much a continuation of the hybrid old school death metal/melodic death metal style with a few epic moments, which Demonical also played on "World Domination", so in that respect this is a natural successor to the last album. Demonical are skilled musicians who can deliver just what this type of music needs. The songwriting is effecful, and the sound production is professional, clear, and detailed. So on most parameters "Mass Destroyer" is a quality release, but it lacks an original touch, and even after many listens, this is not the type of release where you´ll be able to recognise that it was Demonical playing if you didn´t know it beforehand...so in that regard this is a standard fare Scandinavian death metal release, and although it´s enjoyable enough while it plays, there´s little here leaving a lasting impression after it has finished playing. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "The Pestilence" is an EP release by Swedish death metal act Centinex. The EP was released through Agonia Records in April 2022. It´s the follow-up release to Centinex´s eleventh full-length studio album "Death In Pieces" from May 2020.

It´s a five-track EP release ("Afraid of the Light" is a bonus track only available on limited editions of the EP) and Centinex as always pummels the listener with some powerful Swedish death metal. I thought maybe the title of the EP signalled that Centinex had opted to cover a couple of Pestilence songs, but that´s not the case at all. Instead you get all new original material from Centinex. As always that means some pretty standard fare Scandinavian death metal, which is decent enough, but nothing out of the ordinary for the genre.

"The Pestilence" features a well sounding production job, which suits the material well, and upon conclusion this is another solid release from Centinex. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "World Domination" is the sixth full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act Demonical. The album was released through Agonia Records in October 2020. It´s the successor to "Chaos Manifesto" from March 2018. There have been a couple of lineup changes since the predecessor as drummer Kennet Englund has been replaced by a returning Ronnie Bergerstål and lead vocalist Alexander Högbom has been replaced by Christofer Säterdal.

Stylistically this sounds more like 2011-2013-era Demonical, than it sounds like "Chaos Manifesto" (although some of the epic elements of that album are also present here). We´re back to the hybrid old school Swedish death metal meets melodic death metal style (basically Grave meets Dismember) which Demonical played on "Death Infernal" (2011) and "Darkness Unbound" (2013)...or maybe just a new combination of the known Demonical elements. The HM-2 guitar tone is dominant as ever in the soundscape and provides one of the elements of Demonical´s identity.

Demonical understand how to compose short, effectful, and relatively varied death metal releases. Their tendency to genre hop with the old school death metal styles isn´t always succesful, but no one can accuse their brand of death metal for being one-dimenional. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Death In Pieces" is the eleventh full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act Centinex. The album was released through Agonia Records in May 2020. It´s the successor to "Doomsday Rituals" from July 2016. Only bassist Martin Schulman remains from the lineup who recorded the predecessor. Schulman is also busy as a member of Demonical and since the release of "Doomsday Rituals", Demonical have released their fifth full-length studio album "Chaos Manifesto" (March 2018), and few months after the release of "Death In Pieces", Demonical would also release their sixth full-length studio album "World Domination" (October 2020). The last couple of Centinex releases have featured at least a couple of Demonical members in the recording lineup, but "Death In Pieces" only features Schulman.

Stylistically the material on "Death In Pieces" is pretty standard fare Swedish death metal. It´s slightly different from the sound of the two preceding Centinex albums, but that may be a consequence of the major lineup changes taking place between the last album and this one. Other than that it´s pretty much business as usual with Centinex. They can play and write reasonably effectful death metal tunes, and also produce well sounding releases, and all that is also true for "Death In Pieces". It´s nothing out of the ordinary for the genre, but it´s solid and comforting as you know what you´re going to get. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Chaos Manifesto" is the fifth full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act Demonical. The album was released through Agonia Records in March 2018. It´s the successor to "Darkness Unbound" from September 2013 although the two full-length studio albums are bridged by the April 2015 "Black Flesh Redemption" EP. After the release of "Darkness Unbound" some members of Demonical opted to reform Centinex, and while also keeping Demonical alive, Centinex released an album in 2014 and another one in 2016. So some of the members of Demonical have been busy since the release of "Darkness Unbound", but "Chaos Manifesto" finally cements the fact that the members playing in both bands intent to keep both acts active.

While Demonical started out playing a dark, grim, and brutal old school Swedish death metal style, the last couple of albums have shown them incorporate more and more melodic elements to their sound, and that tendency is continued on "Chaos Manifesto", which is a hybrid death metal and melodic death metal release. Demonical obviously have a great affection for both the old school HM-2 toned Swedish death metal style, but they don´t want to be limited to that style and therefore challenge themselves and their audience with melodic and sometimes even epic elements. I´m not sure I always think the combination works, but at least Demonical are trying to develop a more personal sound.

"Chaos Manifesto" is well produced, featuring a fat, meaty, and detailed sound production, which suits the material well. It´s on all parameters another good quality Demonical release, although I do miss the savage brutality of their first two releases. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

siLLy puPPy When thinking of one of the most eccentric frontmen in the entire history of rock music, your mind may gravitate towards Alice Cooper or Arthur Brown for their over-the-top stage performances and shock value horror rock appearances. Or perhaps the unhinged insane asylum escape antics of Jim Morrison or GG Allin. The freakishly outsider ethos of Tom Waits or Frank Zappa even? Well, the award may very go to one of the lesser known enigmas to haunt the progressive rock underground, namely Mr Doctor who bedazzled the world with his Italian-Slovenian band DEVIL DOLL. Enigmatic and mysteriously anonymous for decades, Mr Doctor only publicly revealed his legal name as Mario Panciera in 2008. With a penchant for the controversial and excessively theatrical, Mr Doctor’s eccentric behaviors included recording a debut album titled “Mark Of The Beast” in 1987 and only pressing a single copy retained by the good Dr himself which has remained utterly out of reach of his cult-based fanbase ever since.

Named after the 1964 British horror film, Mr Doctor delivered a musical experience every bit as frightening and strangely demented. Add to his unorthodox ways, the good Doctor started two totally different versions of DEVIL DOLL, one based in Venice, Italy and the other in Ljubljana, Slovenia (then Yugoslavia) however after Slovenia was invaded in 1991 the two bands were merged. And that’s not even getting to the music itself which featured Mr Doctor’s wildly articulated experimental vocal style accompanied by a strange mix of symphonic prog, modern classical, folk music, gothic rock, dark cabaret, neoclassical darkwave, heavy metal and a theatrical operatic delivery system more akin to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Phantom Of The Opera” than anything out of the rock paradigm playbook. With an abundance of instrumentation, the effect is bold, pompous and filled to the brim with sounds from guitars, keyboards, violins, bass guitar, drums and even a harp and tuba.

The band DEVIL DOLL released five of its albums from 1989 to 1996 however it has been claimed that many more were recorded and never intended for release thus adding an extra layer of bizarre eccentricity to the mix. With albums that primarily feature album long tracks that take wild rides through various musical genres, DEVIL DOLL emerged as and remains one of the most unique musical forces ever to exist. The first album available to the public, DEVIL DOLL’s debut album, THE GIRL WHO WAS… DEATH itself found an unusual way of being released. Originally pressed into 500 copies, only 150 were handed out during a live performances and then afterwards the remaining 350 LPs were set aflame. Now how’s that for erratic, eccentric and perhaps even a tidbit wildly acentric?

With a musical theme based on the television series “The Prisoner,” THE GIRL WHO WAS… DEATH traversed through an ever-changing musical rotisseries of varying themes and melodies with captivating metaphorical lyrics and of course Mr Doctor’s erratic and oft jarring vocal performances. While the running time displays 66 minutes and 6 seconds, the sole title track is in reality closer to 39 minutes followed by 25 1/2 minutes of silence and then as a hidden closing surprise, a sampling and reinterpretation of the theme song from “The Prisoner” TV series. The title track opens with a dark gloomy piano run and spectral vocalizations from The Devil Chorus and then goes full on dramatic. Histrionic build ups and militant percussive drive revs up the tension with a thundering crescendo of an introduction before Mr Doctor begins his draconian vocal gymnastics that admittedly are an acquired taste.

Sounding something like a mix of King Diamond and Current 93’s David Tibet, Mr Doctor’s vocals are unlike any other and unfortunately a roadblock for many to delve into the world of DEVIL DOLL. Musically the album features alternating mood swings that engage in accompanied piano rolls to fully fueled heavy metal bombast. The most metal leaning of the DEVIL DOLL canon, THE GIRL WHO WAS… DEATH is the loudest, heaviest and delivers the greatest contrasts but even during the metal madness moments Mr Doctor delivers bizarrely processed vocal contributions which is exactly what you would not expect. Lush orchestrations contrast greatly with prog and metal moments and church organs with creepy liturgic harmonies courtesy of the Devil Choir burst in unexpectedly. Violins come and go and well the only thing to expect here is the unexpected.

DEVIL DOLL delivered some of the most demanding genre-bending works of the late 80s and 90s and even at this stage in 2024 remains utterly unique, unapologetically idiosyncratic and timeless in its unorthodox approach to just about everything it unleashes. Despite all these wild rides into the unknown though, the music is melodically accessible and logically composed. Like a classic opera of the ages, Mr Doctor wove a tapestry of intricately designed cadences and motifs fortified by an arsenal of instrumentation and legion of musicians and vocalists to support an overarching theme. While the proclivities to take everything into the world of extremities is rampant from beginning to end, the music is composed in a traditional classical manor while the time signatures and hairpin turns and musical curveballs are more out of the progressive rock paradigm.

No doubt about it. Mr Doctor really is one of the most oddball eccentricities of the rock universe and only a single exposure to any DEVIL DOLL album will easily convince you of that argument. I’ve been a fan of this bizarre musical act after i picked up “Sacrilegium” some years back but all five of the albums are of the finest quality with this debut being no exception. Beautifully designed and deliciously even devilishly executed, THE GIRL WHO WAS… DEATH is a top notch release with a feisty spirit that delivers the most far-reaching expressions of the musical universe where a whole cauldron of influences is pieced together in a wild array of eclecticism that comes off as epic, enigmatic and utterly mind blowing. While whacked out of his mind in so many ways, the good Dr is a mad musical genius unlike any other. Sure the 25 1/2 minutes of silence is ridiculous but hardly a blemish on an otherwise perfect album.

UMUR "Doomsday Rituals" is the tenth full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act Centinex. The album was released through Agonia Records in July 2016. It´s the successor to "Redeeming Filth" from November 2014. "Doomsday Rituals" proves that "Redeeming Filth" wasn´t just a one-off comeback album for Centinex. Instead it appears that bandleader/bassist Martin Schulman opts to continue with both Centinex and Demonical.

"Doomsday Rituals" features the same linuep who recorded "Redeeming Filth" and it´s overall also a very similar sounding release. The music style is still old school Swedish death metal which is predominantly mid-paced, heavy, and brutal. It´s a pretty standard take on the genre and other than the fact that Centinex have opted not to use a HM-2 dominated guitar tone, "Doomsday Rituals" sound pretty much like you expect it to.

The sound production is professional, the songwriting solid but nothing out of the ordinary, and the musicianship is strong. So you get everything you expect from a release like this, but you don´t get anything beyond that. Centinex at this point is the very definition of a run-of-the-mill type Swedish death metal act. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Black Flesh Redemption" is an EP release by Swedish death metal act Demonical. The EP was released through Agonia Records in April 2015. It bridges the gap between Demonical´s fourth- and fifth full-length studio albums "Darkness Unbound" (2013) and "Chaos Manifesto" (2018). It was released in the midst of a Centinex reunion and the members who played in both bands obviously made it a priority to work on new Centinex material in the years 2014-2018, but they still had time to record and release the four tracks featured on this 17:14 minutes long EP.

The four tracks on the EP more or less sound like leftover tracks from the sessions for "Darkness Unbound", although they were recorded during January and February 2015. Leftover tracks in this case shouldn´t be interpreted as if they aren´t as great as the material featured on "Darkness Unbound", but it should instead be understood as this material being very similar in style to the material featured on the full-length studio album preceding this EP. Maybe a bit more brutal and deadly and less melodic inclined but otherwise similar in sound, style, and production values. It´s definitely a worthy addition to your Demonical collection and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Redeeming Filth" is the ninth full-length studio album by swedish death metal act Centinex. The album was released through Agonia Records in November 2014. It´s the successor to "World Declension" from June 2005, so it´s a comeback album after a nine year recording hiatus. Quite a few things have happened in those nine years though. Centinex officially split up in April 2006 and shortly after disbanding, three of the members of the lineup who recorded "World Declension" formed Demonical along with new vocalist Ludvig Engellau. In the intermediate years Demonical have released four studio albums making a name for themselves, but the wish to ressurect Centinex had been strong and therefore a lineup consisting of Martin Schulman (bass), Kennet Englund (drums), Sverker Widgren (guitars), and Alexander Högbom (vocals) were assembled for the recording of "Redeeming Filth".

So with the history of Centinex and Demonical now completely intwined, with members and former members of both bands appearing on recordings of both artists I´m wondering if there is really a need for both acts to exist...are the output of the two band´s really different enough to warrant the existence of two artists?

Considering that the last two albums by Demonical ("Death Infernal" from 2011 and "Darkness Unbound" from 2013) sounded more and more like a combination of the melodic old school Swedish death metal style of Dismember and the dark, grim, and brutal old school Swedish death metal style of Grave, I´m not surprised that the choice to ressurect Centinex was made. I´m a bit more surprised to learn that "Redeeming Filth" is not nearly as melodic as I had expected and actually predominantly features a more brutal old school Swedish death metal sound (although they haven´t gone for the HM-2 guitar tone on this album). I simply can´t tell where Centinex ends and where Demonical begins anymore (other than the lack of the HM-2 guitar tone).

"Redeeming Filth" features a slightly less interesting sound production than the preceding Demonical releases, and compared to the Demonical output I´m actually a little less impressed by this comeback Centinex release. It´s a good solid Swedish death metal release, but it´s not anything out of the ordinary and a 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Bestial Devastation / Século XX" is a split release featuring Brazilian artists Sepultura and Overdose. The split was released through Cogumelo Records in December 1985 and features 3 tracks by Overdose and 5 tracks by Sepultura. Overdose formed in 1983 and released the "Última Estrela Demo" that same year, while this split is Sepultura´s first release after forming in 1984. Both groups played a role on the early speed/thrash/death metal scene in Brazil, but Sepultura´s career skyrocketed in the late 80s/early 90s and they´ve became a major act internationally, while Overdose are probably mostly known (at least outside their homeland) because of their involvement on this split. In 1990 Cogumelo Records opted to reissue the material from "Bestial Devastation / Século XX" as two individual EPs under each artist monicker.

The original vinyl release featured the Overdose tracks on Side A and the Sepultura tracks on Side B. Overdose compositions are speed metal/heavy metal and the lyrics are in Portuguese. They open the split with the 10:02 minutes long "Anjos do Apocalipse", which is quite powerful and relatively intricate as far as structure goes. Overdose manage to sound sharp, raw, and heavy, but also incorporate melody and blistering lead work, and I hear more than one nod in the music towards an artist like Mercyful Fate, especially when they play solos. The vocals are a combination of singing and more raw barking. Both "Filhos do Mundo" and "Século XX" are also good quality compositions well worth the price of admission. Overdose are a very well playing band and when the songwriting is also intriguing and powerful, it´s the blueprint for a winner. The tracks feature a raw, but detailed and well sounding production, which suits the material perfectly.

The Sepultura compositions are of a completely different and more extreme nature. After the atmospheric spoken word track "The Curse" is done, Sepultura immediately set the record straight with some fiercely fast-paced, brutal, and aggressive death/thrash on the following title track. It´s obviously the early releases by the teutonic trio of Kreator, Sodom, and Destruction, which are the main influences, but there are also nods toward both Venom, Hellhammer, and even a blast beat on "Antichrist", showing a hardcore/grindcore influence. It´s intense, angry, and raw, but actually really well performed. The tracks reek a burning passion and they are quite catchy too. The sound production on the Sepultura tracks is filthy and raw, but not murky, which means you are able to hear all details of the compositions and the performances.

So "Bestial Devastation / Século XX" is a chance to hear Sepultura in the earliest stages of their by now successful career, but the Overdose part of the split should definitely not be neglected as their brand of speed metal/heavy metal is of a high quality and features quite a few intriguing elements. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Darkness Unbound" is the fourth full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act Demonical. The album was released through Cyclone Empire in September 2013. It´s the successor to "Death Infernal" from April 2011. There have been a couple of lineup changes since the predecessor as drummer Ronnie Bergerstål has been replaced by Fredrik Widigs and guitarist Johan Jansson has been replaced by Daniel Gustavsson.

Stylistically it´s apparent from the first listen of "Darkness Unbound" that bringing back the Dismember/melodic death metal elements from the Centinex days on "Death Infernal" wasn´t a one-off. The dark, grim, and brutal old school Swedish death metal elements of the first couple of Demonical albums are still present here, but they are combined with a more melodic approach to old school Swedish death metal. This is probably what the bastard child of Dismember and Grave would sound like in a contemporary setting.

"Darkness Unbound" features a powerful and well sounding production job (with the HM-2 guitar tone dominating the soundscape), some effectful and relatively varied songwriting, and some skilled musical performances, so upon conclusion it´s another high quality release from Demonical. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Death Infernal" is the third full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act Demonical. The album was released through Cyclone Empire in April 2011. It´s the successor to "Hellsworn" from May 2009. No lineup changes has taken place since the predecessor and therefore "Death Infernal" was recorded by the same quartet lineup who recorded "Hellsworn".

Three of the members of Demonical came from the just disbanded Centinex (in 2006) and personally I expected that Demonical would be a continuation of the Dismember meets blackened melodic death metal style of Centinex, but the first two Demonical albums proved me wrong. Demonical instead played a dark, grim, and brutal old school Swedish death metal style which was closer to the sound of early Grave and didn´t feature any melodic traits. So it was quickly established that Demonical was a completely different beast to Centinex.

That has however changed on "Death Infernal" where Demonical have opted to bring the Dismember influence back and as a consequence also bring back some melodic themes. This is not melodeath by any means though. It´s just a more melodic take on the old school Swedish death metal sound than what Demonical presented on their first couple of albums. In many ways the material on "Death Infernal" sounds like the bastard child of Centinex and Demonical, released under the monicker of the latter.

"Death Infernal" features a powerful, brutal, and detailed sound production...HM-2 guitar tone and everyhing else are in place as expected. So "Death Infernal" is another good quality death metal release from Demonical. Personally however I think they´ve lost something by bringing back the Centinex elements, as I feel the strength of the first two Demonical albums came from being completely different to what Centinex had done before. Still a 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Hellsworn" is the second full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act Demonical. The album was released through Cyclone Empire in May 2009. It´s the successor to "Servants of the Unlight" from April 2007. There´s been one lineup change since the preceding album as lead vocalist Ludvig Engellau has been replaced by Sverker Widgren.

Stylistically Demonical more or less continue the old school Swedish death metal style they initiated on "Servants of the Unlight". Dark, grim, and brutal death metal with the HM-2 guitar tone dominant throughout, and a good variation between mid-paced brutality, a few slower parts, some faster-paced parts, and even a couple of blasting deathgrind parts. Of the original Swedish death metal acts it´s still Grave I´m mostly reminded of because Demonical also operate in the most brutal and aggressive part of the Swedish death metal spectrum. Although Widgren is a slightly different growling vocalist than Engellau it´s details and Widgren is a great fit for Demonical.

"Hellsworn" features a brutal, raw, and powerful sounding production job, which suits the material perfectly. So upon conclusion "Hellsworn" is a good quality sophomore studio album from Demonical. You still won´t find anything here you haven´t heard before (on releases from the early 90s Swedish death metal scene) and "Hellsworn" also sounds a lot like "Servants of the Unlight". Actually to the point where it wouldn´t be wrong to label them sibling albums, but if you enjoyed "Servants of the Unlight" you´ll pretty surely appreciate "Hellsworn" too (I know I do). A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Demo 1991" is the fourth demo recording by US technical/progressive metal act Cynic. The demo was recorded for and released by Roadrunner Records in 1991 and was initially only meant to be a promo for the label to decide wether or not they would sign Cynic (which they eventually did).

The demo features demo versions of "Uroboric Forms" and "The Eagle Nature", which would both be re-recorded and included on Cynic´s 1993 debut full-length studio album "Focus", and the third track "Pleading for Preservation", which is exclusive to this demo (although the outro section was used on "How Could I"). The demo versions of "Uroboric Forms" and "The Eagle Nature" sound a bit unfinished and doesn´t feature the vocoder vocals, which made them what they are on "Focus", but it´s still obvious how well playing Cynic are and how many intriguing songwriting ideas they had. They´ve moved from being a technical Bay Area thrash metal influenced act to being a technical/progressive death metal act and the style they play here is much more interesting and unique than what they had produced before. It´s interesting to note that guitarist/vocalist Paul Masvidal has also changed his vocal style and now delivers aggressive snarling semi-growling. This would be his one and only extreme vocal performance as he would stop performing extreme vocals after this demo, because he realised he was hurting his vocal cords.

"Demo 1991" is well produced, the performances are high level on all posts, and the songwriting is unique and intriguing. Cynic took the final step forward with this demo and cemented their position as one of the seminal technical/progressive death metal acts from the late 80s/early 90s. The demo is still a little rough around the edges, but you still get a good idea of the brilliance of Cynic. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Demo 1990" is the third demo recording by US technical/progressive metal act Cynic. The demo was released through Epidemic Records in January 1990. It´s the successor to the 1989 "Reflections of a Dying World" demo and features one lineup change since the predecessor as bassist Mark Van Erp has been replaced by Tony Choy.

The demo features three tracks, which are exclusive to this demo (meaning they wouldn´t make it unto Cynic´s 1993 debut full-length studio album "Focus"). Although still rooted in the Bay Area thrash metal style, Cynic show a lot of progression on this demo compared to the first two demos. The technical aspect of their sound is in focus here, and this is generally a highly technical thrash metal release featuring tempo changes and toying with time signatures, and fusion influenced drumming (and guitar solos). Masvidal´s vocals are still raw staccato delivered thrash metal vocals, which get the job done, but not much more than that.

In terms of production values "Demo 1990" was recorded at Morrisound Studios, Tampa, Florida, and it was produced by Scott Burns and Cynic, which means that the demo features a heavier and more meaty sounding production, than most thrash metal demos from those days. Burns had already worked on some of the early death metal recordings by artists like Obituary and Amon (later Deicide), and had a good idea on how to create heavy sounding recordings and the massive production job suits Cynic´s music well.

Upon conclusion "Demo 1990" is a big leap forward for Cynic, but because of the thrash metal riffs and songwriting ideas this still doesn´t sound much like Cynic would just a few years down the line. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Reflections of a Dying World" is the second demo recording by US techncial/progressive metal act Cynic. The demo was independently released in 1989. There have been a couple of lineup changes since the release of Cynic´s 1988 demo, as lead vocalist Jack Kelly has jumped ship. Guitarist Paul Masvidal therefore performs vocals on "Reflections of a Dying World" in addition to playing guitar and Jason Gobel has been added as a second guitarist. The rhythm section of bassist Mark Van Erp and drummer Sean Reinert remain from the first demo.

Stylistically Cynic continue to play a technical version of Bay Area thrash metal (aggressive acts like Vio-Lence and Dark Angel), just like they did on the first demo and although especially the drumming by Reinert is on a high technical level, the relatively generic thrash metal songwriting and Masvidal´s raw staccato delivered thrash meetal vocals keep things grounded and there´s little here which sticks after the demo has ended playing.

The sound production is decent considering that "Reflections of a Dying World" is a 1989 thrash metal demo, and you can easily hear all instruments and vocals in the mix. I don´t hear great development since the first demo though and that goes for both the sound production values, the performances, and the songwriting, and this is still far away from what Cynic would evolve into in just a few years. A 2 - 2.5 star (45%) rating is warranted.

martindavey87 I’m sure I’m not the only one who spent years believing ‘Cowboys From Hell’ was the bands first release, but alas, here we are, 1983’s ‘Metal Magic’, the true debut of glam metal/future groove metal legends Pantera.

Turns out, before becoming one of the biggest metal bands on the planet, Pantera had released four independent albums, although, unlike the heavy, gritty and downright dirty sound of their 90’s output, these were more on the glam side of things, so expect spandex, songs about partying, “Diamond Darrell”, and dare I say it… keyboards!

But despite being generally reviled by fans and even the band themselves, the truth is, these albums aren’t that bad. ‘Metal Magic’, while not exactly innovating new sounds or breaking down barriers, still has a couple of nice little rockers on it. ‘Tell Me If You Want It’, ‘Ride My Rocket’, ‘Widowmaker’ and ‘Biggest Part of Me’ are all pretty decent hair metal anthems, and considering how young the members were at this time (Dimebag was only 16!), it’s really hard to not be a little impressed.

Just a shame about the naff production.

Overall, this album won’t change your life, and my God, this is completely different from the Pantera which sold millions and millions of albums in the 90’s, so if that’s what you’re expecting then don’t bother. But ultimately this is an interesting listen to see how the band changed and evolved to become what they are, and you may even find yourself liking it.

UMUR "Servants of the Unlight" is the debut full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act Demonical. The album was released through Cyclone Empire in April 2007. Demonical was formed in 2006 after the demise of Centinex and the lineup on "Servants of the Unlight" features no less than three members of the lineup who performed on the 2005 "World Declension" album by Centinex. The only new member is lead vocalist Ludvig Engellau.

So is "Servants of the Unlight" in effect Centinex´s ninth full-length studio album released under a different name? After listening to the album I would say a big no, and I´m actually a bit surprised that Demonical are able to produce something which sounds this different from Centinex...but of course more power to them for doing exactly that.

Compared to the melodic and sometimes blackened death metal of the last couple of Centinex releases, "Servants of the Unlight" is a much more brutal, meaty, and beastly death metal release and any notion that this should be a continuation of Centinex is blown away by the power, aggression, and brutality of what you´re exposed to during the 9 tracks, 36:17 minutes long "Servants of the Unlight". This is dark and grim take on old school Swedish death metal and if I have to make a comparison to anything which came before, it would be the early releases by Grave. There´s a similar uncompromsing brutality and relentless aggression to the material on "Servants of the Unlight". Demonical aren´t Grave clones by any means though and they have ideas of their own which ensure that. They for example play quite a few blasting deathgrind parts, which are great for the variation of the album.

The sound production and especially the buzzsaw HM-2 guitar tone will also immediately have you think of old school Swedish death metal, although "Servants of the Unlight" is of course presented in a more contemporary sound package. All in all "Servants of the Unlight" is a good quality death metal release from Demonical and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.