UMUR "Masters Of Morbidity" is a single release by US, Ohio based death metal act 200 Stab Wounds. The single was released through Metal Blade Records in April 2023. It succeeds the release of the band´s debut full-length studio album "Slave To The Scalpel" from November 2021. This is a two-track version of the single. A single track version of the single (featuring only the title track) was already released in November 2022.

This two-track version of the single features the title track and "Fatal Reality". Both are new original compositions which didn´t appear on the "Slave To The Scalpel" album. Stylistically 200 Stab Wounds play a heavy and predominantly mid-paced old school groove based type of death metal and that hasn´t changed since the debut album. Both single tracks are good quality US death metal and especially the title track is a quality song.

200 Stab Wounds are a well playing band and the single features good quality production values, so upon conclusion this is a good quality stop-gap release before 200 Stab Wounds deliver their sophomore full-length studio album. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Seven Crowns And Seven Seals" is the fourth full-length studio album by German death metal act Sulphur Aeon. The album was released through Van Records in October 2023. It´s the successor to "The Scythe of Cosmic Chaos" from December 2018. Five years is a pretty long time between album releases even these days, but Sulphur Aeon did release the "Unaussprechliche Kulte (Live at Culthe Fest 2019)" live album in 2020 as a stop gap release.

Stylistically the material on "Seven Crowns And Seven Seals" is a new musical direction for Sulphur Aeon. They still play a technical blackened death metal style, but the suffocating and at times chaotic layering of the previous releases have been replaced by clear and detailed production values, which provide the band´s music with an almost completely different sound. The transformation towards this more accessible sound was already initiated on "The Scythe of Cosmic Chaos", but Sulphur Aeon have taken this songwriting approach a step further on "Seven Crowns And Seven Seals". while the music can still be brutal, blasting, and heavy, Sulphur Aeon also incorporate a lot of atmospheric parts and the dynamics of the music also shifs a lot. When they are most melodic and atmospheric I´m sometimes reminded of Gojira, and that´s certainly not an influence I´ve heard in their music before.

It´s interesting how some artists stagnate while others continue to seek new musical discoveries and push the boundaries of their musical expression, but what´s more interesting is how fans of an artist perceive change and development of sound. In the case of Sulphur Aeon I´ve read opinions in both ends of the spectrum regarding their change from suffocating chaos to the more accessible sound on "Seven Crowns And Seven Seals", but to my ears this is a high quality release, which is both challenging, melodic, epic, and intriguing (but ultimately quite easily accessible for the genre). A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

siLLy puPPy As one of the pioneers of symphonic black metal with his innovative band Emperor, IHSAHN together with his buddy Samoth left the 90s as one of the most influential and popular black metal bands of the entire decade. While Emperor would stop making albums in 2001, IHSAHN focused on his side project Peccatum briefly but ultimately reemerged as a solo artist in 2006 with a shift to a more progressive avant-garde metal sound that still retained the core elements of black metal. It all began with “The Adversary” and some 18 years later IHSAHN is still cranking out quality experimental metal with his latest self-titled eighth album once again capturing the attention of the world of extreme metal.

Deviating significantly from 2018’s “Àmr” which saw IHSAHN approaching a more commercial sound at times, this eponymously titled release looks back to the Emperor years and rekindles the spirit of symphonic black metal only this time he replaces the synthesized embellishments with a fuller orchestral sound courtesy of advancements in sampling technologies. While orchestrated metal albums are hardly anything new, IHSAHN delivers a anew approach that eschews a mere symphonic backing and rather features two independent musical scores laid upon each other resulting in not only a more dynamic symphonic metal approach but also by spawning a secondary release that features the orchestral side of the equation exclusively.

Almost sounding like Emperor is playing over a Hollywood blockbuster soundtrack of some sort, IHSAHN crafts his usual mix of nerdy progressive metal replete with all the avant-garde elements that makes him exist in a world of his own along with the black metal raspy vocals, thundering guitar riffs and percussion to match. The album that features 11 tracks at nearly 49 minutes is reminiscent of some of Dimmu Borgir’s later releases that offer an equal playing field for the orchestral musical score that oft soars above the black metal mania. And while the album sounds like IHSAHN has been accompanied by an entire philharmonic orchestra at times, the guest musicians only add up to three additional percussionists and a violinist leaving IHSAHN the chore of handling vocals, guitar, bass and orchestral sampling.

IHSAHN is actually quite a diverse album (would you expect anything else?) with varying tracks that features clean vocal led prog metal as on “The Promethean Spark” to full out raging black metal on such tracks as “A Taste Of The Ambrosia” but scattered throughout are tidbits of pure classical orchestration as heard on the opening “Cervus Venator” and the middle intermission “Anima Extraneae.” Tempos vary, dynamics vary and stylistic approach may but the gist of this is a mix of crunchy black metal in tandem with classical orchestrations. Tracks like “Blood Trails To Love” feature a mix of the clean vocal prog metal with the raspy more extreme black. While hinting at Emperor’s past glories, the metal on this release isn’t nearly as full throttle as such magnus opuses as “In The Nightshade Eclipse.”

Overall IHSAHN is a decent album but it’s a bit uneven with no clear stylistic approach really dominating. While that can become a good thing if the sum of the parts add up to something more profound, this album seems a bit scattered which at times reveals both the metal aspects and the orchestral ones seem to cancel each other out a bit. The novelty of orchestral metal has long worn off and the execution of this seems less than satisfying. The addition of dreadfully long moments such as the album’s 9-minute version of a ballad - “At The Heart Of All Things Broken” is actually really cheesy and i seriously would love to cut that entire track from the playing list.

The album seems to lose steam too much with half-assed percussion and metal that doesn’t get up to full force. The orchestral parts just seem to dance around and don’t really offer a very memorable experience either in a meaningful way. All in all it’s a decent album but hardly one of IHSAHN’s best. All the rave reviews about this bely it’s downsides. I was somewhat impressed on the first listen but more attentive listening sessions reveal serious flaws that i can’t shake. The patchiness of the album ruins its flow but as on all IHSAHN albums there are more than enough moments of triumphant victory. As a true fan i couldn’t imagine not owning this but it certainly won’t rank as a top contender for favorite IHSAHN releases.

Warthur Emerging from a long hiatus, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum make a triumphant comeback. With an orchestra backing them, absolutely pristine production, and themes as dark and foreboding as any they offered up on their original run of three albums, this is a purified and intensified take on their distinctive musical approach, a terrifying metal-in-opposition meditation on human extinction and other weighty topics which runs the full emotional gamut from ethereal beauty to apocalyptic terror.

Not only do the band sound like they've not missed a beat - and in fact, they never did with many of the members having continued to work with each other in Free Salamander Exhibit, perhaps nodded to in the opening track here. Moreover, they began working on much of this material in 2010-2011 (and SQPR, a This Heat cover, hails from as far back as 2004) and have been gently working on it ever since, meaning this album has been brewed, distilled, and refined over the span of a decade. The end result might be the best expression they've ever offered of their creative vision, a keystone which ties their body of work together and which in retrospect it feels like their earlier albums were building towards all along. With many of the band members equally adept at rock and classical instruments, and Nils Frykdahl giving Mike Patton a run for his money in terms of vocal acrobatics, the Museum deploys its full bag of tricks here expertly, everything used purposefully and thoughtfully to best effect.

For a group which started out resembling an avant-prog take on Mr. Bungle, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum have only forged ahead into yet stanger territory; here they make Mr. Bungle's most alienating moments seem outright smooth and approachable by comparison, but never become dryly technical, maintaining an impressive command of atmosphere and emotion for the whole 66 minute running time.

UMUR "Summon Thy Demons" is the second full-length studio album by Swedish thrash metal act Mezzrow. The album was released through Fireflash Records in April 2023. Mezzrow formed in 1985 under the Necromancy monicker but changed their name to the current one in 1988. They recorded two demos under the Mezzrow monicker before being signed for the release of their debut full-length studio album "Then Came the Killing", which was released by Active Records in 1990. "Then Came the Killing" ended up being Mezzrow´s sole album release in their original run, as they disbanded after recording a 1991 demo. They shortly reunited in 2005 which resulted in the release of the "...Then Came the Video" compilation video release, but it wasn´t until 2021 that Mezzrow opted for a more serious reformation. Only two members remain from the lineup who recorded "Then Came the Killing" but 33 years down the line that´s perfectly understandable. The members who remain from the debut album are lead vocalist Uffe Pettersson and bassist/backing vocalist Conny Welén. New in the lineup are Jon Skäre (drums), Magnus Söderman (lead guitars), and Ronnie Björnström (guitars).

To my ears "Then Came the Killing" was close to being a Testament worship release, and while "Summon Thy Demons" is arguably a more mature, meaty, and heavy release, featuring influences from other more melodic thrash metal artists like Forbidden and Heathen too, Testament is still a big influence on Mezzrow´s sound. So it is in the field of the more melodic (yet still aggressive and edgy) Bay Area thrash metal sound that Mezzrow deliver their sharp thrashy riffs and rhythms.

"Summon Thy Demons" features a heavy, powerful, and detailed sound production, which suits the material well and fans of latter day Forbidden and Heathen releases shouldn´t be disappointed at neither the songwriting style, the high level musicianship, or the sound production values of the album. There are many similarities to what artists like those produce these days. So upon conclusion "Summon Thy Demons" is a welcome comeback release from Mezzrow and fans of the genre should find lots to appreciate here, although it´s doutbful they´ll find anything here they haven´t heard before...but that´s not really the point with this type of release now is it? A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

Sheavy Hailing from the deep south of Atlanta, Georgia, and appropriately were signed to Southern Lord, Dead In The Dirt’s sole full length, The Blind Hole, is a crushing, catastrophic slab of grinding Powerviolence. DITD deal in fairly typical PV lyrically and sonically speaking, but don’t even think for a second this is meant as insult. Frequent and Extreme start and stop tempo shifts, even within the confines of 60 second or less songs, often punctuated and preceded by squalls of feedback. Downtuned growling, grinding guitars thunder away to merciless but tight Hardcore drumming and blast beating. Occasionally settling into a more metal inspired mid-tempo or thrash groove, and some songs drop entirely into disgusting filthy Sludge Metal (Will Is The War and Halo Crown). As could be guessed from the album title, nay, band name, the lyrics all tend towards the introspective and unwaveringly nihilistic, often with political or social subtext. These are handled by dual vocalists, Bo Orr, also on Bass, and Blake Connally, also on Guitar. Dual vocalists means we are treated to differing delivery styles, one a Death Metal growl, and the other a Hardcore Punk styled full on shriek. Production wise it’s all very clear and clean, none of the dirt and grime, nor aggression and rawness is lost.

A beautiful, maniacal not quite 24 minute assault.

UMUR "Pits of Utumno" is the first demo recording by German death metal act Morgoth. The demo was independently released in June 1988. Morgoth formed in 1987, although their origins can be traced as far back as 1985 when they worked under the Cadaverous Smell, Exterminator, and Minas Morgul monickers (in that chronology in the period 1985-1987).

Morgoth are one of the earliest German death metal acts and their 1989 "Resurrection Absurd" EP is one of the first German death metal releases, and although they were only a death metal band for a relatively short period in time before they started experimenting with other music styles, they are widely considered a seminal German death metal act (along with artists like Atrocity and Fleshcrawl).

Stylistically the material on "Pits of Utumno" isn´t pure death metal though, but more a brutal and aggressive thrash metal style with some death metal elements. Lead vocalist/bassist Marc Grewe had not yet developed a growling vocal style, and instead performs a gnarly and raw snarling death/thrash rabid dog vocal style. If he hadn´t changed his vocal style on subsequent releases, he could actually have been a great death/thrash vocalist, because he sounds really great here.

Only two of the six tracks from the 22:10 minutes long demo would appear on subsequent Morgoth releases. "Eternal Sanctity" and "Pits of Utumno" would be re-recorded and included on Morgoth´s second EP release "The Eternal Fall" from May 1990. The remaining tracks are exclusive to this demo. It´s not that the two tracks Morgoth chose to re-record are any less thrashy than the other tracks on the demo, but of course they sound less thrashy in their re-recorded versions with Marc Grewe growling on them instead of performing the rabid dog snarls he does here.

It´s obvious that Morgoth were already a well playing band and that they also understood how to compose an effectful song, and it´s therefore no wonder that they got signed pretty fast by Century Media Records for the release of "Resurrection Absurd" (released in November 1989). A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Wrath of the Gods" is the third full-length studio album by US, San Francisco based thrash metal/hard rock/heavy metal act Blind Illusion. The album was released through Hammerheart Records in October 2022. It´s been 12 years since the release of the bluesy hard rock/heavy metal oriented 2010 comeback album "Demon Master", which took a lot of fans off guard, and although a pretty good quality album in its own right, wasn´t exactly the triumphant comeback that Blind Illusion´s fans had hoped for. The "2018" EP (released in February 2019) showed promise and signs that Blind Illusion were moving toward playing thrash/heavy metal again, but it wasn´t until the release of pre-"Wrath of the Gods" album single "Straight as the Crowbar Flies" in September 2020 that the fans began to feel that magic was in the air again.

So does "Wrath of the Gods" deliver on the promise that the "Straight as the Crowbar Flies" single showed? Yes and more so is the answer to that...with the exception of former Death Angel drummer Andy Galeon who joined in 2020, the remaining members of the band have been together since 2017 and it´s audible that they are now a tight playing unit and they don´t only deliver sharp and heavy thrashy riffs and rhythms, they deliver them with great passion and conviction. The songs are generally well written, intriguing, and effectful, featuring sharp riffs, blistering melodic lead- and harmony guitar work, and the raw yet still melodic inclined vocals of Marc Biedermann. Sure he doesn´t have the most powerful or the most distinct sounding voice, but he is a good example of getting the most out of what you´ve got.

Stylistically Blind Illusion strike a good balance between thrash metal and heavy metal which artists like Megadeth, Death Angel, and Flotsam and Jetsam (and sometimes Testament) also excel in. So the hard-edged parts are always followed up by something a little less harsh and typically more melodic. "Wrath of the Gods" features a well sounding production job, and all instruments and vocals are audible and well balanced in the mix. So upon conclusion this is the "real" comeback release for Blind Illusion, and one can only hope they continue to travel down this road and deliver more high quality releases along the way. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Straight as the Crowbar Flies" is a single release by US, San Francisco based thrash metal/hard rock/heavy metal act Blind Illusion. The single was independently released in September 2020 to promote the forthcoming release of Blind Illusion´s third full-length studio album "Wrath of the Gods". It would be over two years before "Wrath of the Gods" saw the light of day, so "Straight as the Crowbar Flies" existed out there is a teaser for a long time.

"Straight as the Crowbar Flies" is a one-track digital single and the version which appears here is exactly the same version, which appears on "Wrath of the Gods", as the opening track on the album. It´s a powerful, intriguing, and both hard-edged and melodic thrash/heavy metal song, and it sounds very much like the material on Blind Illusion´s 1988 debut album "The Sane Asylum". So the fans who weren´t satisfied with the bluesy hard rock/heavy metal style of Blind Illusion´s 2010 comeback album "Demon Master", will most certainly find much more to appreciate here. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "2018" is an EP release by US, San Francisco based thrash metal/hard rock/heavy metal act Blind Illusion. The EP was indpendently released in February 2019. It´s the follow-up release to Blind Illusion´s 2010 comeback album "Demon Master". "Demon Master" was the band´s first release in 22 years as they disbanded in 1992 after releasing their debut full-length studio album "The Sane Asylum" (from 1988).

"Demon Master" wasn´t a thrash metal comeback album though and instead features a bluesy hard rock/heavy metal style, but in 2013 lead vocalist/guitarist Marc Biedermann met other like minded musicians from the 80s thrash metal scene who convinced him to return to his thrash/heavy metal roots, and "2018" is therefore a much more thrash/heavy metal oriented release than "Demon Master" is.

It´s still not full-on aggressive thrash metal...actually far from it although Blind Illusion have re-recorded both "Metamorphosis of a Monster" and "Vengeance Is Mine", which both appeared on "The Sane Asylum". So stylistically this is an eclectic blend of hard rock, blues rock, heavy metal, and thrash metal. It´s a pretty adventurous EP and the overall sound is relatively unconventional. To my ears it works rather well though and as the sound production is decent too, this is a good quality EP release from Blind Illusion, fully showing how diverse they are in terms of their songwriting and performances. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "To the Depths, In Degradation" is the debut full-length studio album by US, Seattle, Washington based death metal act Infester. The album was released through Moribund Records in December 1994. Infester formed in 1991 under the Threnodist monicker but changed to the current one in 1992. They released the "Darkness Unveiled" in late 1992. Two of the tracks from the demo was released as the "Darkness Unveiled" 7" vinyl single in February 1993. "To the Depths, In Degradation" is the band´s sole full-length release.

Only "Clouding of Consciousness" from the demo has been re-recorded and included on "To the Depths, In Degradation". The remaining tracks are new original compositions. Stylistically the material on "To the Depths, In Degradation" pretty much continues the rhythmically varied old school death metal style of "Darkness Unveiled". Infester play both fast-paced, mid-paced, and slow parts, and even occasionally add some morbid atmospheric keyboards to their music. This is generally a pretty harsh, energitic, and brutal old school death metal release, and the growling vocals are distorted and completely unintelligible. The growling vocals are spiced up with some higher pitched screaming vocals.

There´s a feeling at all times while listening to "To the Depths, In Degradation" that everything barely holds together...a feeling of unhinged madness and chaos, but somehow Infester manage to come out on top and deliver a filthy, gloomy, and brutal assault on the ears of the listener. This album pretty much sums up everything old school death metal is about. A complete disregard for regular vers/chorus structures, a gritty, brutal, and morbid atmospheric approach to composing death metal, and vocals delivered right from the abysmal depths of hell. This truly sounds demonic.

The sound production is filthy, raw, and gritty. It´s not a particularly professional sounding release and there´s something wrong with the volume levels on the instruments. The guitars and the distorted bass are placed low in the mix while the vocals and the drums are placed pretty high. It´s this rather odd sounding production which brings a lot of the darkness and gloom to the recording though and provides "To the Depths, In Degradation" with old school death metal credibility money couldn´t buy.

Upon conclusion "To the Depths, In Degradation" is a good quality debut album from Infester and fans of the most gritty, raw, and cavernous old school death metal should find a lot to appreciate here. Incantation (spiced up with a little bit of early Suffocation) isn´t the worst reference if you need one. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

Sheavy 16 are a Sludge Metal group that have been kicking out their own unique flavor of Sludge since the inception of the genre, playing in the not-really-recognized-as-a-subgenre of Sludgecore, basically Sludge Metal that sticks close to what it formed from. Heavy, downtuned, slow-ass Black Sabbath and Doom Metal infused Hardcore Punk. Formed in 1991 and still rolling strong today, with only a brief, few year break in the mid-noughties. 16 are a group that, IMHO, should be talked about more and in the same breath as other early sludge metallers like Eyehategod, Crowbar, Grief etc. I have suspicions this is down to their own brew of influences and sounds, 16 really don’t sound like any other Sludge band. To start 16 play at a much faster tempo than most, keeping a pace similarly to Buzzoven. They also have a healthy dose of noise rock, alt rock/metal, post hardcore, and even a tad of an early Metalcore sound I dare say, in addition to the typical hardcore influence sludge metal has. Another potential hurdle for your average metalhead is the fx ladened vocals, which are nearly drowned out in static and occasionally reverb. Lyrically 16 often stick close to typical Sludge Metal inspirations, drugs, depression, violence, and general misanthropy, but they aren’t afraid to delve into some weirdness. Check the song Amish for some Jack Kerouac beat poetry.

"The mailman comes, When I'm home, Acrobat, Undertow, The wooden door, Broken bone, Common growth, Telephone"

Or Joe The Cat, unsurprisingly about a cat (Melvins inspired?).

This debut album from 16 is everything you would want from Sludgecore. It’s all got a clearer production than most other Sludge acts of the time, but it doesn’t diminish the crackhead energy 16 have. Unwaveringly aggressive, super heavy and chunky riffs all over the place, with intermittent flourishes and breaks of guitar scrawl. The PH influence makes for some interesting song dynamics, there’s much more activity between guitar, bass, and drums, more stop and go, than typical of this style. Special mention to the bass, which is that super funky, fat, and floppy bass that was everywhere in the early 90s.

UMUR "Darkness Unveiled" is a 7" vinyl single release (limited to 1.000 copies) by US, Seattle, Washington based death metal act Infester. The single was released through Moribund Records in February 1993. The two tracks featured on the single ("Darkness Unveiled" and "Clouding of Consciousness") are both culled from the band´s 1992 demo also titled "Darkness Unveiled" (the demo features 4 tracks).

Stylistically this is some pretty basic old school death metal with both fast-paced, mid-paced, and slow parts. The growling vocals are effective but the lack of lead guitar parts make this a slightly one-dimensional listen. Upon conclusion you should of course find the full demo instead of listening to this single, as two tracks are missing. In those days it was different though, as it was always cool to have something released on vinyl instead of just having a demo cassette tape out. A 2.5 star (50%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Darkness Unveiled" is a demo release by US, Seattle, Washington based death metal act Infester. The demo was recorded in September 1992 and released on cassette tape later that year. The band formed in 1991 under the Threnodist monicker but changed to the current name in 1992. Two of the four tracks from the demo ("Darkness Unveiled" and "Clouding of Consciousness") were released in February 1993 as the "Darkness Unveiled" 7" vinyl single release.

Stylistically this is some pretty basic old school death metal with both fast-paced, mid-paced, and slow parts. The lack of lead guitar parts makes it a slightly one-dimensions listen. It´s a shame really, because the 1991 Threnodist demo these guys released featured some lead guitar parts which made that demo a relatively more varied release). It´s relatively well performed and the growling vocals are brutal and high in the mix. The sound production is decent considering that this is a demo recording and although "Darkness Unveiled" definitely isn´t the most unique sounding US death metal demo from the early 90s, there are enough good quality elements here to warrant a listen og two. A 2.5 star (50%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "The Vomitous Demo" is the first demo recording by US, Seattle, Washington based death metal act Threnodist. The demo was independently released in 1991 and it´s the band´s only demo after forming earlier the same year and changing their name to Infester in 1992.

Stylistically the material on the five tracks, 23:33 minutes long demo is predominantly mid- to fast-paced (not blasting fast) old school death metal. The band are audibly still amateurs at this point and the playing is at times a bit questionable. When that is said the growling vocals are pretty effective and the band also have some interesting songwriting ideas. So this may be a very immature first demo recording, but it´s obvious that Threnodist had some good ideas but just needed time to hone their skills. The sound production is decent considering that this is a demo recording. A 2 - 2.5 star (45%) rating is warranted.