UMUR "Ballcutter" is an EP release by UK death/thrash metal act Cancer. The EP was released through Peaceville Records in July 2019. It´s a follow-up- and companion release to Cancer´s 2018 sixth full-length studio album "Shadow Gripped".

The EP features five tracks and opens with an alternate master version of "Ballcutter" from "Shadow Gripped". It´s a nice heavy death metal track, but I´m not sure I needed another version of that song. "All the Curses" and "Crocodile Itch" are new original songs, which are outtakes from the "Shadow Gripped" sessions. Both are consistent in style and quality to the material found on that album. The two closing tracks of the EP are demo versions of "Garrotte" and "organ Snatcher", which are both songs which appeared in their studio versions on "Shadow Gripped". The demos are actually pretty powerful and feature a well sounding production job.

"Ballcutter" is well produced and well performed but if you cut away the fat the only tracks of real interest here are "All the Curses" and "Crocodile Itch", which granted are really good death metal tunes, but unless you just couldn´t get enough of the sound and style of music found on "Shadow Gripped" this EP shouldn´t be your first buy. The quality of the material is fine though and a 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Corporation$" is an EP release by UK death/thrash metal act Cancer. The EP was released through Copro Records in May 2004. It bridges the gap between Cancer´s fourth- and fifth full-length studio albums "Black Faith" (1995) and "Spirit in Flames" (2005). Cancer originally formed in 1987 and disbanded in 1996 after releasing four full-length studio albums. They reunited and were active in the 2003-2006 period, but no new releases came out in that period. They reunited again in 2013 and "Corporation$" is their first release after reforming the band.

You won´t however get much new original material on this EP. "Oil" opens the EP and it´s a new track showing the more thrash oriented new direction of Cancer. "With Hunt" is a 2003 live in the studio cover of the track which originally appeared on Cancer´s debut full-length studio album "To the Gory End" (1990). "Dethroned Emperor" is a Celtic Frost cover (also recorded live in the studio) and the two closing tracks on the EP are remixes of "Oxygen Thieves" and "Oil". The first three mentioned tracks are worth the price of admission, although none are in the excellent catagory, while the two latter are pretty redundant industrial tinged remixes.

So upon conclusion "Corporation$" left Cancer´s fans guessing what they could expect on their forthcoming full-length studio comeback release, and as it turns out "Oil" pretty much showed how that would sound. "Corporation$" is a both well performed and well produced release and while it doesn´t exactly make my blood boil a 3 star (60%) rating is still warranted.

UMUR "Demo #2" is the second demo recording by UK death metal act Cancer. The demo was independently released in 1989. It´s the successor to the 1988 "No Fuckin Cover" demo.

There´s been some obvious musical development from the first demo to this one. Cancer are now more brutal and heavy, and lead vocalist/guitarist John Walker has changed his voice and vocal style to a caustic sounding aggressive snarling. Five out of the seven songs on the 28:09 minutes long demo would be re-recorded and included on Cancer´s May 1990 debut full-length studio album "To the Gory End". Cancer always had a lot of brutal and aggressive thrash metal riffs and rhythms in their music, so in that respect they never been 100% pure death metal, and that´s of course also the case on this early release by the band.

It´s a relatively lo-fi recorded demo, and I wouldn´t be surprised if it is a rehearsal demo recorded in one take. No matter the circumstances of the recording process, Cancer more than proves why they would soon be signed for the release of their debut album...they simply sound ready. A 2.5 star (50%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "No Fuckin Cover" is the first demo recording by UK death metal act Cancer. The demo was independently released in 1988. Cancer formed in 1987 and is one of the earliest death metal acts from the UK.

The two tracks on the 7:33 minutes long demo are both influenced by the most aggressive and brutal contemporary thrash metal but a band like Death probably had a great influence on Cancer too. So the music style on the demo is somewhere in the middle of brutal thrash metal and early death metal. John Walker deliver brutal raspy vocals, which aren´t really growling but closer in style to the most brutal sounding thrash metal vocalists.

"No Fuckin Cover" sounds a lot like a rehearsal demo recorded in one take, and while I´m not sure about it, it´s my most qualified guess. So this is raw, savage, and lo-fi recorded music. It´s murky, noisy, and it´s not always possible to make out what all instruments are doing, but you´re able to hear the general direction of Cancer´s music. A 2 star (40%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Shadow Gripped" is the 6th full-length studio album by UK death/thrash metal act Cancer. The album was released through Peaceville Records in November 2018. B>Cancer formed in 1987 and were part of the early UK death metal scene along with artists like Carcass, Benediction, and Bolt Thrower. They released four studio albums before disbanding in 1996. They reunited in 2003 and released the "Corporation$" EP in 2004, and the full-length studio album "Spirit in Flames" in 2005. Cancer disbanded again in 2006, but reunited once more in 2013.

So "Shadow Gripped" is the second comeback album Cancer have released in their career. "Spirit in Flames (2005)" didn´t exactly stir up the ocean, so it´s probably taken the band a few years to lick their wounds and come up with a new comeback plan. Lineup wise "Shadow Gripped" features the original three-piece lineup, who recorded the band´s debut album back in 1990: John Walker (vocals, guitars), Carl Stokes (drums), and Ian Buchanan (bass).

Stylistically it´s also an obvious stab at going back to the roots, as Cancer play a pretty basic death metal style with the occasional thrash metal leanings. It´s not exactly "To the Gory End (1990)" number two though, and it´s audible that a lot of water has run under the bridge since the early beginnings of the band. "Shadow Gripped" features a dark and not very dynamic sound production, and the fierceness and brutality of the early releases of the band aren´t present here. Or at least only in small doses. "Shadow Gripped" does feature some catchy moments (particularly the shout/growl along choruses on seveal of the tracks), but overall it comes off a bit flat and uninteresting.

I know words like those read really negative, and they of course aren´t meant as positives, but it shouldn´t be read as if "Shadow Gripped" is a bad quality release, because it certainly isn´t. It´s just not a death metal release which stands out in the vast number of releases which come out every year, and considering the legendary status of a band like Cancer I simply expect more from them. It shouldn´t come as a surprise of course, as Cancer have changed their style with each release though the years, and not always with great end results. "Shadow Gripped" is more interesting than its direct predecessor, but doesn´t reach the quality of the band´s early output and therefore a 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.