UMUR "Steam of Stertorous Cadaver... Demo Tapes 1991-1992" is a compilation album by Finnish death metal act Coprophilia. The compilation was released through Old Skull Productions in October 2021. Coprophilia were a relatively shortlived act who only released two demos (a 1991 demo and a 1992 demo) during their early 90s career (they disbanded in 1993). The material from both demos are compiled on "Steam of Stertorous Cadaver... Demo Tapes 1991-1992". Before forming Coprophilia in the early 90s, some of the members of the band had been active on the Finnish punk/hardcore scene.

While Coprophilia certainly are one of the more obscure Finnish death metal acts from the early 90s, there´s nothing wrong with the quality of their two demos. The material from the first demo from 1991 which opens the compilation is in a dark and morbid style of death metal with goregrind blasting parts. It´s obviously influenced by early Carcass, and the same can be said about the material from the 1992 demo, although the pendulum has swung a bit more towards the goregrind part of the band´s sound on that demo. This is generally just a good combination of blasting goregrind, mid-paced death metal brutality, and slow death/doom metal heaviness.

Coprophilia are the type of act who can get away with playing all old school grind- and death metal styles as they play all of them equally well. In fact they are an incredibly well playing band. The drummer is especially impressive with his hard hitting and energetic drumming style pushing the music forward with great intensity, while the buzzing guitars sound like angry bees underneath and the juicy growling vocals add a disgusting and depraved atmosphere to the material. The occasional morbid guitar lead also add to the gloomy atmosphere, and overall you get a lot of the elements which make up a good quality death metal release on the two Coprophilia demos. "Steam of Stertorous Cadaver... Demo Tapes 1991-1992" is well worth the price of admission and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Demo '92" is the second demo recording by Finnish death metal act Coprophilia. The demo was independently released in the summer of 1992. Coprophilia were a relatively shortlived act who only released two demos during their early 90s career (they disbanded in 1993). The material from both demos have been reissued on the 2021 "Steam of Stertorous Cadaver... Demo Tapes 1991-1992" compilation album (Old Skull Productions, October 2021). Before forming Coprophilia in the early 90s, some of the members of the band had been active on the Finnish punk/hardcore scene.

Stylistically this is an even more early Carcass influenced goregrind/death metal release than the first demo, which featured a few more death metal elements and slow death/doom metal parts (which are also stylistic elements on this demo, but the scale has tipped towards the goregrind part of the band´s sound). This is more filthy, noisy, and savage sounding. The sound quality is decent, although rather noisy and chaotic sounding, but to my ears that just provides the music with the right gloomy and vile atmosphere.

Coprophilia are a very well playing band, and it´s something you notice right away when listening to the demo. Everything is delivered with great skill and precision, but still with an organic touch. The drummer is for example absolutely on fire, driving the music forward in a fast-paced brutal fashion, with the distorted guitars almost sounding like a swarm of angry bees underneath, and the sick and depraved gurgling/juicy growling in front. The music also occasionally features morbid guitar leads, which are great for the variation of the songs, but also for the atmosphere of the demo.

Although this second demo is a more raw and unpolished recording compared to the first demo, I think this one is just a notch more interesting. The songwriting is pretty equally great on both demos, but the filthy, raw, and authentic sounding production on this demo just gives it something special. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Demo '91" is the first demo recording by Finnish death metal act Coprophilia. The demo was independently released in September 1991. Coprophilia were a relatively shortlived act who only released two demos during their early 90s career (they disbanded in 1993). The material from both demos have been reissued on the 2021 "Steam of Stertorous Cadaver... Demo Tapes 1991-1992" compilation album (Old Skull Productions, October 2021). Before forming Coprophilia in the early 90s, some of the members of the band had been active on the Finnish punk/hardcore scene.

Including a short intro, the demo features 5 tracks and a total playing time of 16:05, which provides the listener with enough time and material to evaluate what Coprophilia have to offer. Stylistically the music is a combination of fast-blasting goregrind (greatly influenced by early Carcass), mid-paced death metal heaviness, and morbid sounding death/doom metal. Coprophilia successfully combine the three styles, which is made possible be the fact that they are a very well playing unit. They have a good understanding of how to write an effectful death metal song too, and combined with a relatively well sounding demo production, this is certainly a Finnish death metal demo worth a listen. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.