UMUR "Abomination" is the self-titled debut full-length studio album by US, Chicago based thrash metal act Abomination. The album was released through Nuclear Blast Records in 1990. Paul Speckmann (vocals, bass), and Aaron Nickeas (drums) were also active in Master, who released their debut album around the same time as this album. In fact Abomination undertook at 26 date tour as support to Master, with Pungent Stench sandwiched in between.

Where Master played a raw death metal influenced thrash metal, Abomination is more "straight" thrash metal, although there are many similarities between the two acts, which is of course only natural when 2/3 of the lineup play in both bands. It´s still a pretty raw and unpolished version of US thrash metal though, so don´t expect technical wizardry or anything particularly well played. These guys play loud, raw, and with a savage attitude. The lyrical themes are typical for the time and the genre, which songtitles like "Murder, Rape, Pillage and Burn" and "Possession" bear witness to. So nothing out of the ordinary there.

The sound production is raw, unpolished, and lacking a bit in the power department. It´s not the most well sounding thrash metal production out there, and the music suffers slightly because of it. It´s not a problem that it´s raw, but the lack of power is what kills it. The sloppy musicianship, which some listeners might find charming and authentic, is also a bit of an issue to my ears.

So while the material is as such decent enough even though it´s not exactly original sounding, the sloppy musicianship and unpolished powerless production do drag my rating down a bit. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.