UMUR "Honour - Valour - Pride" is the 7th full-length studio album by UK death metal act Bolt Thrower. The album was released through Metal Blade Records in November 2001. After performing the vocals for "Mercenary (1998)", lead vocalist Karl Willetts left Bolt Thrower again and the band recruited former Benediction frontman Dave Ingram to replace him. Ingram was a fan and longtime friend of the band so his inclusion was a natural step. The drummer position also saw a change as Martin Kearns, who played with Bolt Thrower in the 1994 - 1997 period returned to the fold and replaced Alex Thomas who had played the drums on "Mercenary (1998)".

Despite the lineup changes Bolt Thrower as usual sound unmistakably like...well Bolt Thrower. While Dave Ingram is a slightly weaker vocalist than Karl Willetts and it seems to me he isn´t given much room to put his own mark on the material, his vocal performance here is alright and more or less fits the music like a glove. With Bolt Thrower you always know what you´re gonna get. Simple yet effective downtuned riffs, heavy beats, war/battle themed lyrics/imagery and deep growling yet intelligible vocals in front. So far...so good.

The sound production on the album does drag my rating down a bit though (why are Dave Ingram´s vocals so low in the mix?). It´s not bad but it´s slightly weaker than the sound on "Mercenary (1998)" and much weaker than the sound on "...for Victory (1994)". I don´t think the material is quite as interesting or memorable as was the case on the last couple of albums either, but we´re of course still talking quality old school death metal with a distinct sound. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is warranted.

Warthur Dave Ingram's only album in the vocalist spot for Bolt Thrower sees the band continue their streak of absolutely top-notch albums. Lyrically speaking, things seem to be a little less serious business, Ingram's vocals being more or less completely limited to military jargon and the sort of stuff you see special ops fighters in action movies say. However, as always with Bolt Thrower it's the way they say it that's really interesting so much as what they are saying. This is a fine companion piece to the preceding Mercenary, continuing the musical approach of that album, and is yet another victory for the all-conquering Bolt Thrower.

Wilytank Honour, Valour, Pride may be the odd Bolt Thrower album out due to Karl Willets being M.I.A., but this album retains a very healthy dose of kick-ass.

I find this album better than some of their previous albums (except The IVth Crusade and ...For Victory obviously).

Replacement vocalist Dave Ingram does a fine job making memorable lines with emphasis on his vocal tone, such as "Awaken life immortal, one last bitter retreat " on the opener "Contact - Wait Out". Ingram was a great choice for a fill in vocalist; if you're a fan of the band Benediction, you should check out this album just for him.

The music is slow to mid paced like Mercenary, but this album is definitely more varied in its structure. There's an awesome sense of melody in here with the valiant sounding guitar mixed with the hard and heavy tone that this band always delivers us with machine gun drums and rolling tank track bass.

At first glance, you'd wonder what's so special about it besides the new vocalist. Then you remember: it's Bolt fucking Thrower, and no more questions need to be asked.