UMUR "Balvaz" is the first demo recording by Norwegian death metal act Braindead. The demo was independently released in November 1988. Braindead formed in 1987, recorded this sole demo and then changed their name to Balvaz in 1989. When Balvaz disbanded in 1991, guitarist/vocalist Lasse Johansen formed Disgusting. Anders Odden from Cadaver is credited for playing the drums on the demo but also for producing and engineering.

The demo features 7 tracks (one is a short intro) and it´s essentially a rehearsal demo with no overdubs. So this is a pretty raw and unpolished rehearsal room release, but Odden has actually managed to make the demo sound decent...all things considered.

Stylistically this is raw old school death metal with some brutal thrash metal leanings (although not many), and a few out-of-place comedy moments (the first few minutes of "Anti" are just ridiculous). The vocals are aggressive snarling rather than death metal growling, but this is still primarily a death metal release.

For a first demo release Braindead do pretty well with "Balvaz" and considering the time of release (November 1988 is pretty early for a Scandinavian death metal demo, although earlier releases can of course be found) it´s a decent demo. A 2.5 - 3 star (55%) rating is warranted.