UMUR "Born into Bondage" is an EP release by US death metal act Catastrophic. The EP was released through Merch Mania Productions in May 2005. It bridges the gap between the band´s debut- and second full-length studio albums "The Cleansing" from 2001 and "Pathology of Murder" from 2008. Catastrophic was formed in 1999 by Obituary guitarist Trevor Peres and most of the Pyrexia lineup who recorded the "Age of the Wicked (1997)" album. There´s been one lineup change since the debut album, as bassist Chris Basile has left to reform Pyrexia. He is replaced here by Joe Cincotta. The other Pyrexia guys opted to continue with Catastrophic instead of returning to Pyrexia and they managed to convince Obituary guitarist Trevor Peres to stay onboard for the recording of "Born into Bondage", although Peres reunited with Obituary in 2003 and was probably already busy with writing and rehearsing material for Obituary´s comeback album "Frozen in Time (2005)".

Stylistically the 5 tracks on the 19:37 minutes long EP continue the brutal and groove laden death metal style of "The Cleansing (2001)". Not surprisingly the music sounds like a combination of the ultra heavy and groove laden old school death metal of Obituary and the brutal and hardcore influenced death metal of Pyrexia, and fans of both acts should find a lot to enjoy here. Lead vocalist Keith DeVito has a strong voice, and an aggressive and very convincing growling delivery. I personally think he is one of the great and sadly often forgotten gems of the death metal scene and his praise should be sung much more often when speaking of great death metal vocalists. He brings so much power and passion to the music and he has a raw commanding delivery which means you can´t do anything but listen when he opens his mouth.

Peres has always had a distinct sounding guitar tone, and it´s no different here. His riff style and contributions to the songwriting can not be mistaken, but the Pyrexia guys also add their touch to the material. Overall "Born into Bondage" is a quality death metal release by Catastrophic and while it may not be a revelation or a grand development of the style, it´s a solid release featuring some really effectful brutal grooves and heavy riffs. It´s also a relatively well produced release and a 3.5 star (70%) rating isn´t all wrong.