UMUR "Shadow Mechanics" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Finnish death metal act Demigod. The album was released through Spikefarm Records in February 2002. It´s the successor to "Slumber of Sullen Eyes" from 1992. Demigod formed in 1990 and released quite a bit of demo/promo material and a split with Necropsy before releasing "Slumber of Sullen Eyes (1992)". Demigod split-up in 1994, so "Shadow Mechanics" is a comeback album. There have been quite a few lineup changes since the predecessor, and original lead vocalist/guitarist Esa Lindén has for example left. He is replaced here by two singers. Ali Leiniö who performs growling death metal vocals and Tuomas Ala-Nissilä who performs clean vocals. Former guitarist Mika Haapasalo, who has now switched to keyboards, also performs vocals on one track ("Crimson Tears").

So needless to say the material on "Shadow Mechanics" is quite different in style from the old school Scandinavian death metal of "Slumber of Sullen Eyes (1992)". Stylistically this is a less savage type of death metal, featuring occasional clean vocal sections, keyboards (although the use is very moderate), and a clear and detailed sound production, which focus on making everything audible in the mix rather than punching the listener in the face with raw power. It´s not that the music is limb or anything like that, but it´s just a little more sophisticated than what came before. Demigod have trouble deciding the musical direction on the album though, and it makes for a relatively inconsistent listen. Some tracks are relatively regular death metal, while others are semi-technical death metal (I was reminded of Death at one point), and the tracks featuring clean vocals again sound pretty different.

"Shadow Mechanics" features a well sounding production job, and it´s a well performed album too, so for the more open-minded death metal listener this may be an intriguing release. To my ears the inconsistent songwriting and some of the clean vocal parts make "Shadow Mechanics" a lesser album than it could have been. There is promise and quality here, but the end result is less than the sum of its parts. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is still warranted though.