UMUR "The God That Never Was" is the 7th full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act Dismember. The album was released through Candlelight Records in March 2006. Almost to the day two years after the release of its predecessor "Where Ironcrosses Grow (2004)". The core lineup of David Blomqvist (guitars), Fred Estby (drums), and Matti Kärki (vocals) is intact since the predecessor, but bassist/guitarist Martin Persson has been added to the lineup for the recording of "The God That Never Was".

Stylistically the material on the 11 track, 35:33 minutes long album is pretty much Dismember as they´ve sounded since day one. Old school Swedish death metal with the occasional melodic section. "The God That Never Was" is predominantly a pretty brutal album though, and Dismember don´t exactly sound like a bunch of seasoned and tired guys. There´s nothing wrong with the passion and energy level of the delivery. The sound production is raw and powerful, but quality wise pretty standard for the genre, and "The God That Never Was" is in many ways Dismember by the numbers. It´s not their best release (which will always be the debut album), and it´s not their worst either, but it´s not an album which stands out much in their discography.

Not many tracks stand out (maybe except for the melodic instrumental "Phantoms (of the Oath)"), but the the quality of the material is still relatively high, and I´d place "The God That Never Was" in the better half of the band´s output. Decent songwriting, strong musical performances, and a suitingly raw and powerful sound production amount to a 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating.