UMUR "An Apparition in Nocturnal Splendor" is an EP release by US/South African blackened death metal act Gukurahundi. The EP is offered as a free download on the band´s Bandcamp profile, but there is also a physical digipack CD version available limited to 100 copies through Manicidic Records released in April 2013. Gukurahundi is a two-man project consisting of Pete Colucci (vocals) and Lawrence Nielsen (all instruments). In the years 2008 - 2011 the two worked under The Demon Project monicker and released an EP using that name before changing their name to Gukurahundi in 2012. A band name they´ve taken after the brutal ethnic cleansing in Zimbabwe in the early eighties. The members of the band have recorded their parts of the music separate from each other as Pete Colucci lives in the United States and Lawrence Nielsen is situated in South Africa.

The music on the 5 track, 18:09 minutes long EP is melodic blackened death metal. A band like Necrophobic comes to mind, but Gukurahundi doesn´t quite reach the heights of that band. The vocals are high pitched sneering black metal type vocals and the instrumental part of the music features both death, black and old school thrash metal elements. There is a good balance between melody and energetic brutality in the music.

The sound production is relatively well sounding, although it´s sometimes too obvious that the drums are programmed. The sound is simply a bit too artificial. Other than that, "An Apparition in Nocturnal Splendor" is quite an enjoyable release. Not the most original release, but enjoyable non the less and a 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is deserved.