UMUR "Cult of the Dead" is the 4th full-length studio album by Dutch death/ thrash act Legion of the Damned. The album was released in December 2008 by Massacre Records.

The music on "Cult of the Dead" is aggressive death/ thrash metal with a sneering aggressive frontman. Influences come from acts like early Kreator and early Slayer. It´s amazing that Legion of the Damned on this their 4th album in 3 years sound almost exactly like they did on their debut full-length studio album "Malevolent Rapture (2006)". While the band´s music is powerful, "In Your Face" and very well played it´s impossible not to notice that there aren´t much development in the songwriting department. Neither between songs, and maybe a bit more serious, nor between albums. Even the production on "Cult of the Dead" sounds almost exactly like the productions on the album´s three predecessors. Legion of the Damned´s motto seem to be: "Stick to Your Guns and do what you do best". While I have a ton of respect for that approach just a tiny bit of renewal or experimentation would be welcome by now. A different sounding production, new song structures or just anything new to keep me from thinking that "Cult of the Dead" sounds exactly like the album before it, and the album before that one, and the album before that one...etc.

When that is said "Cult of the Dead" is yet another quality death/ thrash album by Legion of the Damned and a 3.5 star rating is deserved. I wouldn´t recommend that you purchase more than one of the band´s albums though. They simply sound too much the same. Taken one by one they are all great albums though.