UMUR "Fragments" is the 4th full-length studio album by French death metal act Loudblast. The album was released through Metal 13 Records in 1998. It´s the successor to "Sublime Dementia" from 1993. Although there have been no lineup changes between the release of "Sublime Dementia (1993)" and "Fragments", the music style has changed quite a bit. Loudblast started out playing death/thrash metal in the late 80s/early 90s and over the course of their first three albums added a technical dimension to their music. On "Fragments" they play a groove oriented heavy metal style with throathy semi-growling/shouting vocals, and they now sound closer to contemporary Machine Head than to the early 90s technical death/thrash scene that they were previously assiociated with. The riffs and the drumming are heavy and groove laden and the vocals raw and shouting in key.

Loudblast are still a skilled unit and they deliver their music with great technical skill. The material is generally a bit tame though. Not many riffs stand out and the vocals are a rather one-dimensional listen (think a more brutal and monotone James Hetfield and you´re not far off the mark). The sound production is professional and detailed, but it lacks power and punch, and ultimately it´s too polished and clean for its own good.

So "Fragments" is an album which shows great development of sound and style, but while it´s not a bad quality release by any means, the new musical direction isn´t quite the success it could have been. The whole thing lacks power and enthusiasm and the album becomes a little boring after a couple tracks. My ears tend to listen to what the musicians are doing rather than listen to the actual music (the drumming is for example quite tasteful), and that´s usually a sign that the songs lack memorable hooks and strong riffs. It´s not all bad though and a 3 star (60%) rating is still warranted.