UMUR Out Of A Center Which Is Neither Dead Nor Alive is the debut studio album by US experimental/ post metal act Minsk. I was introduced to Minsk via their second album The Ritual Fires of Abandonment (2007) which I found to be an excellent album. A really great surprise for me with it´s crushingly heavy riffing mixed with psychadelic elements. Great album that one. So I had to get Out Of A Center Which Is Neither Dead Nor Alive to see if the band had started out as strong.

The music is pretty much in the same vein as on The Ritual Fires of Abandonment which means that this is a crushingly heavy album with psychadelic leanings. The psychadelic elements are not as dominant as on the second album though. Neurosis is the big influence here and I can´t say that Minsk brings much new to the table on this debut, but it´s still a very enjoyable album. The six songs on the album are generally very long and most clock in about the 10 minutes. The music has a tendency to become a bit too repetitive at times which is something they have corrected for their second album. The vocals are very harsh, but never growling.

The musicianship is good. Note the tribal like drumming. Very Neurosis inspired.

The production is professional and heavy.

I´m happy that I purchased Out Of A Center Which Is Neither Dead Nor Alive, but I do prefer The Ritual Fires of Abandonment over this one. It´s just a more sophisticated release. This album deserves a 3.5 star rating. Fans of Neurosis should really check this band out.