UMUR "Only Shreds Remain" is the second demo release by Swedish death metal act Nihilist. The demo was independently released in early 1989. It was a very popular demo release and the band sold 3.000 copies of the demo cassette tape. Nihilist formed in 1987 as Brainwarp, but soon changed their name and worked under the Nihilist monicker from 1987-1989, after which they shortly split-up and reformed the band (minus bassist Johnny Hedlund) now using the Entombed name (an American band had already taken the Nihilist name).

The band went from recording their first demo at Studio Z to recording "Only Shreds Remain" at Sunlight Studio in December 1988, and while this is still a very rough recording, it´s obvious that the change of studio has meant a lot in terms of "Only Shreds Remain" sounding more brutal than "Premature Autopsy". We are beginning to hear signs of the special buzzsaw Sunlight Studio guitar sound, and with the addition of former Morbid drummer L-G Petrov on vocals, the vocal part of the music has now also become more brutal and growling (bassist Johnny Hedlund had also joined at this point). Nihilist (and later Entombed) always held on to their hardcore influences, but compared to "Premature Autopsy" the thrash metal influences are now gone from the music.

While "Only Shreds Remain" is a pretty crude recording, you begin to hear the signs of future greatness, and some of the heavy doomy parts which are featured on the tracks are crushing. The tracks are also a lot more advanced in structure than the material on the preceding demo, so there is great development here and it´s understandable why many hold this demo in such high regard. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.