UMUR "Cross the Styx" is the debut full-length studio album by Dutch death metal act Sinister. The album was released through Nuclear Blast Records in 1992. Sinister was formed in 1988 and released a string of minor releases in the early 90s before being signed to Nuclear Blast Records for the release of "Cross the Styx". They are widely considered among the most prolific Dutch death metal acts.

The music on "Cross the Styx" is US influenced death metal. It´s technically well played, brutal, and relatively memorable. Especially Deicide comes to mind one or two times during the playing time, but Sinister do manage to stir clear of sounding like a clone. They are not terribly original nor distinct sounding, but they deliver they music with great passion and conviction. Tracks like "Perennial Mourning" or the title track are greatly enjoyable death metal tracks, but the same can be said about most of the material on the album.

The sound production suits the music well and I´d say "Cross the Styx" is a relatively well produced album. Taking into consideration that the band are well playing, the growling vocals are brutal yet delivered in an intelligible and greatly enjoyable aggressive fashion, and the fact that the material is generally well written, a 3.5 star (70%) rating isn´t all wrong. I like this one.