UMUR "Outside The Spiral" is the debut full-length studio album by US, Florida based metal act Till The Dirt. The album was released through Nuclear Blast in August 2023. Till The Dirt was formed in 2020 by Atheist frontman Kelly Shaefer after he had written some material, which he didn´t feel fit Atheist´s style. Shaefer is joined here by a couple of the guys from his day job and some other talented players.

Stylistically the material on "Outside The Spiral" is very hard to label. There are arguably some similar technical/progressive thrash/death metal elements to those also used by Shaefer on Atheist´s compositions, but Till The Dirt is still different also incorporating a heavy Seattle rock influence and even some stoner rock/metal influences to the mix. Shaefer both sings clean vocals and screams his lungs out, so the vocal part of the album is relatively varied.

While the music is not technical for the sake of it, it´s still pretty technical music and fans of Atheist´s "Jupiter" (2010) album could find this interesting...if they keep an open mind and remember that this is not an Atheist album. There is a melodic sensibility here, which sometimes touces real melodic territory (like the chorus on the title track), but it´s certainly not a mainstream melodic appeal. This is still way too experimental, heavy, and challenging for a mainstream audience.

The sound production is massive, heavy, clear, and detailed. Again I´m thinking of the production on Atheist´s "Jupiter" (2010) album and hear many similarities. So upon conclusion this may not be an Atheist album, but it´s the slightly more accessible heavy rock/stoner rock tinged cousin to Shaefer´s main project, and while we´re waiting for a new Atheist album, this is a nice little distraction. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.