UMUR "Evil" is a 7" EP by Swedish doom/noise/black metal project Abruptum. The EP was released through Psycho-Slaughter in November 1991. Abruptum was at this point a two-piece act consisting of IT (Guitars, Bass, Drums, Vocals) and All (vocals).

Stylistically the band play a dark and tortured doom/noise/black metal style. It´s a rather unpleasant and quite frankly disturbing listen but it´s also very intriguing and adventurous. The music is atmospheric and ambient and the heavy dissonant riffing are placed quite low in the mix and sometimes not present at all. Eerie keyboards, noises, and sound effects are omnipresent. I´d call this an atmospheric noise release before I´d call it a doom/black metal release. The vocals are quite extreme and spans from tortured screaming to unintelligible growling. The sound production is dark and murky, but all instruments and vocals are audible in the mix. It´s one of those releases where the sound is meant to be this way. A clear and polished sound production would probably have ruined the gloomy atmosphere.

"Evil" is a very interesting release by Abruptum and it´s obvious why a host of noise/doom/black metal artists (among those Gnaw Their Tongues) mention them as a primary influence and a seminal act in that genre. I´ve heard both better and more intriguing releases in this obscure sub genre, but "Evil" is still worth a 3.5 star (70%) rating.

renkls Pushing the boundaries even further with Vi Sonus... then I imagine many people expected, following their second full length, Abruptum prove that third time is not always the charm.

This isn't a charming release, a big step down (even in production quality) from their second full length, but like it, a single track mammoth over an hour long. Rather then a two person band, we're dealing only with the work of It, dedicating the release to Evil, who could not participate in the recording. A fitting absence based on his name, because here the effort rarely sparks up much in malice or evil thoughts.

What is the music like? Well, it's the same old Abruptum, noisy, disjointed, abrasive and low-low fi. The album begins quite strongly, though the production quality will hit you with its poorness right away, building with a two minute intro...which would be great if the rest of the album wasn't the same old formula of an album length intro.

It never really travels anywhere, doesn't do much to initate or keep interest beyond the start, although there are some unexpected screams that burst you out of your thoughts as soon as you start to drift. If you enjoyed Abruptums previous work, this is a slightly disappointing release in that there's nothing new - but to them I can recommend it knowing that for some, sticking to a tried and previously successful method will keep at least a few fans.

For me, it's a 2.5. For others, probably less or more, depending on your tolerance for black metal improvisation stretched to an incredibly excessive length.

renkls Abruptum had already made a name for themselves in the early 1990s with their debut, as a melding of dark ambience, noise and black metal. 'Obscuritatem advoco amplectère me' was a 50 minute suite of utter chaos split into two halves, whereas their second album 'In umbra malitiae ambulabo, in aeternum in triumpho tenebraum' follows the same formula, except it's a single undivided 60 minute track. Flowing as an improvised piece of sound chaos, the album is challenging, anti-conventional and pretty structureless. For what it is though, it's one of the best instances of improvisational black metal around.

Pulling it apart, there seems to be a sense of cohesion to it, despite it sounding mostly improvised; well timed screams over cathartic drum beats, violin screeches that accentuate the feeling of dread. If this already sounds too 'out there' or unconventional for you, it probably is. I think this sound exercise struck me most prominently as a low-fi soundtrack, but very difficult listening because of how much it strays from convention, and has long periods of time where nothing remotely constituting musical competence happens. I enjoy it, time to time, but it's definitely a difficult listen, no matter how you put it.