UMUR "Beyond Redemption" is the third (and last) demo by Swedish death metal act Afflicted Convulsion. The demo was independently released on cassette tape in the spring of 1990. Shortly after the release of the demo the band decided to remove the Convulsion part of their name and continue the band under the Afflicted monicker.

The preceding demo tape "Psychedelic Grindcore" from December 1989, was a live rehearsal demo, but "Beyond Redemption" was recorded during the spring of 1990 at Grottan Studios, Tyresö, and features a demo quality studio sound production. It´s still incredibly primitive and raw sounding, but it´s a bit more listenable and less muddy and noisy sounding than "Psychedelic Grindcore" (1989). The music style is a raw and aggressive type of death metal with deathgrind elements. The material is unpolished and not particularly interesting, but there are signs of future greatness here and there. Most tracks could have prospered from a culling though, being around 5-6 minutes long and losing steam after 2-3 minutes.

"Beyond Redemption" is arguably the most well played and most well sounding Afflicted Convulsion release, but that doesn´t say much considering the low quality of the first two demos by the band. It´s an example of a more deathgrinding early Swedish death metal recording, and in that regard it´s a bit unusual for the era, but other contemporary demo releases showed more promise and were more well composed/well performed too. A 2 star (40%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Psychedelic Grindcore" is the 2nd demo by Swedish death metal act Afflicted Convulsion. The demo was independently released on cassette tape in December 1989. It´s the successor to the February 1989 "Toxic Existence" demo and it´s a very different sounding release to the predecessor as "Psychedelic Grindcore" is an official rehearsal demo recorded live at Grottan Rehearsal Studios.

While "Toxic Existence" (1989) was an almost too polished (for a demo) release which didn´t suit the material that well, "Psychedelic Grindcore" is at the other end of the scale, being an extremely raw, muddy, and noisy recording. It´s pretty hard to hear details in the music, but it´s still audible that the band have taken major songwriting steps and have also honed their playing skills since the first demo. Some of the tracks from the demo would appear in re-recorded studio versions on the 1990 "Beyond Redemption" demo, where the band´s progression are better heard.

Rehearsal demos like "Psychedelic Grindcore" are mostly made for the band themselves, to hear raw drafts of their material, and they seldom provide much listening value for the fans. In that regard "Psychedelic Grindcore" is no different from most rehearsal demos and it´s not a pleasant listen on the ears. A 1.5 star (30%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Toxic Existence" is the first demo by Swedish death metal act Afflicted Convulsion. The demo was independently released on cassette tape in February 1989. Afflicted Convulsion formed in 1988 from the ashes of thrash metal act Reptile. The band name was changed to Defiance before it was again changed to the current one. Afflicted Convulsion changed their name in 1990 removing the Convulsion part of their band name, and were from then on using the Afflicted monicker.

The 5 tracks on th 20:01 minutes long demo are arguably the sound of a very young band experimenting with a lot of different elements and styles. There are both thrash metal, traditional heavy metal, and some death metal riffs here, and the lead vocalist also toys with different singing styles, including some very weird and out of place screams. Almost cartoonish in nature and not very well sounding within the context of the music.

There are actually quite a few interesting songwriting ideas on the demo, but the many different ideas put together don´t make for a consistent and coherent listening experience. Instead the listener is treated to some amaturish performances (well some of the guitar riffs are actually pretty well played) and songs that don´t really work that well. The relatively clear sounding production (for a demo) is actually not an advantage for Afflicted Convulsion, as a more raw and muddy sound would probably have disguised some of their less than impressive playing skills. A 1.5 star (30%) rating isn´t all wrong.