UMUR "Midian" is the debut and sole full-length studio album by US death/thrash metal act Cabal. The album was released through Red Stream Inc. in 1990. Lead vocalist Killjoy founded the band after Necrophagia disbanded. Around the same time he also founded another thrash metal act called Killjoy who released the "Compelled by Fear" album in 1990 and then disbanded. A fate very similar to Cabal, who would also disband after releasing "Midian". The two bands shared several members.

The band name Cabal is taken from the 1988 Clive Barker novella of the same title. A novella that was in 1990 adopted into a movie under the title "Nightbreed". "Midian" is the name of an underground town full of monsters that is a central part of the story.

Stylistically the music on "Midian" are in the harsher and more brutal end of the thrash metal spectrum. The fat and meaty Morrisound Studio sound production provides the music with a touch of death metal as do Killjoy´s vocals, which are not exactly growling, but there is an occasional brutal edge to them. The music on the album is first and foremost technically well played US thrash metal though. Acts like Demolition Hammer, Devastation, and Exhorder come to mind. The band are very well playing and the music is executed with precision and power. The songwriting is relatively intriguing, although little goes on that you haven´t heard before. Heavy and fat thrashy riffing, tight rythms, and a raw sounding production.

Cabal spot on hits that distinct death/thrash metal style that was shortly popular in the late eighties/early nineties. They are not the most distinct sounding nor the most interesting act in the style, but "Midian" is still worth a listen or two because of the tight musicianship, the powerful sound production, and the pretty well written material. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.