UMUR "Shadow Gripped" is the 6th full-length studio album by UK death/thrash metal act Cancer. The album was released through Peaceville Records in November 2018. B>Cancer formed in 1987 and were part of the early UK death metal scene along with artists like Carcass, Benediction, and Bolt Thrower. They released four studio albums before disbanding in 1996. They reunited in 2003 and released the "Corporation$" EP in 2004, and the full-length studio album "Spirit in Flames" in 2005. Cancer disbanded again in 2006, but reunited once more in 2013.

So "Shadow Gripped" is the second comeback album Cancer have released in their career. "Spirit in Flames (2005)" didn´t exactly stir up the ocean, so it´s probably taken the band a few years to lick their wounds and come up with a new comeback plan. Lineup wise "Shadow Gripped" features the original three-piece lineup, who recorded the band´s debut album back in 1990: John Walker (vocals, guitars), Carl Stokes (drums), and Ian Buchanan (bass).

Stylistically it´s also an obvious stab at going back to the roots, as Cancer play a pretty basic death metal style with the occasional thrash metal leanings. It´s not exactly "To the Gory End (1990)" number two though, and it´s audible that a lot of water has run under the bridge since the early beginnings of the band. "Shadow Gripped" features a dark and not very dynamic sound production, and the fierceness and brutality of the early releases of the band aren´t present here. Or at least only in small doses. "Shadow Gripped" does feature some catchy moments (particularly the shout/growl along choruses on seveal of the tracks), but overall it comes off a bit flat and uninteresting.

I know words like those read really negative, and they of course aren´t meant as positives, but it shouldn´t be read as if "Shadow Gripped" is a bad quality release, because it certainly isn´t. It´s just not a death metal release which stands out in the vast number of releases which come out every year, and considering the legendary status of a band like Cancer I simply expect more from them. It shouldn´t come as a surprise of course, as Cancer have changed their style with each release though the years, and not always with great end results. "Shadow Gripped" is more interesting than its direct predecessor, but doesn´t reach the quality of the band´s early output and therefore a 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Spirit in Flames" is the 5th full-length studio album by UK death/thrash metal act Cancer. The album was released through Copro Records in June 2005. Cancer formed in 1987 and were part of the early UK death metal scene along with artists like Carcass, Benediction, and Bolt Thrower. They released four studio albums before disbanding in 1996. They reunited in 2003 and released the "Corporation$" EP in 2004, and "Spirit in Flames" is the follow-up to that release. Cancer disbanded again in 2006, but reunited once more in 2013. Since "Black Faith (1995)" there have been some lineup changes as bassist and founding member Ian Buchanan has been replaced by Adam Richardson, and guitarist Barry Savage has been replaced by Dave Leitch. The usual suspects are drummer Carl Stokes, and vocalist/guitarist John Walker.

While Cancer started out playing pretty straight old school death metal on their first couple of releases, they soon started incorporating thrash metal elements, and by "Black Faith (1995)" the death metal elements were almost gone. "Spirit in Flames" more or less continues down the thrash metal oriented path of it´s predecessor, so it´s not a "return to the roots" type of comeback album. The music still features a couple of vague death metal moments, but they are few and far between. Instead the band incorporate both industrial and stoner elements in their core thrash metal sound, and the outcome is relatively eclectic. I hear a lot of Prong influences in the music (I also hear a few nods toward "Grin (1993)" by Coroner), but Cancer are generally less groove oriented. The hoarse shouting vocals style is pretty similar to the delivery of Tommy Victor though.

The material on the 9 track, 39:03 is generally decent in quality, but there´s little here that stands out as remarkable beyond what´s standard for the style. The only time during the album´s playing time, where I´m really captured by the band´s sound is during the latter part of "Solar Prophecy", where Cancer suddenly go into stoner mode, plays some pretty great hard rocking riffs, and add a psychadelic touch to the music. Other than that the music tends to sound a bit stale and uninspired. It´s not particularly bad, but when the catchy and memorable moments are as few as they are here, it would be wrong to call this a high quality release.

The sound production is also of a pretty standard quality. Again it´s not bad, but it doesn´t exactly enhance the listening experience either. The musicianship is on a pretty high level though, and it does slightly save the day. So all in all "Spirit in Flames" isn´t the most interesting release out there and Cancer have certainly released better, but a 3 star (60%) rating is still warranted.

Unitron Death Shall Rise is the second studio album from old-school death metal band Cancer.

Cancer cemented themselves into the world of death metal with their debut, To the Gory End, only to return a year later with their sophomore release. In a short year's time did they make ends of gore meet, or did they not release a worthy follow-up to the underrated old-school death metal classic?

Well the album opens up with perhaps the band's best song and a should-be death metal classic with "Hung, Drawn, and Quartered". This song represents the absolute best in old-school death metal, with thrashing guitar, Slayer-esque guitar solos, some particularly impressive drumming, and an infectiously catchy growl along chorus. Unfortunately that amazing opening track makes most of everything else pale in comparison. Not to say there aren't more winners here, as "Gruesome Tasks" and "Corpse Fire" are killer and most of the songs here have some great catchy riffs and passages, especially the title cut and "Internal Decay".

Most of the songs here are longer than most from the debut, which unfortunately makes this album a bit monotonous at times. The debut didn't suffer this, as most of the songs were killer and compact, while here some are stretched out too long. The album still flows well like the debut, but it's just simply not as catchy or exciting. The lyrics are still gruesome also, so don't worry about all of sudden hearing about flowers and sunshine.

While "Hung, Drawn, and Quartered" is one of my favorite death metal songs, the rest of the album unfortunately doesn't really hold up to that fantastic opener. It's still a pretty good old-school death metal album, but it does lack the addictive grooves of the debut. It's worth a listen, but I think the debut easily has the edge over it.

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Unitron To the Gory End is the debut studio album from death metal band Cancer.

While death metal first started to form back in the mid-late 80's, with bands like Death and Possessed spear-heading the genre (although Sepultura came earlier as a prototype), death metal really took off at the beginning of the decade of the 90's. Groups such as Morbid Angel, Deicide, Carcass, and Entombed really got the genre on full-speed, with Cannibal Corpse and Suffocation pushing forward with the most brutal end of the spectrum.

One of the more forgotten acts of the old school death metal scene is Cancer, which came onto the scene with their debut studio album in 1990. Immediately with the opening raw bark on opening track "Blood Bath", you know you're in for some classic old school death metal greatness with a blistering assault of thumping drums and razor-sharp riffs. That's not all though, as just take a listen to "C.F.C. (Cancer Fucking Cancer)" and "Die Die" and just try not to get addicted to those grooves. In fact, there's tons of great grooves here mixed in with the intense speed, "Into the Acid" especially showcases this blend well. "Witch Hunt" and "Body Count" also have this terrific fusion of rapid speeds and punchy riffs.

As you would get from the song titles and album cover, the lyrics are fun gore-centered lyrics for the whole family. Songs about bodies lying in radiation pits, limbs rotting, and smashing through one's skull is sure to bring a smile to any old school death metal fan's face. Also, the album flows really well. The album and songs are short, avoiding any monotony.

While it's no Alters of Madness or Necroticism, To the Gory End is quite a killer debut and an underrated gem in the old school death scene. If you like your death metal fast, groovy, gruesome, and short this would be a great choice.

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UMUR "Live Death" is a split live album release recorded live at the Milwaukee Metalfest, Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1992. The album was released through Restless Brand Records in 1994. "Live Death" features performances by Suffocation, Malevolent Creation, Exhorder, and Cancer.

Suffocation, Malevolent Creation, and Cancer all play death metal while Exhorder is thrash metal in the brutal end of the scale. All four bands were in their infancy at this point, and none of them had released more than maximum two studio albums at taht point, and the material featured on this album refects that, as all tracks on the album are culled from the earliest releases of the bands. "Jesus Wept" and "Infecting the Crypts" by Suffocation, "Premature Burial", "Slaughter of Innocence", and "Decadence Within" by Malevolent Creation, "The Law", "(Cadence of) the Dirge", and "Desecrator by Exhorder, and "Hung, Drawn and Quartered" and "Blood Bath" by Cancer. Most of the tracks are today considered "classic" material by the various bands. Naturally these are only selections from the various bands full shows.

The recording quality is very raw and I dare say not much above lo-fi recorded audience bootlegs (I´m being a bit harsh here). So you won´t get the most detailed performances, but instead an authentic sounding recording, which presents the material like it was played on the day. No overdubs, no polish (the sound quality is slightly better on the Malevolent Creation and Exhorder tracks than on the Suffocation and Cancer tracks). It´s a great pleasure to hear how well playing the various bands are even this early on in their careers, and the selection of tracks and how the tracklist is constructed also work really well. The sound quality is bound to be a challenge for some and personally I could have wished for a slightly more clear sounding production, but as an authentic document of the bands performances that day, "Live Death" works pretty well. A 3 star (60%) rating is deserved.