UMUR "Grey Misery" is the debut full-length studio album by Finnish, Turku area based death metal act Disgrace. The album was released through Modern Primitive in 1992. Disgrace formed in 1987 and released a couple of demos in their early days, which never saw any widespread official releases, but during 1990 they released the February 1990 "Beyond the Immortalized Existence" demo, the October 1990 "Inside the Labyrinth of Depression" demo, and the November 1990 "Debts of God" EP. Only three tracks from the early releases have been re-recorded and included on "Grey Misery" ("Unity's Interlude Dyes Blind Tomorrow", "The Chasm", and "Waves of Hypocrisy Seas") (four tracks on the original CD version as "Transcendental Dimension" has been included as a bonus track), the remaining tracks are new original material.

Stylistically the material on "Grey Misery" continues the Carcass influenced death metal style of the October 1990 "Inside the Labyrinth of Depression" demo and further develops on that style. So "Grey Misery" is predomiantly a fast-paced (sometimes almost deathgrindy) album, with sick juicy growling vocals and occasionally snarling aggressive ditto. Disgrace add heavy death/doom parts, morbid leads, and atmospheres to the blend though, which make them much more than just a Carcass clone. The Carcass influence is arguably there and it´s certainly strong, but Disgrace still manage to produce something which is very much their own. There´s for example a brutal groove to some parts, which are quite unique for the time.

While the rhythm guitars could maybe have prospered from a more meaty sound, the sound production is otherwise both powerful, raw, and brutal, and it suits the material well. Upon conclusion "Grey Misery" is a high quality release by Disgrace. It´s creative, brutal, dark and vile, which are some of the basics most people are seeking for in an old school death metal release. Unfortunately it would be the last "pure" death metal release from Disgrace, as at the time of the release of "Grey Misery", they had already moved on and started incorporating hard rock and 70s doom metal (Black Sabbath in particular was an influence) to their sound. They recorded an album in 1993, which remaining unreleased until 2011, which could have made them one of the seminal death´n´roll acts from that time, had it seen a release. Oh well...considering their relatively low number of death metal releases (two demos, one EP, and one album) Disgrace are still one of the most interesting Finnish death metal acts from that time and "Grey Misery" deserves a 4 star (80%) rating.

UMUR "1990" is a compilation release by Finnish death metal act Disgrace. The compilation was released through Big Money Recordings in November 2011. It features the material from the two demos and the one EP, which Disgrace put out in 1990. The material is presented in reverse chronological order in terms of when it was recorded (not in terms of when it was released).

The compilation opens with the four tracks from the October 1990 "Inside the Labyrinth of Depression" demo, which is a strongly Carcass influenced old school death metal release with the occasional heavy death/doom part thrown in. It´s good quality material and well worth the price of admission. Then follows the four tracks from the November 1990 "Debts of God" EP, which is also a great old school death metal release, but probably their the least interesting release included on this compilation. "1990" closes with the five tracks from the February 1990 "Beyond the Immortalized Existence" demo, which to my ears is absolutely essentional listening material for fans of old school death metal. Great brutal death/doom metal parts, faster-paced chaotic sounding death metal, morbid leads, and just an overall filthy and dark atmosphere.

Disgrace are relatively unsung in terms of people recognising their name when disgussing old school death metal from the late 80s/early 90s, but they deserve a lot more attention and respect than what they usually get. I can highly recommend "1990" as a means of conversion and off course also Disgrace´s 1992 "Grey Misery" (Modern Primitive) debut full-length studio album, which is not included here. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Debts of God" is an EP release by Finnish death metal act Disgrace. The EP was released through Seraphic Decay Records in November 1990. It follows the release of the band´s two 1990 demos "Beyond the Immortalized Existence" (February 1990) and "Inside the Labyrinth of Depression" (October 1990), and it´s Disgrace´s first label release. Chronologically the material on "Debts of God" was recorded before the material which is featured on the "Inside the Labyrinth of Depression" demo, although "Debts of God" ended up being released after the demo. "Debts of God" features two new original compositions and two re-recorded tracks from the "Beyond the Immortalized Existence" demo.

Stylistically it´s no surprise that the material on "Debts of God" is similar to the filthy and raw old school death metal of the "Beyond the Immortalized Existence" demo (which of course makes sense since two of the tracks are featured on both releases). "Debts of God" however features a rather distinct sounding production job, which provides it with a pretty unique sound. It´s not a particularly well produced release, but Disgrace still manage to get something out of the circumstances they are given and it´s generally a decent quality release featuring both death/doom metal heaviness and death metal brutality and faster paces. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating isn´t all wrong, although I prefer the two contemporary demo releases to this EP.

UMUR "Inside the Labyrinth of Depression" is the second demo recording by Finnish death metal act Disgrace. The demo was independently released in October 1990. It´s the band´s second 1990 demo recording as they had already released the "Beyond the Immortalized Existence" demo in February 1990. The original demo is probably hard to find today, but the material has been reissued along with the material from the other early releases by Disgrace on the compilation album "1990" (Big Money Recordings, November 2011).

Stylistically the four tracks on the 14:01 minutes long demo are a continuation of the filthy old school death metal style of the first demo (it´s maybe a little faster paced overall, but other than that the two demos have a similar sound). Disgrace are arguably greatly influenced by contemporary Carcass, and even more on this demo than on "Beyond the Immortalized Existence", but they still manage to put their own spin on the raw and savage death metal style they produce. One of the great featureds of Disgrace music is the pairing of the fast-paced brutal death metal parts with heavy and doomy death/doom parts, which is a great contrast in their music, which works wonders. The only part of "Inside the Labyrinth of Depression" which doesn´t work that well is the death´n´rolled short middle part on "Waves of Hypocrisy Seas", which features a blues rock guitar solo. I´m not sure who´s genius idea that was, but it´s arguably a bad choice.

Other than that mishap, "Inside the Labyrinth of Depression" is another strong demo release from Disgrace further stengthening their position as one of the seminal Finnish death metal acts from the early 90s. The demo also features a relatively well sounding production job, and overall it´s a good quality old school death metal demo. I don´t find it quite as convincing as the "Beyond the Immortalized Existence" demo, but it´s still a good quality release. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Beyond the Immortalized Existence" is the first demo recording by Finnish death metal act Disgrace. The demo was independently released in February 1990. Disgrace formed in 1987 and did release some demos before "Beyond the Immortalized Existence", but they weren´t widely distributed and it appears the band consider "Beyond the Immortalized Existence" their first "real" demo. The original demo is probably hard to find today, but the material has been reissued along with the material from the other early releases by Disgrace on the compilation album "1990" (Big Money Recordings, November 2011).

Disgrace are one of the three seminal Turku area based death metal acts along with Xysma and Funebre, who revolutionized the early Finnish death metal scene. Listening to "Beyond the Immortalized Existence" it´s not surprising that Disgrace are held in such high regard by fans of old school Finnish death metal scene, because their blend of ultra heavy and brutal death/doom parts, morbid leads, and filthy, dark, and savage sounding faster paced death metal parts is quite impressive considering that "Beyond the Immortalized Existence" is an early 1990 demo recording. To my ears this demo contains exactly what an old school death metal demo should.

The sound production is raw, distorted, and at times a little chaotic sounding, but it´s a perfect sound for the erratic and quite eclectic sounding death metal which Disgrace play. The songwriting is highly autonomous, adventurous, and creative. This is a band who give two shits about what others think. I don´t often rate demos with a 4 star (80%) rating, but this is absolutely essential listening for fans of the genre.