UMUR "Mindbender" is the 5th full-length studio album by French thrash metal act E-Force. The album was released through Mighty Music in November 2021. It´s the successor to "Demonikhol" from 2015. Only lead vocalist/bassist/guitarist Eric Forrest remains from the lineup who recorded the predecessor and new in the lineup are drummer Patrick Friedrich and lead guitarist Sébastien Chiffot. The former was already involved with E-Force on "Demonikhol" (2015) in a role as producer/engineer/mixer.

Stylistically the material on "Mindbender" is a continuation of the by now well known heavy mid-paced thrash metal style that E-Force have played since day one. Heavy riffs and beats, the occasional lead guitar moment, and Forrest´s ultra raw and aggressive vocals in front. While the material on the 11 track, 51:49 minutes long album are well written, almost all tracks feature a similar pace, vocal- and riffing style, and only the dark atmospheric "Futures Past" and the cover of "Insect" by Voivod stand out (and not necessarily in a good way). The latter is a bit of a curiosity, as Forrest has chosen to cover a song, where he sang and played on the original too. I´m afraid I don´t really see the point. While Forrest´s vocals are slightly different on this cover version, it´s still pretty close to the original, and E-Force don´t really manage to put their own spin on it. You can pick any other track from the album though (besides the two different sounding tracks, which are sub par to the rest) and you´ll be sure to encounter heavy, mid-paced, and aggressive thrash metal of a good quality.

The sound production is professional, and well sounding. It´s sharp and adds a nice aggressive environment for the material to shine, but I could have wished for a more audible bass and a more heavy bottom sound. I wouldn´t call the album thin sounding, but considering that the main man of the band is a bassist in addition to being the lead vocalist, I would have expected a more bass heavy assault. So "Mindbender" isn´t a perfect release, but E-Force have overall managed to release another good quality release, and if you enjoyed the preceding releases by the band, this one is recommeded too. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "The Curse..." is the 3rd full-length studio album by French thrash metal act E-Force. The album was released through Mausoleum Records in April 2014. E-Force was formed in 2001 by former Voivod vocalist/bassist Eric Forrest after he left Voivod (he recorded "Negatron (1995)" and "Phobos (1997)" with them). After releasing the E-Force debut full-length studio album "Evil Forces" in 2003, Forrest relocated from Canada to France and assembled a new lineup for the recording of the sophomore album "Modified Poison (2008)". Then a longer recording break followed before E-Force returned with "The Curse...", which could be called a comeback album after a 6 year long recording break.

Stylistically the music on the album more or less continues down the same aggressive and occasionally semi-progressive thrash metal path as "Modified Poison (2008)" tread. It´s still Eric Forrest-era Voivod which is the most obvious musical reference, but E-Force is generally a bit more hard edged and aggressive. "The Curse..." is a concept album concerning the power of women and how far men (and some women) will go to get laid. I´ve read an interview with Forrest where he mentions Tiger Woods as a good example of that.

After a short atmospheric intro ("Invitation") which features a woman moaning in what sounds like sexual ecstacy, the album kicks off with "Perverse Media", and never looks back until it closes with "The Curse Of The Cunt". The album is stylistically very consistent, but unfortunatly also a bit one-dimensional. Every track on the album is of a good quality if you listen to them out of context, but as an album "The Curse..." could have prospered from a bit more variation between tracks. When that is said it´s still a pretty good listening experience. Forrest´s vocals are delivered with the right aggressive snarling attitude, the playing is tight, and the blistering guitar solos add another important dimension to the music.

The album features a powerful, raw, and generally well sounding production, which suits the music well. So upon conclusion "The Curse..." is a relatively great album by E-Force. A bit more variation in the songwriting department and it could have been excellent. As it is a 3.5 star (70%) rating is still deserved though.

UMUR "Demonikhol" is the 4th full-length studio album by French thrash metal act E-Force. The album was released through Mausoleum Records in June 2015. E-Force was formed in 2001 by former Voivod vocalist/bassist Eric Forrest after he left Voivod (he recorded "Negatron (1995)" and "Phobos (1997)" with them). After releasing the E-Force debut full-length studio album "Evil Forces" in 2003, Forrest relocated from Canada to France and assembled a new lineup for the recording of the sophomore album "Modified Poison (2008)". Then a longer recording break followed before E-Force returned with "The Curse..." in 2014. With the release of "Demonikhol" only a year down the line, it would seem that E-Force is determined not to let as much time pass between albums again. "Demonikhol" was recorded by the duo lineup of: Eric Forrest (vocals, bass, guitars) and Krof (drums). The album features guest lead guitar performances by Vincent Agar (Yotangor, Lust), Tomáš Skořepa (Exorcizphobia), Antonello Gilliberto, Dan Baune (Monument) and Rob Urbinati (Sacrifice).

"Demonikhol" is a concept album, telling the story of the harm and destruction that alcohol abuse can bring with it. Stylistically the music is a continuation of the band´s already established sound, which can best be described as thrash metal with occasional progressive metal leanings (the vocals are predominantly really raw screaming/blackened type thrash vocals). Forrest´s work with Voivod often comes to mind (just listen to the opening riff to "Grievance", or some of the chord progressions featured on "Invasion"), although the music on "Demonikhol" is generally much more aggressive and raw sounding, than what Forrest did with the Canadians.

Most material on the 11 track, 44:06 minutes long album is in the hard edged, aggressive thrash metal style that is by now the band´s trademark sound, but they do deviate from the formula a couple of times during the playing time. "The Day After" which is placed in the middle of the album is a somber and atmospheric track featuring clean vocals, and album closer "Last Call" is an instrumental ambient industrial tinged track.

The musicianship is generally on a high level, and the sound production is professional and well sounding too. The songwriting is consistent, but the tracks maybe lack that last cathiness to truly enter excellent territory. I hear moments of high quality throughout the album, but a few more hooks could have made the album more memorable. As it is it´s still a great listen though and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Modified Poison" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Canadian formed/French based thrash metal act E-Force. The album was released through Thundering Records in February 2008. E-Force was formed by former Voivod vocalist/bassist Eric Forrest in 2001 after he left Voivod (he recorded "Negatron (1995)" and "Phobos (1997)" with them). After releasing the E-Force debut full-length studio album "Evil Forces" in 2003, Forrest relocated to France and assembled a new lineup for the recording of "Modified Poison". The album was recorded by the three-piece: Eric Forrest (vocals, bass), Cyril Bernhardt (guitars) and Alsvid (drums). Eric Forrest is also the vocalist in Project: Failing Flesh.

The music on the album is a powerful type of thrash metal with occasional progressive leanings. The latter style is heard in the choice of chord progressions, the song structures, and in a generally adventurous songwriting approach. At it´s core this is still thrash metal with a very raw and aggressive Eric Forrest in front though. There are audible references to Eric Forrest-era Voivod in the music (take for example tracks like "Agent 99" and "Victory"), but I think the music on "Modified Poison" is a bit more catchy and accessible than the Canadians. The material on the 12 track, 53:36 minutes long album is generally of a high quality and there is a good balance between headbanger friendly riffing and more progressive ideas.

The musicianship is excellent. The three-piece are very well playing. One of the greatest assets in addition to the powerful riffing/drumming are the many skillfully played guitar solos. They sometimes appear out of the blue and I greatly appreciate that and it´s just one of the features in the music that makes it different from "regular" vers/chorus based music, even though this is not complex by any means. Eric Forrest is also a great vocalist who delivers both higher pitched sneering type vocals and even venture into death growling territory when things are most extreme. He also successfully tries his hand at singing some rough sounding "clean" vocals, but those moments are very few.

"Modified Poison" features a powerful sounding production and all features combined, is a very strong release by E-Force. Some tracks could have stood out more, but that´s probably my only complaint here. This should of course be an interesting release to fans of Eric Forrest-era Voivod, but it´s not a release that is limited to those listeners. Even if you´re not interested in Voivod, "Modified Poison" might appeal to you anyway if you enjoy thrash with progressive elements. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.