UMUR "Toxic Voodoo" is the second full-length studio album by US thrash metal/alternative metal act Fear of God. The album was released through Pavement Records in January 1994. It´s the successor to "Within the Veil" from 1991 and was followed by the 1995 "Killing the Pain" EP. "Killing the Pain (1995)" would be the last release by Fear of God as lead vocalist Dawn Crosby died in December 1996 as a consequence of her long struggles with alcohol abuse.

Crosby´s raw voice and desperate screaming delivery is the focal point of the music. She moans, screams, and spits out her frustration and anger throughout the album. Her delivery is quite unique and brings an original element to the music. The instrumental part of the music is typically mid-paced and relatively groove laden thrash metal. It´s heavy and aggressive music, but nothing out of the ordinary for the genre. The lead guitar parts are on the other hand very well played and help lift the quality of the material.

"Toxic Voodoo" features a decent production job but it´s not the best sounding release from those days. Crosby is definitely th main attraction on the album, but while her performance is both strong and personal, the very similar sounding tracks, which also lack hooks and memorable moments drag my rating down. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Within the Veil" is the debut full-length studio album by US thrash metal/ alternative metal act Fear of God. The album was released in March 1991 by Warner Brothers. Fear of God was something as rare as a female fronted thrash metal act. In addition to "Within the Veil", Fear of God released one more album and an EP before Dawn Crosby died in December 1996 as a consequence of her long struggles with alcohol abuse.

...on this album Dawn Crosby is in fine form though. If you´re looking for a demonic sounding vixen of a female vocalist, look no further. Dawn has a leatherlung raw voice and a quite schizophrenic vocal delivery that really gives "Within the Veil" a unique sound. The Testament meets Alice in Chains instrumental part of the album is pretty good too, but it´s definitely the vocals that makes the album stand out. Dawn screams, yells, whispers, talks and everything in between. There´s loads of caustic attitude in that delivery. The music features both faster paced thrashy parts, darker alternative parts with clean guitars and some more experimental parts too.

The tracks are generally solid, the production is powerful and the musicianship is strong, but besides the really unique and convincing vocal delivery, I wouldn´t call "Within the Veil" more than a just above standard thrash metal release. It´s like the songwriting lacks the final thing to really make a lasting impression, so a 3 - 3.5 star rating is warranted.