UMUR "Anthropophagi" is a November 1994 demo by US, Florida based death/thrash metal act Hellwitch. The demo was independently released. It was recorded in August 1994 by the duo lineup of Patrick Ranieri (vocals, guitars, bass) and Joel Suarez (drums). It´s the successor release to the November 1993 "Terraasymmetry" EP. Hellwitch lived a chaotic existence since their inception in 1984 with label issues and constant lineup changes, and the only constant member of the lineup has been Ranieri.

With that in mind it´s a bit surprising how consistent Hellwitch have been from the earliest demo releases to this demo release so many years down the line, but consistency in sound, style, and the quality of their releases are arguably one of the trademarks of Hellwitch. "Anthropophagi" is of course no different as it´s another high quality technical death/thrash metal release. It´s intense, aggressive, and highly energetic music, with Ranieri´s distinct sounding high pitched aggressive screaming on top. Hellwitch have a sound, which is completely their own. The only band I can think of which sounds even remotely like Hellwitch is early Atheist (before they spazzed/jazzed out), but even that is a stretch.

The five tracks on the 23:38 minutes long demo are a mix of three new original compositions and two re-recordings of "Torture Chamber" and "Fate at Pain's End", which originally appeared on the January 1986 "Transgressive Sentience" demo. You wouldn´t notice that the tracks were written years apart though, as Hellwitch as mentioned above are incredibly consistent in sound and style. The quality of the performances, the songwriting, and the sound production are high throughout the demo, and upon conclusion "Anthropophagi" is another high quality release from Hellwitch and it´s well worth investigating for fans of technical death/thrash metal. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Terraasymmetry" is an EP release by US, Florida based death/thrash metal act Hellwitch. The EP was released through Lethal Records in November 1993. It´s the follow-up release to the Hellwitch´s debut full-length studio album "Syzygial Miscreancy" (Wild Rags Records, December 1990). The three tracks featured on the 14:05 minutes long EP were recorded and mixed in August 1991 at Morrisound Studios, Tampa, Florida, but it took over 2 years before the recordings saw the light of day, and Hellwitch have claimed again and again, that Lethal Records ripped them off and that they never saw as much as a dime or even a copy of the EP from the label (in those days that would mean a CD).

It´s too bad that "Terraasymmetry" only saw a limited release through a small label (the same can be said about "Syzygial Miscreancy", but at least some people have heard of that one) because Hellwitch have produced another highly energetic, aggressive and very unique sounding technical death/thrash metal release here. "Terraasymmetry" and "Dawn of Apostasy" are new original compositions while "Satan's Wrath" is a re-recording of the original demo version from the January 1986 "Transgressive Sentience" demo. The quality of the performances, the songwriting, and the sound production are high throughout the demo, and "Terraasymmetry" is upon conclusion a good quality release. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Rehearsal Demo" is the fourth demo recording by US, Florida based death/thrash metal act Hellwitch. The demo was independently released in March 1989. It´s the successor to the June 1987 "Mordirivial Disemanation" demo, and features a lineup which has been almost completely changed since the last demo. New drummer is Esteban "Steve" Rincon and new bassist is Frank Watkins (later of Obituary fame). The only constant in Hellwitch is lead vocalist/guitarist Patrick Ranieri.

Although this is a rehearsal demo, the sound quality is decent. It´s not a professional studio recording or even a demo studio recording, but since Hellwitch are such a well playing act, they still manage to get their message across. This was of course a relatively short-lived incarnation of Hellwitch as soon after this recording was finished Watkins left to join Obituary and Rincon was replaced by Joe Schnessel. Watkins was replaced by Tommy Mouser and the trio of Schnessel, Mouser, and Ranieri recorded Hellwitch´s debut full-length studio album "Syzygial Miscreancy" (Wild Rags Records, December 1990).

The "Rehearsal Demo" opens with a cover of Death´s "Archangel" and then rehearsal versions of "Mordirivial Disemanation" and "Viral Exogence", which are both tracks which were re-recorded and included on "Syzygial Miscreancy". If you´re intererested in the demo years of Hellwitch this demo is a worthy purchase, but I´d listen to the two preceding studio demos before this one. A 2.5 - 3 star (55%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Mordirivial Disemanation" is the third demo recording by US, Florida death/thrash metal act Hellwitch. The demo was independently released in June 1987. It´s the successor to the January 1986 "Transgressive Sentience" demo and features the same trio lineup who recorded that demo. "Mordirivial Disemanation" features four tracks and a total playing time of 12:31 minutes. Most of the material from the demo was re-recorded and included on Hellwitch´s debut full-length studio album "Syzygial Miscreancy" (Wild Rags Records, December 1990). "Nosferatu" which was included on both previously released demos is also included here.

Stylistically Hellwitch have matured and especially Patrick Ranieri´s vocal style have become more extreme, unique, and distinct sounding (aggressive and often using high register screams). The music has become increasingly more techncial since the first demo, and "Mordirivial Disemanation" is yet another more technical death/thrash metal release. By this point Hellwitch are close to sounding like they do on "Syzygial Miscreancy". So it´s a bit of a wonder that Hellwitch weren´t able to get a record contract until three years later. By then both bassist Andy Adcock and drummer Dave Silverthrash had jumped ship, and Ranieri had assembled a whole new lineup for the project.

"Mordirivial Disemanation" is packed in a brutal, raw, and sharp sounding production job, which perfectly compliments the highly energetic, savage, and verging on chaotic sounding death/thrash metal sound of Hellwitch. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Transgressive Sentience" is the second demo recording by US, Florida death/thrash metal act Hellwitch. The demo was independently released in January 1986. In the time between the 1984 one-track "Nosferatu" demo and "Transgressive Sentience" there have been a few lineup changes. Hellwitch initially started out as the duo of Patrick Ranieri on guitars and Harry Tyler on drums and vocals. Tyler has been replaced on the drums by Dave Silverthrash, while Raneiri has taken over the vocal duties in addition to playing guitar. Bassist Andy Adcock has also been added to the lineup making Hellwitch a trio on "Transgressive Sentience".

"Transgressive Sentience" features four tracks (one is a re-recorded version of "Nosferatu" from the first demo) of technical speed/thrash metal with the early signs of something a little more extreme. only "Nosferatu" would be re-recorded and included on Hellwitch´s debut full-length studio album "Syzygial Miscreancy" (Wild Rags Records, December 1990). Ranieri predominantly sings raw but articulated shouted vocals, but we get to hear his later signature scream a few times too. What you notice right away when listening to "Transgressive Sentience" is the high level musicianship. This is a well playing band and they have some pretty unique songwriting ideas considering their young age. This doesn´t really sound like anyone else.

The demo features a pretty well sounding production considering that this is a January 1986 extreme metal demo and it sits well with the contemporary demo releases by other seminal Florida based extreme metal artists like Executioner (later Xecutioner and even later Obituary), Mantas/Death, Massacre, R.A.V.A.G.E. (later Atheist), and Morbid Angel. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.