UMUR "On the Very Verge" is an EP release by Swedish death metal act House of Usher. The EP was released through Obscure Plasma in 1991 (recorded in June 1990 at Balsta musikslott). House of Usher formed in 1990, released this EP and subsequently two 1993 demos before disbanding the same year. So they were arguably a shortlived act with very little output.

It´s a bit unusual for a Swedish death metal band from those days not to have released a couple of demos before being signed for a label release, but when you listen to the quality of the two tracks featured on the 11:29 minutes long EP it´s really not that strange. House of Usher obviously know how to handle their instruments and lead vocalist Jani Ruhala has a great (almost blackened at times) growl, which works well with the instrumental part of the music.

Stylistically this is old school Swedish death metal but House of Usher are slightly more experimental or at least incorporate quite a few interesting ideas to their core sound. So it´s probably fans of Edge of Sanity and Afflicted rather than fans of Entombed and Dismember (not that those are not possible to appreciate collectively) who would find House of Usher interesting. It´s quite varied music and given a bit more polish and maturation I´m sure these tracks would have been even more accomplished. Because the sound production is quite raw and unpolished and this could just as well have been released as a demo.

Upon conclusion House of Usher definitely had a place in early 90s Swedish death metal, but since this EP was their only label release and they never got around to releasing a full-length studio album, they will likely remain a footnote in the history of Swedish death metal. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.