UMUR "Fragments" is the 4th full-length studio album by French death metal act Loudblast. The album was released through Metal 13 Records in 1998. It´s the successor to "Sublime Dementia" from 1993. Although there have been no lineup changes between the release of "Sublime Dementia (1993)" and "Fragments", the music style has changed quite a bit. Loudblast started out playing death/thrash metal in the late 80s/early 90s and over the course of their first three albums added a technical dimension to their music. On "Fragments" they play a groove oriented heavy metal style with throathy semi-growling/shouting vocals, and they now sound closer to contemporary Machine Head than to the early 90s technical death/thrash scene that they were previously assiociated with. The riffs and the drumming are heavy and groove laden and the vocals raw and shouting in key.

Loudblast are still a skilled unit and they deliver their music with great technical skill. The material is generally a bit tame though. Not many riffs stand out and the vocals are a rather one-dimensional listen (think a more brutal and monotone James Hetfield and you´re not far off the mark). The sound production is professional and detailed, but it lacks power and punch, and ultimately it´s too polished and clean for its own good.

So "Fragments" is an album which shows great development of sound and style, but while it´s not a bad quality release by any means, the new musical direction isn´t quite the success it could have been. The whole thing lacks power and enthusiasm and the album becomes a little boring after a couple tracks. My ears tend to listen to what the musicians are doing rather than listen to the actual music (the drumming is for example quite tasteful), and that´s usually a sign that the songs lack memorable hooks and strong riffs. It´s not all bad though and a 3 star (60%) rating is still warranted.

UMUR "Sublime Dementia" is the 3rd full-length studio album by French death metal act Loudblast. The album was released through Semetery Records in October 1993. It´s the successor to "Disincarnate" from 1991 and there´s been one lineup change since the predecessor as drummer Thierry Pinck has been replaced by Hervé Coquerel (a change that has had great impact on the music, but more on that later). It´s the third drummer in the band on as many albums. "Sublime Dementia" was recorded and mixed at Morrisound Studios in Florida with producer Scott Burns.

Stylistically the material on "Sublime Dementia" continue the US influenced death metal style of "Disincarnate (1991)", but it´s generally a much more sophisticated and varied release than its direct predecessor. The sound production is also of a better quality than the relatively powerless sound on "Disincarnate (1991)", although the production on "Sublime Dementia" isn´t one of the best coming out of Morrisound Studios. It´s decent though and doesn´t distract from the music.

Listening to "Sublime Dementia" it´s audible that Loudblast have had a long look in the mirror after releasing two pretty mediocre albums because the quality of the riffs, the guitar solos, and the growling vocals are all pretty high. Add to that new drummer Hervé Coquerel, who has a varied, powerful, and technical drumming style, which provides the band´s music with a much needed injection of energy and power, and I´m at least half impressed by Loudblast, which isn´t something I thought would be possible after listening to the first two albums.

Not everything is great here, and I could for example have lived without listening to the (fortunately) short atmospheric interlude track "About Solitude" (featuring high pitched female vocals), where I think Loudblast opted for including too much variation and experimentation. The type of death metal which is heard on most tracks on the album is predominantly heavy and mid-paced, but as mentioned above nicely energetic because of the drumming style. Upon conclusion "Sublime Dementia" is a positive surprise and a step up for Loudblast and a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Disincarnate" is the 2nd full-length studio album by French death/thrash metal act Loudblast. The album was released through Semetery Records in July 1991. It´s the successor to "Sensorial Treatment" from 1989 and features one lineup change since the predecessor as drummer Joris Terrier has been replaced by Thierry Pinck.

Stylistically Loudblast have shed the thrash metal leanings of "Sensorial Treatment (1989)" and have gone for a more pure US influenced death metal sound on "Disincarnate". The US influence may in part be a result of the album being recorded and mixed by Scott Burns at Morrisound Studios in Tampa, Florida. "Disincarnate" features a time-typical Scott Burns sound production, but not one of his better ones. In fact the sound production is powerless and renders the music less brutal and raw than it potentially could have been.

The material is decent enough but ultimately very standard for the time and for the genre. The musicianship is alright and lead vocalist/guitarist Stephane Buriez gets the job done with his growling delivery. Again it´s nothing out of the ordinary for the genre, and a little more bite and variation in the way the vocals are delivered and maybe a few more memorable riffs and rhythms could have done the trick.

Upon conclusion "Disincarnate" leaves me relatively indifferent and I don´t really remember anything from the album after it has finished playing. There weren´t many French death metal acts releasing albums in those days (Massacra, Supuration, and Misanthrope come to mind, but not many others), and that makes this album a slightly exotic fruit in the vast sea of Swedish, UK, US, Dutch, and German death metal albums released in the early 90s. Being an exotic fruit doesn´t mean you don´t have to deliver quality though, and compared to the best artists in the genre from that time, this is simply a bit sub par. A 3 star (60%) rating is still warranted though.

UMUR "Sensorial Treatment" is the debut full-length studio album by French death/thrash metal act Loudblast. The album was released through Jungle Hop Records in 1989. Loudblast were formed in 1985 and were pioneers on the French death/thrash metal scene along with artists like Massacra, Mercyless, and Agressor. It was not a scene that you heard much about back then, but especially Loudblast and Massacra did receive some attention and experienced some success. Before getting signed and releasing "Sensorial Treatment", Loudblast were pretty active on the French underground scene and they released no less than six demo tapes in the 80s and appeared on the 1987 "Licenced to Thrash" split. So this is a band who worked for their success and honed their songwriting craft and playing skills in the process.

Stylistically the material on "Sensorial Treatment" are on the boarder between thrash metal and death metal, and if I´d have to chose I´d call this brutal thrash metal rather than death metal with thrash metal traits. The most valid and obvious reference would be late 80s/early 90s Sepultura. We´re treated to fast-paced thrash metal riffing (and heavier death metal influenced riffs too) and screaming chromatic solos, a solid and energetic rhythm section, and a raw barking lead vocalist. Even for the time it´s not particularly original and the material aren´t fully on par with the best contemporary releases (at least in terms of catchiness and memorability). When that is said "Sensorial Treatment" is still a quality release and it´s certainly enjoyable while it plays.

The album features a relatively well sounding and powerful sound production, but nothing out of the ordinary for the time. So this all leads up to my evaluation of the album, which is that it´s a quality death/thrash release, but it´s not what I´d characterize as a seminal release in the genre. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is still deserved though, and fans of brutal thrash or death/thrash (or whatever you want to call it), are recommended to check it out.