UMUR "The Eighth Day of Creation" is the debut full-length studio album by Finnish thrash metal act Maple Cross. The album was independently released in the fall of 1991. Maple Cross formed in 1985 in the Oulu area of Finland, which is situated in the nothern part of the populated area in Finland (actually around the middle west of the country). They released a couple of demos before recording this debut album, which they ended up releasing themselves.

Stylistically this is a rather eclectic thrash metal release with several nods towards a more experimental alternative metal sound. There´s a funky alternative current running through the album, although Maple Cross can also play some relatively aggressive thrash metal with a technical edge. But just to put things into perspective...this is not Slayer type aggressive thrash metal. I´d rather say that artists like Suicidal Tendencies and Mordred are more valid references, although the vocals here are sometimes a little more aggressive.

"The Eighth Day of Creation" features a powerful and well sounding production, which suits the material well, and it´s overall the natural continuation of their demo tapes. It´s one of the more odd and eclectic thrash metal releases I´ve heard in a while, and I´m not sure I think all the band´s weird creative ideas work equally well, but at least they show boldness and a will to experiment. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Sacrificed Humanity" is the second demo recording by Finnish thrash metal act Maple Cross. The demo was independently released in 1989. It´s the successor to the 1988 "Thirteen Witches... But One of Them" demo.

The demo features four tracks and a total playing time of 14:28 minutes. Stylistically the material on "Sacrificed Humanity" continues the thrash metal style initiated on "Thirteen Witches... But One of Them", but with a slightly more experimental edge and also featuring more technical playing. The core of the band´s sound is based on US, Bay Area thrash metal, but it´s not possible to point at just one influence. I hear some Metallica here and there, but it´s not a dominant influence. If you listen to the opening to "Escape from Reality" there´s also a funky alternative influence, so Maple Cross aren´t easy to describe. The vocals are still raw staccato delivered thrash metal vocals, and just like the case was on the previous demo, they don´t add much to the music. They are just there.

Upon conclusion "Sacrificed Humanity" is a decent quality thrash metal demo from Maple Cross. It shows development of sound and skills, but also inconsistency of style. As a listener you´re not quite sure what it is the band want or where they are going from here. So some positives and some negatives, but it´s still a decent release and a 2.5 - 3 star (55%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Thirteen Witches... But One of Them" is the first demo recording by Finnish thrash metal act Maple Cross. The demo was independently released in 1988. Maple Cross formed in 1985 in the Oulu area of Finland, which is situated in the nothern part of the populated area in Finland (actually around the middle west of the country).

Maple Cross were one of the earliest thrash metal acts from Finland who played a more aggressive style of thrash metal instead of the at the time more popular and uplifting speed metal which quite a few Finnish artists performed. Other seminal Finnish aggressive thrash metal artists were A.R.G., National Napalm Syndicate, Sacred Crucifix, Faff-Bey, and Phlegethon.

"Thirteen Witches... But One of Them" is a relatively well produced demo, and it´s obvious that Maple Cross are a well playing band too, but the vocals are very time-typical raw staccato delivered thrash metal vocals, which get the job done, but really don´t add much to the music.

So upon conclusion it´s understandable why "Thirteen Witches... But One of Them" was an influential release on the burgeoning Finnish death metal scene, as the contemporary youth weren´t used to hearing something this aggressive from a local band, but on the other hand this really isn´t that raw. It´s probably one of the least aggressive and brutal thrash metal demo releases if you compare it with the output of some of the above mentioned artists. A 2.5 - 3 star (55%) rating is warranted.