UMUR "The Crash and the Draw" is the 4th full-length studio album by US sludge/post metal act Minsk. The album was released through Relapse Records in April 2015. It´s the band´s first release since "With Echoes in the Movement of Stone" from 2009, so they´ve had a longer recording break. Quite a lot has happened in those 6 years though both in terms of the members working on other projects (three of the members recorded the "Impious Lamps (2010)" EP under the Cloud Burial monicker), but also regarding lineup changes. Only Tim Mead (lead vocals, synthesizers), and Chris Bennett (guitars, vocals) are left from the lineup who recorded "With Echoes in the Movement of Stone (2009)". Former bassist/vocalist Sanford Parker is still involved as producer though. New faces in the lineup are Aaron Austin (guitars, vocals), Zachary Livingston (bass, vocals), and Kevin Rendleman (drums).

Stylistically the band continue the atmospheric sludge/post metal style of "With Echoes in the Movement of Stone (2009)". Minsk always had a progressive way of doing things, and that is also true for the music on "The Crash and the Draw". They successfully combine heavy sludgy parts with atmospheric and slow building post metal parts (and even an atsmospheric ambient track in "Conjunction"), and clean vocals with harsher type vocals. The drumming has a tribal sound to them, which makes that part of the music pretty interesting. The tempo is mostly slow- to mid paced, but there are a couple of faster parts on the 11 track, 75:36 minutes long album, especially noteworthy on the opening track "To the Initiate".

In addition to the individual tracks on the album, "The Crash and the Draw" features the ""The Crash and the Draw"" four part suite. The material is generally well written and always playful and adventurous, which is one of the band´s greatest strengths. The high level musicianship, and the organic and well sounding production are two other assets, and all those assets are needed, because although the music is both adventurous and rather progressive, it´s not particularly original, and I hear a lot of nods toward some of the leading acts on the scene like Neurosis, Mastodon, and Baroness. So upon conclusion "The Crash and the Draw" is another high quality release by Minsk. A varied and quite dynamic musical journey, which never becomes tedious despite the very long running time. So despite a few issues with the originality of the material, I still think a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

The Angry Scotsman Noisy, psychedelic post metal

It took a few listens for this album to grow on me, but what a great experience when it finally did. Atmospheric, sometimes lengthy, songs that often start light and melodic, building to a sonic pummeling and filled with layered synths, tribal drumming and droning, echoing vocals.

Minsk obviously worships at the church of Neurosis, and the influence is quite evident. The building, atmospheric songs, extremely sludgey guitars, strained singing (though sometimes clean)but there is some more to it. There is heavy use of synths and not just some filler, but very prominent in the songs, often layered. The vocals have an echo on them and are layered as well at times, this all gives the album a very dense, bludgeoning feel. However, it also adds a psychedelic feel that I havn't personally seen in any other post metal band. The tribal drumming, echoing vocals and occasional "trippy" guitar also add to the feel.

Oh, there's also some saxophone for a nice bonus, (courtesy of Bruce Lemont from Yakuza).

The album is 59 minutes long and composed of 6 songs, 3 over 13 minutes in length, the others under 6 minutes (acting as nice transitions between the epics). The long songs rise and fall over their journeys in true post metal fashion. The end of the 15 and a half minute "Ceremony Ek Stasis" is a doom metal dirge, but damn it made me rock so hard that my shirt was saturated from sweat.

This album is heavy, dense, crushing yet also hypnotic. Let it sink in and drift through its trippy, powerful and emotional songs.

Four Stars

UMUR With Echoes in the Movement of Stone is the 3rd full-length studio album by American post metal/ psychadelic sludge act Minsk. After listening to the band´s 2nd full-length studio album The Ritual Fires of Abandonment (2007) I was instantly hooked to Minsk´s music. So my expectations for this release have been sky high. With Echoes in the Movement of Stone is the band´s second release on Relapse Records.

...and boy do they deliver. The music on With Echoes in the Movement of Stone is a mix of heavy post metal with tribal like drumming and psychadelic sludge. The vocals are raw at times but they are actually mostly clean, varying between a sedated psychadelic style and a more powerful shouting style. Lead vocalist Tim Mead is a really strong vocalist IMO. He also adds some synth and organ to some tracks on the album which is very effectful and atmospheric. The rest of the band are also very adventurous and well playing. Adventurous is actually just the right word when describing the music on this album. I really enjoy the mix between the stoned, psychadelic parts and the heavy post metal parts. Just take a listen to a songs like The Shore of Transcendence, Requiem: From Substance to Silence and Almitra's Premonition. Even though those songs last for about 10 minutes there´s not a dull moment in sight. The songs shift direction a couple of times during the playing time which means that I´m never bored.

The production is a bit thin and I could have wished for more bottom end, but it´s still quite enjoyable.

With Echoes in the Movement of Stone is an excellent release by Minsk and this album ensures that they´ve become one of my favorite post metal/ sludge metal acts in the last couple of years. They´ve grown into their own over the course of their 3 studio albums and I think they have a distinct and quite unique style now. The will to experiment is still very much alive in this band and as it is one of my primary value parameters when I review albums, Minsk rate very high on that scale. With Echoes in the Movement of Stone fully deserves a 4 star rating. I hope they get the success they deserve.

UMUR The Ritual Fires of Abandonment is the second album from US, Illinois based experimental/ post metal act Minsk. The album was released on Relapse Records who must be considered one of the leading record companies when it comes to signing experimental metal bands ( Mastodon, Cephalic Carnage, Nile...etc.).

Allthough Minsk probably kneel at the altar of Neurosis before they go to bed at night there´s much more to their music than just being a clone of the masters. What leads my thoughts to Neurosis is the extremely heavy guitars and slow pace, but especially the almost tribal drumming which dominates the album. A band like Pelican also comes to mind because of the melodic touch and the long slow building almost post rock like parts which are also a big part of the album. The psychadelic side of their music is mostly created by the monotenous ( which is a positive thing in my world) haunted vocals and especially the clever use of synth.

The music is very atmospheric and I really enjoy the dark and haunted mood that Minsk create. There are six songs on the album. Three shorter songs ( about 4-5 minutes each) and three longer songs ( about 13-15 minutes each). The album starts with the 13:48 minute long Embers which sets the mood of the album. Slow building ( but never boring), heavy and psychadelic. White Wings is next and it´s one of the shorter songs on the album. It´s also the most heavy metal influenced song on the album, or rather post hardcore/ metal. White Wings is also the most uptempo song on the album ( It´s mid-pace while most other songs are slow). Mescaline Sunrise is as the title suggests a psychadelic atmospheric track. A mood creator. A pleasant listen after the harsh White Wings. It´s the shortest song on the album with it´s 4:43 minutes. Then on to The Orphans of Piety which is a 14:41 minute long track. Challenging atmospheric post metal. What a great song. It even has a saxophone part which reminded me a bit of how Ulver sounded on Perdition City (2000). Circle of Ashes is almost in Post rock style and kind of a calm before the storm that is the ending 15:39 minute long Ceremony EK Stasis. It´s such a powerful and varied track. Very dynamic with both loud heavy parts and mellow post rock parts. There´s even a kind of latin inspired section with another saxophone part.

The musicianship is excellent. The very basic instrumentation of guitar, bass and drums are done in a way that suggests that more people are playing. Minsk really have the ability to sound grand. The vocals by Tim Mead are very strong wether it´s his normal vocals or his more raw side that shows. Note that there are nothing that resembles growling on this album. The aggressive vocal parts are just angry vocals not growls.

The production is excellent. I especially noted the drum sound which I found very enjoyable but everything sounds great IMO.

The Ritual Fires of Abandonment have the advantage that it should appeal to both post metal and post rock fans. It´s heavy but I´m sure that most post rock fans will find it sophisticated enough to enjoy as well. I´ve had this album lying around for quite a while without really giving it a chance and that´s such a shame because it deserves lots of attention and praise IMO. That error is fortunately corrected now. 4 stars is well deserved and I count on great things from Minsk in the future. Fans of bands like Neurosis, Isis, Pelican, Cult of Luna and other related acts should invest in this album. I´m sure you´ll have yourself a positive surprise. I know I did.

UMUR Out Of A Center Which Is Neither Dead Nor Alive is the debut studio album by US experimental/ post metal act Minsk. I was introduced to Minsk via their second album The Ritual Fires of Abandonment (2007) which I found to be an excellent album. A really great surprise for me with it´s crushingly heavy riffing mixed with psychadelic elements. Great album that one. So I had to get Out Of A Center Which Is Neither Dead Nor Alive to see if the band had started out as strong.

The music is pretty much in the same vein as on The Ritual Fires of Abandonment which means that this is a crushingly heavy album with psychadelic leanings. The psychadelic elements are not as dominant as on the second album though. Neurosis is the big influence here and I can´t say that Minsk brings much new to the table on this debut, but it´s still a very enjoyable album. The six songs on the album are generally very long and most clock in about the 10 minutes. The music has a tendency to become a bit too repetitive at times which is something they have corrected for their second album. The vocals are very harsh, but never growling.

The musicianship is good. Note the tribal like drumming. Very Neurosis inspired.

The production is professional and heavy.

I´m happy that I purchased Out Of A Center Which Is Neither Dead Nor Alive, but I do prefer The Ritual Fires of Abandonment over this one. It´s just a more sophisticated release. This album deserves a 3.5 star rating. Fans of Neurosis should really check this band out.