UMUR "Rise to Power" is the fourth full-length studio album by US, Florida based death metal act Monstrosity. The album was released through Conquest Music, Inc. in September 2003. It´s the successor to "In Dark Purity" from 1999 and features a couple of lineup changes since the predecessor as bassist Kelly Conlon has been replaced by Michael Poggione and Sam Molina has been added as second guitarist, making Monstrosity a quintet on "Rise to Power".

Regarding the music not much has changed since "In Dark Purity (1999)", and the listener is still treated to 100% pure old school Florida death metal. I´m almost immediately reminded of mid- to late 90s Morbid Angel, but with a lead vocalist sounding a lot like George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher in front. Deep growling and higher pitched screams are there and accounted for. Jason Avery (formerly of Eulogy) has a brutal and commanding delivery, but his voice and vocal style isn´t particularly unique. The same can be said about the instrumental part of the music. It´s skillfully performed, but the songwriting isn´t up there with the most catchy and memorable artists in the genre. "Rise to Power" is however a lot more interesting than the last couple of releases by Monstrosity, and I´m well entertained while the album spins.

"Rise to Power" features a detailed and relatively well sounding production job, and again...I´m reminded of Morbid Angel. The guitar tone, the drum production, there are just several production features, which sound a lot like contemporary Morbid Angel releases. So upon conclusion it would be a lie if I called "Rise to Power" a unique sounding release or told you that I think Monstrosity have a sound of their own, but what they do have is a good basis death metal foundation and a passion for what they do, and therefore a 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating isn´t all wrong.

UMUR "In Dark Purity" is the 3rd full-length studio album by US, Florida based death metal act Monstrosity. The album was released through Conquest Music in May 1999. It´s the successor to "Millennium" from 1996 and features two lineup changes since the predecessor as lead vocalist George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher has left to join Cannibal Corpse and has been replaced by Jason Avery and guitarist Jason Morgan has been replaced by Tony Norman. Drummer and band founder Lee Harrison and bassist Kelly Conlon remain from the lineup who recorded "Millennium (1996)".

Stylistically the material on "In Dark Purity" continue in the same brutal and technically well played death metal style of "Millennium (1996)". Think Cannibal Corpse meets Brutality or something in that vein. 100% pure US, Florida death metal. Losing a frontman like Fisher could have been a problem, but Avery proves to be a decent replacement. In fact I wouldn´t even have noticed there was a new singer on board, had I not known it. The two singers have a very similar growling style.

"In Dark Purity" features a dark, brutal, and raw sounding production job, which suits the material perfectly. Definitely an upgrade from the sound production of the precessor, which isn´t up to par with the production values of this album. Monstrosity are a well playing unit and they perform their music with both great conviction and passion. So on most parameters "In Dark Purity" is a good quality death metal release. I have to talk about the songwriting though, as I think most tracks lack memorable moments/riffs and vocal hooklines.

This is not vers/chorus structured pop music, but a few more catchy parts and more variation between tracks wouldn´t have hurt. Monstrosity have all the right tools, but the shed they´ve built still feels a bit empty. If I have to mention a few standout tracks it would be "Perpetual War" (because of the heavy mid-paced main riff), the instrumental "The Pillars of Drear", and the Slayer cover "Angel of Death" (which is decent although nothing too special). A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Millennium" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US, Florida based death metal act Monstrosity. The album was released through Conquest Music in August 1996. It´s the successor to "Imperial Doom" from 1992 and features a couple of lineup changes since the predecessor as bassist Mark Van Erp has been replaced by Kelly Conlon (formerly of Death), and guitarists Jason Gobel and Jon Rubin has been replaced by Jason Morgan (who handles all guitars on the album). The two remaining members of lineup who recorded the predecessor are band leader and drummer Lee Harrison and lead vocalist George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher. The latter had already left Monstrosity before the release of "Millennium" though as he joined Cannibal Corpse in 1995.

Monstrosity had problems finding a label to release a new album after their collaboration with Nuclear Blast Records ended and they even had to record and release a demo in 1994 to shop for a new label, which was quite unusual for a US, Florida based death metal act in the early 90s. Most artists from that scene were given the opportunity to release at least a couple of albums.

The material on "Millennium" pretty much continue the brutal old US school death metal style of "Imperial Doom (1992)". Downtuned heavy riffs, powerful drumming (both fast-paced and mid-paced heavy beats), and Fisher´s brutal growling and occasionally higher pitched screaming vocals in front. There is a high level of profesionalism and skill behind the performances, which was typical for the American bands from that time and everything is executed with precision and attention to detail. "Millennium" is fairly well produced too, although the sound production is a bit dense and could have prospored from more room to breathe (I was a bit surprised to learn that the album was produced by Scott Burns). It´s the songwriting which brings the album down a bit though. The tracks are simply too standard fare US death metal and very few tracks stand out on both the album and the genre as a whole. "Fragments of Resolution" stand out a bit though because of its heavy mid-paced nature and the fact that Frank Mullen from Suffocation guests on backing vocals, but that´s not much to hold on to in terms of quality. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Horror Infinity" is a demo cassette tape by US, Florida based death metal act Monstrosity, originally released in December 1990. Monstrosity formed earlier in 1990 and featured among others future Cannibal Corpse frontman George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher on vocals. "Horror Infinity" was the band´s only demo release and earned them a recording contract with Nuclear Blast Records for the release of their debut full-length studio album "Imperial Doom" from 1992. All four tracks from the 16:05 minutes long demo would appear in re-recorded versions on "Imperial Doom (1992)".

"Horror Infinity" is a well sounding demo release. It was recorded at Natural Sound, Miami, Florida in December 1990, so it´s a studio recording with a relatively good sound quality, although it´s not fully on par with the best contemporary studio album productions (which is only natural). It´s a raw and powerful sounding demo though, and it fully showcases both the playing and songwriting skills of Monstrosity. It´s not the kind of demo release which has you scratching your head and wonder what the band are about. From the first notes of "Definitive Inquisition" you know exactly what Monstrosity deliver and how good they are at delivering exactly that. This is pretty much arch typical Florida death metal from the early 90s. It´s brutal, technically well played, well written, and well produced.

What Monstrosity probably lacked to make it as big as contemporaries like Deicide, Morbid Angel, and Obituary, was a more personal and unique style. Not completely unlike another great contemporary Florida death metal act like Brutality, who also delivered early 90s US death metal with great conviction and skill, but also lacked a more distinct sound, to make them stand out on the Florida scene.

Less will do here though as "Horror Infinity" is a quality demo release serving its purpose perfectly by showing labels and demo collectors what Monstrosity were capable of. As they were signed on the grounds of this demo, the mission was fully accomplished too. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Imperial Doom" is the debut full-length studio album by US, Florida based death metal act Monstrosity. The album was released through Nuclear Blast Records in May 1992. Monstrosity is probably mostly known for being the original home of later Cannibal Corpse vocalist George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher who left the band to join Cannibal Corpse after a couple of albums. Monstrosity is however the brainchild of drummer Lee Harrison who has soldiered on through lineup changes and various other obstacles through the years. Monstrosity formed in early 1990 and released the "Horror Infinity" demo later that same year. All four tracks from the demo have been re-recorded and included on "Imperial Doom". There have been one lineup change since the demo, as Jason Gobel (Cynic) guests as second guitarist on the album.

The music on "Imperial Doom" is classic US death metal. Technically well played and brutal death metal. The album contains 9 tracks and a total playing time of 35:08 minutes. Featuring a relatively short playing time like that, it shouldn´t be an issue maintaining the listener´s attention through the duration of the album, but while the music is certainly well played and delivered with conviction there are some features which aren´t up to par with the best contemporary releases in the genre. Few tracks stand out on the album and after listening to the first couple of tracks the album becomes a bit one-dimensional. The sound production is also a bit off. The drums as such have a nice organic tone, but especially the bass drum sound at times makes the soundscape a bit murky. The rhythm guitar tone could also have prospered from more bite and power.

"Horror Infinity (1990)" was a relatively promising demo by Monstrosity, but I don´t think "Imperial Doom" quite lives up to that promise. It´s not a bad quality death metal album by any means, and fans of early 90s US death metal will probably find lots to enjoy here, but the quality of the songwriting and the production job are simply of an average quality compared to other contemporary releases (compare it to the quality of contemporary releases by artists like Death, Obituary, Deicide and Morbid Angel, and it falls a bit short). A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.