UMUR "National Napalm Syndicate" is the eponymously titled debut full-length studio album by Finnish thrash metal act National Napalm Syndicate. The album was released through Parlophone Records in September 1989. National Napalm Syndicate formed in 1986, originally using the National Napalm Storm monicker but changed to the current one that same year.

"National Napalm Syndicate" started out playing a raw and savage type of thrash metal influenced by the German trio of Sodom, Destruction, and Kreator, but also by Bathory and Hellhammer. They slowly started incorporating some crossover influences and also a strong Bay Area thrash metal influence over the course of their four demo tapes, and therefore the music style on "National Napalm Syndicate" is a combination of more than one thrash/crossover metal style. Some tracks are raw and savage sounding thrash metal while others feature more hardcore influences and while they are still pretty raw thrash metal tracks, the mood is slightly less dark on those tracks. The material are generally pretty fast-paced (although heavier mid-paced sections are also common) and aggressive though (featuring some nicely energetic drumming). The vocals vary between an aggressive snarling vocal style (which is the vocal style used on their early releases) and a more typical shouting/talking crossover thrash metal vocal style. The lead guitar work deserves a mention too. Not that it´s particularly dominant, but when leads occur, they are very well played and bring dynamics and texture to the music.

Quite a few of the tracks on the album are re-recordings of demo tracks from the band´s demo days. Every track from the January 1988 "At the Time of the Fullmoon" demo are included in re-recorded versions. The album features an organic, raw, and sharp sounding production job, which suits the material well. The intensity of the music is brought out and showed to the world through the production choices made, and it´s a perfect sound for the material featured on the album. It may not be the most unique sounding thrash metal release, but the savage energy and the high level musical performances make it a damn entertaining one. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Painful Ten Hours" is the first demo by Finnish thrash metal act National Napalm Syndicate. The demo was independently released on cassette tape in March 1987. The material featured on the demo was recorded at SM-Studio, Oulu, Finland, on the 14th of March 1987. National Napalm Syndicate formed in 1986, originally using the National Napalm Storm monicker but soon changing to the current one. They are considered one of earliest extreme metal act from Finland.

Extreme in this case should not be understood as if National Napalm Syndicate were an early black metal or death metal act, but they are definitely in the more extreme end of the thrash metal spectrum. Raw, aggressive, and primal sounding thrash metal strongly influenced by the early releases of Sodom, Destruction, and Kreator, but also artists like Bathory and Hellhammer. Lead vocalist Vesa Ruokangas has an impressive raw snarling vocal delivery, and his performance here is definitely one of the highlights of the demo (reminding me of early Quorthon, although a slightly less blackened version).

The 3 tracks on the 12:37 minutes long demo are all performed by a well playing band, who understand how to handle their instruments and the demo also features a relatively well sounding demo sound quality, so there´s lots of promise found on "Painful Ten Hours". The primal energy and the raw aggression carry the songs forward, but it wouldn´t have been as effecful if the band weren´t as well playing as they are. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.