UMUR "The Fallen Entities" is the 3rd full-length studio album by US death/thrash metal act Opprobrium. The album was released through High Roller Records in February 2019. It´s the successor to "Mandatory Evac" from 2008. Opprobrium were originally called Incubus, and released two albums under that monicker in the late eighties/early nineties, but were forced to change their name because of trademark issues. If you count the two Incubus albums, the band have only released five albums in their 30 years of existence, so they can´t be accused of being particularly productive. All instruments and vocals on "The Fallen Entities" were recorded by the Howard brothers, Moyes M. Howard (drums) and Francis M. Howard (vocals, bass, guitars).

"Dark Days, Dark Times" opens the album with dark and heavy death/thrash riffs and rhythms and Francis M. Howard´s aggressive raw vocals on top, and the rest of the album pretty much sounds like that with some variation in pace and the occasional guitar solo to put a little spice to the music. Stylistically that´s more or less a continuation of the style on the two direct predecessors, and less like the style on the two Incubus albums, although there are hints of the early days here and there. Opprobrium are a well playing band, but if I have to mention a minor detail I would have done diffently it would be creating bass lines that don´t follow the guitar riffs one-to-one, and placing the bass in the mix so it can be heard. In that regard it´s a bit too audible that the focus has almost solely been on the drums, guitars, and vocals, and to my ears it sounds a bit like the bass is a necessary evil or an afterthought to Opprobrium. They aren´t alone in making this mistake as many extreme metal albums either feature no audible bass or a bass which just follows the guitar, but it needs to be adressed here, as I think "The Fallen Entities" could have been a more dynamic and quite frankly better album, had more focus been given to the bass lines.

That minor complaint aside, the material on "The Fallen Entities" is both relatively well written, powerful and aggressive death/thrash, and it´s performed with the right amount of passion and conviction. Other than the lack of bass in the mix (which doesn´t mean the production lacks bottom end heaviness), the sound production is actually also very well sounding. Raw, brutal, and powerful. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Mandatory Evac" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US death/thrash metal act Opprobrium. The album was self-released in November 2008. Opprobrium was originally called Incubus, and released two albums under that monicker in the late eighties/early nineties, but were forced to change their name because of trademark issues. All instruments and vocals were recorded by the Howard brothers, Moyes M. Howard (drums) and Francis M. Howard (vocals, bass, guitars). Opprobrium released their debut full-length studio album "Discerning Forces" in 2000, so they can´t be accused of being overtly productive. If you count the two Incubus albums, the band have released only four albums in 20 years.

Stylistically "Mandatory Evac" continues down the same death/thrash metal path that "Discerning Forces" also treads. At least to some extent, because "Mandatory Evac" is generally much darker, more aggressive, and production wise also a lot more filthy and raw than the case is with "Discerning Forces". Opprobrium/Incubus was always pretty aggressive but this time around they are positively pissed off. The vocals are fiercely aggressive and delivered in an intense semi-growling fashion, the riffs are heavy and dark with the occasional higher paced thrashy riff thrown in and the rhythms vary between heavy groove laden beats and faster paced drumming. The line between death metal and thrash metal has always been blurry when it comes to this band, but the extra dark and brutal sound of "Mandatory Evac" puts this one a bit closer to death metal than thrash metal in my book.

The tracks are generally short (very few exceed the 3 minutes mark) and "to the point" and that songwriting approach works well for the band on this release. As always the musicianship is organic and not clinically tight, which provides the music with a human touch. The tracks aren´t terribly varied, but the entertainment level is high from the opening brutal assault of "Dark Science" to the closing track "Sick of This". Featuring 12 tracks and a full playing time of 31:33 minutes, "Mandatory Evac" is not a very long album, but it´s intense and damn effective and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Discerning Forces" is the debut full-length studio album by US death/thrash metal act Opprobrium. The album was released through Nuclear Blast Records in May 2000. Opprobrium was originally called Incubus, and released two albums under that monicker in the late eighties/early nineties, but they were forced to change their name because of trademark issues. All instruments and vocals were recorded by the Howard brothers, Moyes M. Howard (drums) and Francis M. Howard (vocals, bass, guitars). "Discerning Forces" was recorded in the brother´s native Brazil in late 1999.

"Beyond the Unknown (1990)", which was the last Incubus album, is a bit of a death/thrash classic, but quite a bit of water has run under the bridge since the release of that album, and 10 years down the line the world of music looked very different from the time when that album was released. Name change and other issues aside though Opprobrium sounds a lot like Incubus did, just in a more brutal, darker, and aggressive version. I dare say the music on "Discerning Forces" is slightly less sophisticated than the music on "Beyond the Unknown (1990)", but that doesn´t mean it´s primitive or simple by any means. It´s still death/thrash metal featuring tempo changes, heavy groove laden riffs, and faster paced thrashy riffing, and to top it off Francis M. Howard´s raw and semi-growling vocals. His vocal style can be described as a mix of Max Cavalera (Sepultura) and Chuck Schuldiner (Death). Late eightes Sepultura is also a valid reference when it comes to the overall sound of the music. Compared to "Beyond the Unknown (1990)" the music features more groove and fewer solos, but other than that it´s audible that it´s the same band playing even though they´ve changed their name.

The album features a very raw and heavy sounding production that suits the music pretty well. The musicianship is strong overall, although the drumming by Moyes M. Howard sounds slightly untight at points. It´s not necessarily a turn off though as it does provide the music with an organic touch.

"Discerning Forces" is overall a pretty powerful and enjoyable death/thrash metal album although I wouldn´t say it reaches the heights of "Beyond the Unknown (1990)", which is an album that is often and rightfully referred to as a death/thrash metal classic. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.