UMUR "Mirage Myth" is a compilation album by Finnish thrash/death metal act Phlegethon. The compilation was released through Floga Records in May 2020. It compiles the material from the October 1989 "Visio Dei Beatifica" demo, the June 1990 "Neutral Forest" demo, and from the 1991 "Fresco Lungs" EP, excluding the two bonus tracks from the 1992 reissue of the EP. The material from the three releases compiled on "Mirage Myth" plus the two bonus tracks from the 1992 reissue if the "Fresco Lungs" EP, the material from the 1995 demo, the 2006 demo, and from the 2007 demo, and an exclusive demo 2008 demo track, which hasn´t appeared anywhere else were compiled and released in January 2010 on the "Drifting in the Crypt" compilation album, so you won´t get anything new on "Mirage Myth" if you already own "Drifting in the Crypt".

What makes Phlegethon special other than their music, is that they are one of the seminal proto-death metal acts from Finland along with Sacred Crucifix and A.R.G. None of them played pure death metal during their orginal late 80s/early 90s runs, but they played a raw, aggressive, and brutal type of thrash metal which greatly influenced the then burgeoning Finnish death metal scene. The most fast-paced and aggressive Slayer is an obvious influence on the early Phlegethon demos. Then on "Fresco Lungs", Phlegethon suddenly shifted gears playing an eclectic death/doom/thrash metal style with growling vocals.

It´s arguably the material from the demos which is worth the price of admission when purchasing "Mirage Myth". Incredibly powerful, fast-paced, aggressive, and brutal thrash metal from the late 80s/early 90s delivered by a skilled band, who also understood how to incorporate a little variation to their otherwise pummeling sound. The 10:06 minutes long "Encapsulation of the Ark of the Covenant" from the "Visio Dei Beatifica" demo is the best example of that, but most of the material from the "Neutral Forest" demo is also quite unconventional thrash metal. The material from "Fresco Lungs" is on the other hand a bit confusing and sounds like a band going through the motions. It´s an intriguing release with lots of interesting ideas, but they don´t really work together to create a well sounding whole. Overall "Mirage Myth" is still a good quality compilation and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Drifting in the Crypt" is a compilation album by Finnish thrash/death metal act Phlegethon. The compilation was released through Xtreem Music in January 2010. It compiles all material recorded by Phlegethon from 1988-2007. Phlegethon were initially active from 1988-1992 were they recorded two demos and an EP, then shortly reunited in 1995 and recorded a demo before disbanding again. They finally reunited again in 2006 and recorded a 2006 and a 2007 demo. The material from all those releases are included on "Drifting in the Crypt", but the compilation also features the two bonus tracks from the 1992 reissue of the 1991 "Fresco Lungs" EP and a demo track titled "Circle of Hybrid Statues" which was recorded in 2008, but hasn´t appeared on any demos, so it´s exclusive to this release.

What makes Phlegethon special other than their music, is that they are one of the seminal proto-death metal acts from Finland along with Sacred Crucifix and A.R.G. None of them played pure death metal during their orginal late 80s/early 90s runs, but they played a raw, aggressive, and brutal type of thrash metal which greatly influenced the then burgeoning Finnish death metal scene. The most fast-paced and aggressive Slayer is an obvious influence on the early Phlegethon releases (the first two demos). Then on the 1991 "Fresco Lungs" EP, Phlegethon suddenly shifted gears playing an eclectic death/doom/death´n´roll/thrash metal style with growling vocals. The 1995 "Promo 1995" demo sees the band playing a death´n´roll meets melodic death metal style, while the two post-2000 demos features a relatively fast-paced and energetic thrash metal style combined with melodic death metal traits.

Phlegethon´s had a relatively long career, but with longer pauses and they have never released a full-length studio album, so "Drifting in the Crypt" is the closest you´ll get to that from them. Personally I think this compilation is worth a purchase for the October 1989 "Visio Dei Beatifica" demo alone. It´s such a powerful, raw, energetic, and aggressive piece of late 80s thrash metal that I´m blown away every time I listen to it. It´s a mandatory listen for fans of brutal and aggressive thrash metal/death-thrash metal. The June 1990 "Neutral Forest" demo is definitely worth a listen too, but to my ears the quality drops from there (but that´s still almost an hours worth of high quality material). "Fresco Lungs" is a pretty oddball release, showing a directionless band and the later demos just aren´t up to par with the material from the original run. Still I´d say a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved, and if you´re in doubt about listening to this compilation, promise me you´ll at least give it a go and listen to the material from the "Visio Dei Beatifica" and "Neutral Forest" demos...then I´ll promise you in return that you won´t regret it.

UMUR "Lava Poetry" is the fifth demo recording by Finnish thrash/death metal act Phlegethon. The demo was independently released in 2007. It´s the second demo recording since Phlegethon was ressurrected by Lasse Pyykkö in 2006. The material from "Lava Poetry" is included on the January 2010 "Drifting in the Crypt" (Xtreem Music) compilation album.

Stylistically the two tracks on the 9:05 minutes long demo continue the relatively fast-paced and energetic thrash metal style, which was initiated on the 2006 "Totems Within" demo. The vocals are a little more exteme semi-growling than the rather powerless thrash metal shouting on "Totems Within", but still lacks intensity and snarling gravel to stand out. The two tracks are well performed and they are relatively well produced too, but as the case also was with the "Totems Within" demo this is not a release which stands out among the vast number of releases in this style released every year, and considering what Phlegethon released early in their career, this cannot compare. A 3 star (60%) rating is still warranted though, as this certainly isn´t a bad quality release.

UMUR "Totems Within" is the fourth demo recording by Finnish thrash/death metal act Phlegethon. The demo was independently released in the autumn of 2006. The material from "Totems Within" is included on the January 2010 "Drifting in the Crypt" (Xtreem Music) compilation album. Phlegethon´s initial run was from 1988-1992. They shortly reunited in 1995, recorded a promo tape and then disbanded again. During the first two runs they started out playing raw and aggressive thrash metal, then drifted towards an eclectic death metal style, and then to death´n´roll/melodic death metal. So when Lasse Pyykkö as the only original member decided to ressurect Phlegethon again in 2006, it was anyone´s guess what music style the band would play.

As it turns out Pyykkö has opted to play a relatively fast-paced and energetic thrash metal style but with melodic death metal leanings and with more regular shouting vocals, rather than the caustic snarls of the past. This can therefore not be compared to the first two legendary Phlegethon demos. The band have grown and evolved and they are obviously aiming for something which hints at their early days, but still incorporate other elements too. It´s a fairly successful move, and "Totems Within" is certainly their best release since the June 1990 "Neutral Forest" demo. That doesn´t mean it´s a fantastic release by any means though, as it´s first and foremost not a release which screams that it´s Phlegethon playing, and secondly it doesn´t feature a particularly unique sound.

It´s a well produced demo featuring a clear, powerful, and detailed sound production which suits the material well, but upon conclusion this is a pretty standard quality thrash metal release and a 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Promo 1995" is the third demo recording by Finnish thrash/death metal act Phlegethon. The demo was recorded and released in 1995. Phlegethon disbanded in 1992 after releasing two demos and the 1991 "Fresco Lungs" EP. The latter saw the band suddenly change their style from raw and aggressive thrash metal to an eclectic style of death metal, which is quite honestly a bit hard to describe correctly. Original members Lasse Pyykkö and Teemu Hannonen opted to ressurrect Phlegethon and record this demo tape, but nothing more came of it, and they soon disbanded again. Pyykkö has opted to drop playing the drums here and he instead plays bass and he has also taken over the lead vocal duties. New members are Roland on drums and Saku Hurskainen on lead guitars. The material from "Promo 1995" is included on the January 2010 "Drifting in the Crypt" (Xtreem Music) compilation album.

If "Fresco Lungs" was a bit of a confusing release with its many different genre elements and playing styles mashed together, the three tracks on the 13:57 minutes long "Promo 1995" are slightly more consistent in sound and style. Phlegethon still haven´t decided if they want to play death´n´roll, melodic death metal, or atmospheric death/doom metal, but they combine the genres a little better here than they did on "Fresco Lungs". Unfortunately the overall sound and style of "Promo 1995" isn´t particularly interesting or unique. Pyykkö sings some clean parts, but mostly snarls his way through the demo. He has a sharp, angry, and commanding delivery (which actually isn´t miles from sounding like Satyr from Satyricon).

"Promo 1995" features a clear, detailed, and powerful sounding production job, but upon conclusion this really isn´t what most fans want to hear from Phlegethon, and I don´t think they earned many new ones with this release. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted. This isn´t a bad quality release by any means, but it doesn´t sound one bit like Phlegethon and it would probably have been best if it had been released under a different monicker.