UMUR "The Great Liberator" is an EP release by Swedish technical/progressive metal act Terminal Function. The EP was independently released in September 2018. It´s the successor to the "Krakstören" EP from 2017. Terminal Function started out in 1998 and after recording and releasing three demos in the early 00s, the band released their debut full-length studio album "Measuring the Abstract" in 2008.

Stylistically the material on "The Great Liberator" is a technical and strongly Meshuggah influenced type of metal, with the occasional nod towards the more ethereal progressive metal sounds of Cynic. Terminal Function are exceptionally skilled and well playing and the four tracks on the 16:05 minutes long EP are all well crafted and powerful compositions. So there is no arguing that Terminal Function are both skilled musicians and composers, which only makes it that much more bewildering, that they chose to wear their Meshuggah influence so blatantly on their sleeve. They unfortunately cross into clone/worship territory and completely forget to nurse anything resembling a personal identity.

"The Great Liberator" is a high quality release on all other parameters. The songwriting is effectful and relatively memorable, the sound production is powerful and well sounding, suiting the material well, and the musical performances are on a high level too, but it´s beyond me how Terminal Function can be satisfied sounding this much like a Meshuggah clone. Having been active since 1998 I would have expected that they had at least tried to forge something a little more unique by now...but unfortunately no. I´ll rate this with a 3.5 star (70%) rating purely based on the quality of the product, but I can´t really recommend it, unless you´re a hardcore fan of Meshuggah and just can´t get enough of similar sounding material.

UMUR "Clockwork Sky" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Swedish technical extreme metal act Terminal Function. The album was released through Willowtip Records in September 2015. Terminal Function was formed in 1998 and released several demos before releasing their debut full-length studio album "Measuring The Abstract" in 2008. So it´s been 7 years between albums, which even in this day and age is a pretty long recording break. There´s been one lineup change since the debut as bassist Lars Söderberg has left the band. Guitarist Stefan Aronsson handles the bass on "Clockwork Sky".

The music on the album is technical extreme metal strongly influenced by fellow countrymen Meshuggah. At times to the point of "Clockwork Sky" being what I would characterize as a worship release. Thankfully Terminal Function do incorporate other elements too, that seperates them from their more famous countrymen, but there are overall more similarities than differences. Some of the differences include occasional use of clean vocals, keyboards, and the occasional use of more regular rhythms and riffs played in conventional time signatures. The similarities are heavy downtuned riffs and rhythms played in odd time signatures, relatively one-dimensional raw shouting vocals, and fusion/jazz oriented guitar solos.

The material on the 11 track, 40:41 minutes long album is generally well written and relatively catchy although it´s not necessarily memorable in the long run. The musicianship is on a high level on all posts, and it´s hard not to be impressed by what these guys play. They may not compose the most original sounding material, but they sure can play. The sound production is raw, powerful, and suits the music, so upon conclusion there are many positive things to say about "Clockwork Sky". The lack of an original style and a very obvious clone factor are negatives that drag my rating down though, and in the end a 3.5 star (70%) rating is warranted. If you are more forgiving than I am regarding the high clone factor, you can put another half star on top of that.

UMUR "Measuring the Abstract" is the debut full-length studio album by Swedish technical/ progressive extreme metal act Terminal Function. The album was released through Willowtip Records in November 2008.

The music on the album is technical/progressive extreme metal with some jazzy Holdsworthian soloing (the solos are very similar to the style of playing byFredrik Thordendal from Meshuggah). The playing is generally very technically challenging and the tracks are complex (while still featuring an accessible vers/chorus element). The vocals are mostly aggressive but there are some clean parts and a few vocoder vocal parts too. While the music is pre-dominantly aggressive with fast and complex distorted riffing there are also some jazzy acoustic breaks and the above mentioned jazzy soloing in the music. The kind of semi-jazzy playing I associate with Cynic. There´re also keyboards in the music but they are mostly used to create atmosphere. Other references in addition to Meshuggah and Cynic are acts such as Atheist, Textures and especially fellow Swede progressive tech/extreme metal act Theory in Practice (the "The Armageddon Theories (1999)" album). There are 8 tracks on the album but "Auroral Display" is a 1:04 minutes long instrumental so there are actually only 7 "real" compositions on the album. The total playing time on "Measuring the Abstract" is 43:27 minutes though which is a perfect length for this kind of music IMO. All compositions are of high quality and the album appears consistent with a great flow.

The musicianship is excellent. These are very skilled musicians. Fast and varied drumming, great aggressive vocals (the clean vocals are not the best but they are decent) and razor sharp and intense riffing. The jazz element in their sound is also executed to perfection and adds the spice to their sound.

The production is excellent even though I could have wished that the aggressive vocals were a bit less processed. They are a bit over the top at times.

"Measuring the Abstract" is an excellent album in the progressive tech/extreme metal genre and fans of the above mentioned acts should definitely take a listen to this high quality album. It´s not the most original album I´ve heard in the genre but it´s a minor flaw that doesn´t take away the overall good impression I´ve gotten of Terminal Function. I´m sure their next album will show them developing a more personal sound. The genre so rarely sees new quality acts appear but I think we can safely expect great things from Terminal Function in the future. For now this is a great introduction to this new act and "Measuring the Abstract" fully deserves a 4 star (80%) rating.