UMUR "Across the Horizon" is an EP release by Swedish death metal act Utumno. The EP was released through Cenotaph Records in 1993. It succeeds the release of the "The Light of Day" EP from 1991. Both tracks from "The Light of Day" ("Saviour Reborn" and "In Misery I Dwell") were re-recorded and included on "Across the Horizon". The original versions from "The Light of Day" have been added as bonus material on later reissues of "Across the Horizon". "Across the Horizon" was recorded at Sunlight Studio in Stockholm, Sweden with producer Tomas Skogsberg.

Although Utumno had lurked in the old school Swedish death metal underground since 1990 (originally under the Carnal Redemption monicker), they didn´t manage to release a full-length studio album during the heyday of Swedish death metal (1989-1993), and before the release of "Across the Horizon" they only had the 1991 "Twisted Emptiness" demo and the above mentioned 1991 two-track "The Light of Day" EP under their belts. While "Across the Horizon" isn´t a full-length studio album it does come close as it features six tracks and a total playing time of 28:02 minutes.

Stylistically Utumno is one of the more varied and interesting Swedish death metal acts from the early 90s and it´s contemporary artists like Edge of Sanity and especially Afflicted that I´m reminded of (rather than Nihilist/Entombed, Dismember, and Grave). I wouldn´t call Utumno progressive but they are certainly adventurous and technically also very skilled. Lead vocalist Jonas Stålhammar is to my ears one of the great unsung growlers from the early 90s Swedish scene (along with Joakim Bröms from Afflicted), able to deliver brutal growling but also fiercely aggressive raw vocals. He should have left out the very short clean vocal experiment on "Emotions Run Cold (Saints and Sinners)" and the spoken word vocals on "The Light of Day", but other than that his performance here is vicious and commanding.

"Across the Horizon" is one of those more or less forgotten gems that you sometimes come across. It´s a high quality release, featuring intriging and effectful songwriting, a well playing band, and a professional, powerful, and detailed sound production. Through and through a high quality product. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "The Light of Day" is an EP release by Swedish death metal act Utumno. The EP was released through Cenotaph Records in 1991. It was originally released on 7" vinyl and limited to 1.000 copies. "The Light of Day" features two tracks and a total playing time of 9:36 minutes. The material was recorded at Sunlight Studio, Stockholm, Sweden in September 1991. While the original 7" vinyl version of the EP is a hard find, the material from "The Light of Day" have been added as bonus material on some reissue versions of Utumno´s next EP release "Across the Horizon". The two tracks also appear in re-recorded versions on "Across the Horizon".

Utumno play quite an interesting and technically challenging old school death metal style. It´s not completely different from some of the contemporary releases by fellow Swedes in Afflicted. While the level of technical playing is certainly high, Utumno manage to steer clear of the pitfalls (read...technical wankery for the sake of it), and they first and foremost produce some very powerful, brutal, and effectful old school death metal. The occassional lead guitar part and atmosphere enhancing keyboard section also add greatly to their sound. Lead vocalist Jonas Stålhammar is probably one of the most intense, raw, and brutal sounding vocalists on the scene. He hits the perfect balance between brutal growling, and intense aggression.

So not enough nice things can be said about "The Light of Day", which also features a professional, brutal, and detailed sounding production. Utumno may not have made it out of the Swedish death metal underground, but they certainly deserved more recognition judged on this release. It´s one of the best quality old school Swedish death metal releases (which isn´t a full-length studio album) I have come across and a 4 star (80%) rating is fully deserved.

UMUR "Twisted Emptiness" is the first demo recording by Swedish death metal act Utumno. The demo was independently released on cassette tape in 1991. Utumno formed in 1990 under the Carnal Redemption monicker. "Twisted Emptiness" was initially released under that monicker, but after the band changed their name to Utumno, they opted to re-release "Twisted Emptiness" under their new monicker in 1991. So two different versions of the demo exist. The content is the same though.

Stylistically Utumno play a powerful old school death metal style featuring some pretty brutal growling vocals. The band are relatively well playing, and they skillfully change pace within the songs to keep things interesting and varied throughout. It´s almost too much at times and the almost funky tech drumming on "Inane Incantation" isn´t that suiting.

The sound quality isn´t the best, although the demo arguably features an authentic, gloomy, and raw sounding production job. Some details are lost in the mix though, and some of the instruments sound like they were recorded at at volume too high for comfort, which makes for an occassionally distorted soundscape. Upon conclusion "Twisted Emptiness" is worth a listen for fans of old school Swedish death metal. It´s not a seminal release in the genre, and it´s not the best release either, but there´s enough quality here to warrant a 2.5 - 3 star (55%) rating.