UMUR "Through Sepulchral Shadows" is the third demo release by Swedish death metal act Vomitory. The demo was independently released in April 1994. It´s the successor to "Promo '93" and it´s a completely different sounding release to the murky, lo-fi recording quality of the predecessor.

"Through Sepulchral Shadows" features a brutal, raw, yet detailed sounding production, which suits the brutality and rawness of the old school death metal attack very well. All three tracks from the 15:44 minutes long demo would be re-recorded and included on Vomitory´s debut full-length studio album "Raped in Their Own Blood" (November 1996, Fadeless Records). This is through and through quality old school death metal. It´s raw, morbid, and brutal, but still relatively accessible with memorable songwriting ideas combined with the energetic brutal death metal sound.

Vomitory are a well playing band too, and the growling vocals from Ronnie Olson are harsh, brutal, and beastly. So upon conclusion "Through Sepulchral Shadows" is a high quality death metal demo from the early 90s (although Vomitory were a few years to late to the game), and I can highly recommend giving it a listen, to hear the early demo versions of some of the great tracks found on "Raped in Their Own Blood" (an equally great release). A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Promo '93" is the second demo release by Swedish death metal act Vomitory. The demo was independently released in July 1993. It´s the successor to the "Moribund" EP from June 1993. "Promo '93" is quite different from the two preceding releases by Vomitory as it´s a murky, lo-fi recording, which sounds a lot like it was recorded during a rehearsal, although it was actually recorded at a studio (Studio Prima Volta in July-93).

While the sound quality leaves quite a bit to be desired, it´s still audible that Vomitory are a well playing band with some effective songwriting skills. Only "Into Winter Through Sorrow" would survive and be re-recorded and included on Vomitory´s debut full-length studio album "Raped in Their Own Blood" (November 1996, Fadeless Records). A 2 star (40%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Moribund" is a two-track EP release by Swedish death metal act Vomitory. The EP was released through Witchhunt Records in June 1993. It´s the successor the Vomitory´s first demo release from 1992.

"Moribund" features 2 tracks and a total playing time of 8:15 minutes. The title track is a re-recording of the same track from the 1992 demo, while "Dark Grey Epoch" is a new original track. The latter ended up in re-recorded form on Vomitory´s debut full-length studio album "Raped in Their Own Blood" (November 1996, Fadeless Records).

The development of sound is obvious between the first demo and "Moribund", which is an overall much darker, more brutal, and more well performed release. Vomitory really show here, how things should be done when delivering a brutal old school death metal attack. The sound production is also suitingly brutal and well sounding, so all in all "Moribund" is a quality old school death metal release and a 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

UMUR This is the first demo release by Swedish death metal act Vomitory. The demo wasn´t given a title, and is therefore only refered to as "Demo". The demo was independently released in May 1992. Vomitory formed in 1989 originally playing a teutonic thrash metal influenced style, but they gradually changed their sound and began playing death metal.

The 3 tracks on the 13:00 minutes long demo are all 100% pure old school death metal. It´s not your typical Swedish death metal release from the early 90s, as Vomitory always branched out a bit more with influences from both hardcore/grindcore, doom, and death metal. While none of the tracks from this demo survived and appeared on Vomitory´s debut full-length studio album "Raped in Their Own Blood" (November 1996, Fadeless Records), the music style on these tracks is very similar to the sound on the debut album. Solid, effective, and brutal sounding death metal played by a skilled band.

The demo features a raw, powerful, and well sounding production job, considering that this is a demo recording. This could just as well have been released as an official label EP. Upon conclusion it´s a strong and promising first demo release by Vomitory and a 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

Nightfly Swedish death death metal masters Vomitory called it a day in 2013, bowing out in fine style with the excellent Opus Mortis VIII released in 2011. In 2018 they announced their reformation and no doubt held up by covid-19, 2023 finally sees the release of their new album, All Heads Are Gonna Roll, with the same line up in tact as on the last few before the split.

Despite the 12 year gap, All Heads Are Gonna Roll could have been released the year after Opus Mortis VIII, such is the seamless continuity. They may not have reinvented the wheel but sometimes things stay the same for the better. That’s certainly the case here as what we get is 10 tracks of old school death metal, raw, fast and brutal as it usually is at its best. Their sound owes as much to the USA as their native Sweden, lacking that stereotype buzzsaw guitar sound in favour of something sharper but just as heavy, if not more so. The pace is relentless throughout with only the occasional pause for breath but the consistency of memorable riffs throughout makes this a winner. The in your face production certainly helps as does the great musicianship but without the strong hooks it could all wear thin pretty quickly. Thankfully that’s not the case as whilst Vomitory stick to their tried and trusted formula song after song they deliver the goods.

Despite some solid releases I was starting to think that 2023 wasn’t going to be one of the better years for death metal but in the space of a couple of weeks we’ve had this and Frozen Souls excellent second album so all is not lost yet. As things stand Vomitory have set the benchmark for others to aim for.