UMUR "Yeah!" is the debut full-length studio album by Finnish death metal/grindcore act Xysma. The album was released through ComeBack Records in 1991. It follows the release of the April 1989 "Swarming of the Maggots" demo, and the two 1990 EPs "Above the Mind of Morbidity" and "Fata Morgana". Around the time of writing the material for "Yeah!", the members of Xysma started feeling death metal/grindcore fatique, and they discovered the stoner doom/heavy metal of Black Sabbath, and it had great impact on the musical direction of "Yeah!".

In fact the new stoner doom/heavy metal element makes "Yeah!" one of the most unique extreme metal albums of its time, because Xysma combines the heavy grooves and stoner doom riffs with filthy death-doom metal parts which smell a bit like Autopsy and with deathgrinding blasting which is not far from contemporary Carcass (there are quite a few harmony guitar parts on the album too pointing in the direction of 70s hard rock artists like Wishbone Ash and Thin Lizzy). At times there are sections which could arguably be labelled death´n´roll (before such a term was coined) and add to that a psychedelic edge and you have a very eclectic release on you hands. This really isn´t supposed to work...but it does. The vague existentialistic lyrical themes are quite unusual for a 1991 death metal release too.

It´s interesting to note that "Yeah!" was recorded at Sunlight Studio (Stockholm, Sweden) during the autumn of 1990 with engineer Tomas Skogsberg. What´s interesting is that the album does not feature a sound production which sounds like any of the Swedish death metal releases recorded at the studio around the same time. Xysma went their own ways musically but also when it came to production techniques and the tone of their instruments.

"Yeah!" is bound to be a release dividing the waters, because of the odd melting pot musical style, but personally I find it one of the most unique extreme metal releases from the early part of the 90s, and to my ears the combination of musical styles and elements work wonders. A 4 - 4.5 star (85%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Fata Morgana" is an EP release by Finnish death metal/grindcore act Xysma. The EP was released through Seraphic Decay Records in late 1990. It´s the successor to the "Above the Mind of Morbidity" EP from earlier that same year. It´s a four track EP featuring three new original studio tracks and a March 1990 live recording of "Entangled in Shreds" from "Above the Mind of Morbidity".

"On the Hill of Desecration" opens the EP and it´s a great track showing a new more accessible and groove laden death metal direction (the song would end up in a re-recorded version on Xysma´s debut full-length studio album "Yeah!" (1991)). It still features all the morbidity, rawness, and brutality of early Xysma, but also manages to add some atmosphere courtesy of a few keyboard parts. "Entangled in Shreds" was a great death metal/grindcore track in the studio version, but this live version is certainly worth the price of admission too.

"Embodiment of Morbidity" is a pretty extreme deathgrind track and shows that Xysma weren´t yet done with being extreme, brutal, and filthy. The EP closes with the beautiful acoustic guitar/keyboard piece "Fata Morgana", which ensures that the EP is a varied listen. Just as the case was with the material on "Above the Mind of Morbidity" Xysma show some pretty creative songwriting skills and they also show that they understand what makes an effective death metal tune and overall release.

The studio tracks are well produced and feature a clear and detailed sounding production job. It´s almost too clear and professional, and while this was arguably the most professional sound production on any Xysma release up until then, the raw charm and unrelenting brutality of "Above the Mind of Morbidity" is slightly missed here. "Entangled in Shreds" features a well sounding live recording quality. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Above the Mind of Morbidity" is an EP release by Finnish grindcore/death metal act Xysma. The EP was released through ComeBack Records in 1990. It´s the follow-up release to the April 1989 "Swarming of the Maggots" demo. Guitarist Olli Nurminen has been added to the lineup, making it possible for Janitor to concentrate solely on performing vocals.

Compared to the brutal, noisy, and savage grindcore sound of the "Swarming of the Maggots" demo, Xysma has opted for a more varied style of music on "Above the Mind of Morbidity". The pace has been lowered significantly so the tracks now feature both fast blasting sections and sludgy mid-paced death metal parts. There´s also the occasionally brutal groove found here and even a slow doomy part here and there. If a valid reference should be made it´s Carcass "Symphonies of Sickness" (November 1989, Earache Records) album which first comes to mind.

It´s audible that Xysma have grown as musicians since "Swarming of the Maggots", and they are now a tight playing unit, but it´s their creative songwriting which is most impressive. The Carcass influence is of course strong, but Xysma still bring a lot of their own ideas to the table, and you´ll find loads of killer riffs and irresistable brutal grooves on this EP, in addition to the depraved, juicy, and burbing growling vocals. It´s impossible not to feel the nasty sleaze and gory filth of it all while listening to "Above the Mind of Morbidity".

"Above the Mind of Morbidity" features a raw, brutal, and detailed sound production. It´s arguably a demo quality sound production (despite this being released as an EP), but the rawness and utter brutality of the sound perfectly suits the material. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is fully deserved and "Above the Mind of Morbidity" is without a doubt one of the most important and seminal releases from the early Finnish death metal scene.

UMUR "Swarming of the Maggots" is the first demo recording by Finnish grindcore/death metal act Xysma. The demo was independently released in April 1989 (originally on cassette tape). Xysma formed in 1988 under the Repulse monicker but later the same year after releasing the "On a Cartrip in Sweden" demo, they changed their name to Xysma. Xysma are one of the seminal extreme metal acts on the Finnish scene, and they were highly influential on (and part of) the burgeoning Finnish death metal scene.

"Swarming of the Maggots" doesn´t feature many death metal elements though, and it´s instead a blasting, noisy, and pretty extreme grindcore demo strongly influenced by contemporary Napalm Death and especially Carcass. The demo features 18 tracks and a total playing time of 17:05 minutes, so it´s almost self-explanatory that most of these tracks are very short.

The sound production is raw, lo-fi, and abrasive. Everything is turned to 11, except for the guitars, which are pretty much buried as a low distorted buzzing in a soundscape dominated by a loud distorted bass, busy animalistic and highly energetic drumming, and beastly extreme screaming/growling. None of the above is of course surprising today, when we learn of the Napalm Death/Carcass influences, but back then this must have been the most extreme release on the early Finnish extreme metal scene. Just look at the release date...

While Xysma do incorporate a few mid-paced heavy parts to some of their songs (again not completely unlike early Carcass), "Swarming of the Maggots" is a slightly one-dimensional affair. For what it is, it´s well performed, well composed, and although the sound production is far away from sounding anything like a professional recording, it´s still quite the suitable sound for material this extreme. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

Triceratopsoil Very strange album to be coming from a former death/grind band, though not totally unexpected given the trajectory Xysma's career had been taking up to this point. While the prior albums First and Magical and Deluxe being somewhat lighter & trippier variations on Entombed's "death-n-roll" theme, Lotto veers into stoner rock and even almost pop-punk. Think, a more garage version of Monster Magnet or Queens of the Stone Age. The production is intentionally a bit lo-fi, but it works.

The lyrics are goofy and the vocals are split duty between croaky and (surprisingly good) clean. Overall, the thing that strikes me most about Xysma and especially Lotto, is how lighthearted and fun it all is. Hard not to have a good time listening to this album.

Favourite tracks: We Just Came Inside, New Gel In Town, The Tram