UMUR "IV.I.VIII" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US, Indianapolis, Indiana based extreme metal act Coffinworm. The album was released through Profound Lore Records in March 2014. It´s been a couple of years since the release of "When All Became None (2010)", but the band have released a couple of minor releases in the time between the two full-length releases. The lineup is the same as the one who recorded the debut album.

Stylistically Coffinworm continues the crushingly heavy extreme metal style of the debut on "IV.I.VIII". It´s filthy, it´s dark, it´s fiercely aggressive, it´s doomy/sludgy, it´s blackened, and it´s quite atmospheric too. The vocals are sneering, distorted, and raspy, but there are occasional growling vocals on the album too, which also provide the music with a touch of death metal. So it´s not an album that´s easy to tag as it takes it´s influences from many extreme metal sub genres. While it certainly is crushingly heavy and doomy a lot of the time, there are also faster parts and even blast beat parts on the album too.

"IV.I.VIII" is well produced and features a more compact sound than the debut did. I think I prefer the sound production on "When All Became None (2010)" to this one, but that´s probably an aquired taste. The musicianship are solid throughout, and the material are generally well written and effective.

"When All Became None (2010)" is an album that has been on steady rotation at my house since it was released, and to my ears it´s a really great album by Coffinworm deserving a lot of praise. I can´t quite say that "IV.I.VIII" has had the same impact on me as it´s predecessor did, but it´s still a high quality release by Coffinworm and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "When All Became None" is the debut full-length studio album by US doom metal act Coffinworm. The album was released through Profound Lore in April 2010. Coffinworm was formed in Indianapolis, Indiana in 2007 and released the "Great Bringer of Night" demo in 2009 before recording and releasing "When All Became None".

The music on "When All Became None" is raw and filthy blackened doom metal. The vocals are extremely aggressive, raw, and raspy. Caustic to say the least. The occassional death growl also sneaks into the soundscape but they are few and far between. There are 6 tracks on the 43:15 minutes long album and most of the time the tracks are crushingly heavy and doomy. Coffinworm are however not ignorant to variation and they fasten the pace more than one time during the album´s playing time. Sometimes with a filthy driving punked groove that´s quite irresistable to these ears. The atmosphere on the album is dark, intense, and mean which is further emphasised by songtitles like "Start Saving for Your Funeral", "High on the Reek of Your Burning Remains", and "Strip Nude for Your Killer". These guys are pissed off and they´ve made an album that reeks anger and misanthropy to make sure you get the point.

"When All Became None" is produced by the omnipresent Sanford Parker (Minsk, Nachtmystium...etc.) and he has created a perfect raw, near-feedback limit, and filthy sounding production to suit Coffinworm´s music. Upon conclusion "When All Became None" is a very convincing blackened doom metal album featuring excellent musicianship, near perfect sound production, and well written and powerful material. Don´t pass this one by if you enjoy blackened doom metal with a caustic attitude. A 4 - 4.5 star (85%) rating is deserved.