UMUR "Sign of the Cloven Hoof" is the debut full-length studio album by New Zealand doom metal act The House of Capricorn. The album was released through Swamps of One Tree Hill in March 2010.

The album features 13 tracks and a full playing time of 53:00 minutes, so compared to most other doom metal releases the tracks are relatively short or "normal" length (between 3 and 5 minutes) if you will. While the music certainly is brick heavy and dark, it´s not slow paced and doomy. Most of the time it´s mid-paced and features a nice heavy groove. There are a couple of hints toward stoner doom, but the music on "Sign of the Cloven Hoof" is mostly just really heavy and catchy metal. The vocals are rough but clean. The musicianship is strong and the sound production powerful and dark. The latter suits the music perfectly.

If I have to mention a minor issue it would be that while the music is catchy, the tracks are generally not that memorable. The kind of album that´s very enjoyable while it´s playing, but doesn´t stick that long in the memory. So variation between tracks and memorability are not in the high seat. I know that sounds really negative, but the truth is that "Sign of the Cloven Hoof" is still a very enjoyable release. I especially enjoy the dark atmosphere and the convincing delivery. These guys mean business! A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.