UMUR "PowerNerd" is the twenty-second full-length studio album by Canadian progressive rock/metal artist Devin Townsend (if you include all releases by Devin Townsend, Devin Townsend Project, and The Devin Townsend Band). The album was released through InsideOut Music in October 2024. It´s the successor to "Lightwork" from November 2022 and it´s almost impossible to believe that there´s been almost two years between releases for Townsend, who usually is a very prolific with his output rate. There are several reasons for the break in output though, including touring in support of "Lightwork" and working on what is described by Townsend as one of the most elaborate and challenging musical projects of his career...the forthcoming album "The Moth". But in typical Townsend style he of course found time to write and record a stop-gap release which is "PowerNerd".

After having experimented with using an outside co-producer (Gggarth) on "Lightwork", Townsend is back to self-producing on "PowerNerd". He has said in interviews that it was a great experience for him working with an outside producer, but that he would probably never do it again, because as great the experience was, it was also uncomfortable for him to relinquish control of his product.

"PowerNerd" was recorded by Townsend (vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, programming) with additional performances by session musicians Darby Todd (drums), Diego Tejeida and Mike Keneally (both keybaords), Jean Savoie (bass), Aman Khosla (vocals), Tanya Ghosh (vocals), and Jamie Jasta (vocals). So most of the recording was solely done by Townsend.

Stylistically the material on "PowerNerd" is predominantly melodic heavy rock/metal with huge memorable choruses (I could remember almost every track already the second time I listened to them, so this is arguably very catchy material). Although the music is very well produced, featuring Townsend´s signature multi-layers of instruments and vocals, it´s probably his most accessible and least progressive/experimental release yet. The tracks are all vers/chorus structured, 3-5 minutes long (except the even shorter "Dreams of Light"), and relatively simple, but still very effective and well composed. Think how a combination of the pop metal heaviness of "Addicted" (2009) would sound if you applied it to the atmospheric pop/rock of "Lightwork" (2022) and you´re halfway there. Fans of the most experimental parts of Townsend´s discography might find this a little light weight and maybe even a little shallow, but to those of us who found the two above mentioned albums greatly enjoyable and generally appreciate the more melodic and easier to access material from Townsend, "PowerNerd" is another great addition to our collection.

What´s interesting on "PowerNerd" compared to some of the other more accessible releases in Townsend´s discography is that there are almost no excursions into experimental territories. He usually can´t help himself add at least one or two tracks with an experimental/progressive edge even on the more melodic pop rock/metal oriented releases, but "PowerNerd" is almost completely devoid of that and it´s generally a very consistent release in terms of musical style...at least until the closing track "Ruby Quaker" where Townsend let´s loose with a little eclectic musical madness (mixing a cowpunk main song with death metal and epic symphonic parts). Probably just to remind his audience that he hasn´t lost his edge and have become completely domesticated.

Even within this relatively simple vers/chorus structured format Townsend is able to show his musical ingenuity and geniality. Although it´s not as apparent on "PowerNerd" as on other preceding more experimental releases, it´s still pretty clear that he is a one-of-a-kind genius, who is able to make even relatively staight forward music sound intriguing, energetic, and powerful. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

siLLy puPPy Chugging buzzsaw guitars, lo-fi production fuzziness, demonic vocal rasping piercing the wall of shadowy din with adrenalized rampages altering with creeping advances. These are the now well established attributes of Tobias Möckl’s one man band PAYSAGE D’HIVER which since 1998 has continued to deliver the sounds of a turbulent winter storm with no end. This Swiss soldier in the black metal army (as well as key member of Möckl’s other well known band, Darkspace), returns with another whopping blast of Arctic chill with his newest release DIE BERGE, the German words meaning “The Mountains” thus showcased on a dismal album cover of grainy black and white vagueness. Unleashing another ferocious attack of ambient atmospheric black metal some 26 years after the debut “Steineiche,” PAYSAGE D’HIVER is up to album #15 this time around and follows in the footsteps of the more modern releases with a sprawling running time of almost 103 minutes.

Despite the lengthy sojourn into the frigid icy sonic swells that rumble on for well over an hour, DIE BERGE features a mere 7 tracks with every single track but one hitting the 11-minute mark with the grandest of sprawlers coming first in the form of “Urgrund” which slinks past the 18-minute playing time. Now that’s a lot of jagged wintery downtuned distortion to soak in but somehow once again Mr Möckl showcases his knack to craft hostile frosty soundscapes that march on through lengthy processions like an intrepid journey into the unknown during the hostile shivery moments of winter delivered in a demeanor as chilling and inclement as the inhospitable apices of the Swiss Alps. Appearing as the sole contributor under the moniker Wintherr, his compositions on DIE BERGE emulate a nasty blizzard lambasting the peaks in musical form with oscillating swells of lo-fi distortion and the blurred distinction between treble and bass accompanied by the pacifying melodic touches of the atmospheric keyboard runs that so gracefully slink in and out of the treacherous soundscapes. Blastbeats and tranquilized drum percussion trades off with moments of a unifying bleakness as the bantering guitar and bass swells deliver maximum bombast.

While the world of black metal continues to splinter off in a great number of variations, PAYSAGE D’HIVER offers that respite into the world of darkened lo-fi grittiness that launched the Norwegian second wave black metal scene some 30 years ago and retains that general vibe which has become somewhat diluted and altered with the advent of more progressive and experimental black metal of the 21st century. DIE BERGE like the general PAYSAGE D’HIVER canon offers that much needed transcendental escape into a nightmarish and ominous journey into the turbulent black metal disarray that tames chaotic soundscapes into melodic almost post-metal like cyclical loops that rumble on for long segments of time yet somehow never seem to grow stale as the chugging riffs and hypnotic repetitive motifs slowly churn on for minutes on end. It’s very much the black metal equivalent to laying on the ground and simply watching the clouds drift by with subtle variations oozing out at glacial speeds. The album’s seven tracks may be lengthy but each forges its own identity despite deriving inspiration from the same playbook. Despite the simplicity of the melodic structure, the album is utterly mesmerizing and casts the perfect spell to allow the protracted paragons to perform their wintery magic.

Don’t expect any Alpine folk interpretations or experimental touches. PAYSAGE D’HIVER isn’t one to throw curveballs but rather delivers comfort metal of the frigid variety for those accustomed to the long drawn out processions into gelid wintery soundscapes that Wintherr has possibly become the most adept at crafting. DIE BERGE may not differ substantially from PAYSAGE D’HIVER’s long and well-established canon significantly but nevertheless this guy really knows how to keep the consistency in his work without falling from grace. Black metal is a fickle beast and can easily be slayed by too much regalia adornment. In the case of PAYSAGE D’HIVER it seems that keeping it simple without too much excess fluff has been the magic bullet that has propelled Wintherr and his project well into the 21st century with no signs of running out of gas. While i wouldn’t call DIE BERGE any sort of advancement in the established stylistic approach, i can say that Wintherr has delivered another wickedly delightful slice of chillingly frosty atmospheric black metal that keeps his legacy churning along.

siLLy puPPy After a lengthy hiatus that found a whopping elapse of 13 years since its last full length album, the mighty MITOCHRONDRION has resurrected itself from a self-imposed slumber and slithered out of its hibernation chambers to unleash the third installment of its brutal bantering discography. While the band dropped an EP in 2013 and a split in 2016 showing continued signs of life, unexpectedly and turbulently this Victoria, BC based band has unleashed a massive sprawling double disc release in 2024 in the form of VITRISEPTOME. Delivering another esoteric and mysterious album title, this word like its predecessors “Archaeaeon” and “Parasignosis” has emerged like a linguistic Frankenstein of the band’s own making. Breaking down into the logical components, VITRI- possibly refers to the legit “vitic” which means relating to, resembling or having the nature of glass. SEPT most likely signifies the number seven whereas the TOME part could possibly refer to a book or set of books of several volumes featured in a scholarly fashion. So logically perhaps a “Seven Volume Tome In Glass?”

Whatever the fuck it means, VITRISEPTOME is a behemoth of a musical monstrosity that features 17 ear shattering tracks that sprawl on to a whopping one hour and 25 minutes! That’s a tall order for a band that consistently delivers some of the most frightening and energetic displays of technical disso-death metal in the modern realms of the ever-expanding universe of extreme metal’s most popular nook. So what’s new with MITOCHONDRION you ask? Well, dare i say melody? This band’s past is one of murky nebulous swells of sound that conjure up demonic forces that deliver astral terror. In many ways the band returns with a sound that’s business as usual with the expected rampaging guitar riffs distorted to kingdom come accompanied by blitzkrieg percussion gymnastics in a crushing cacophony that blurs the distinction between black metal, death metal and the avant-garde. Also once again MITOCHONDRION delivers hefty doses of preternatural aural assaults bedecked with ample touches of Lovecraftian surrealism.

VITRISEPTOME may resemble its heritage in the aforementioned carry over elements that make MITOCHONDRION sound like no other however beneath the dissonant display of bantering freneticism, this album is quite different in many ways with the most prominent feature being that of a more melodic approach that is implemented by the higher register guitar licks that accompany the brutal bombast of the rampaging riffing. Also notable is the more cavernous texture of the production and mixing which offers a more Portal-like effect that offers moments of pure blackened noise as heard on the combo back of “[ ]” and the title track which sound like an avalanche of amplifiers generating a feedback explosion. While the previous albums offered a more surreal blurry bleeding over of the instrumentation, VITRISEPTOME on the other hand delivers a more distinguished separation of guitars, bass and other elements such as the various tonal textures offered by such unorthodoxies as the timpani, flute, bone horn and singing bowl. As far as the guitars are concerned there is more of an old school Morbid Angel feel on many track with that classic guitar squealing effect emerging from the din. But don’t let these small details fool you. This is MITOCHONDRION raging on in fine form!

Despite the hour and a half playing time i found myself able to take in the entire shebang in one sitting and that’s saying something these days when i find many albums are tediously too long for their own good. Something about MITOCHONDRION’s multi-faceted delivery system that keeps things sounding uniform in style yet diverse in how the details define the sum of the parts. It’s a demanding listening experience but unlike previous efforts that only offered the gloomiest and doomiest musical excursions to be had, VITRISEPTOME feels like it adds a ray of light to the chaotic disso-death battlefield of instrumentation with digestible chunks of melodic victory prognosticating a triumphant outcome despite a bleak and seemingly hopeless outcome. Once again MITOCHONDRION successfully conveys a strange metaphysical scenario that while nebulous in nature offers a wild emotional ride through the incessant swarm of sonic entropy. Personally i still prefer the band’s first two albums as this one is less consistent in its overall effect despite in many ways pretty much following in the footsteps of the previous albums. I’m a bit underwhelmed that the band didn’t deliver 13 years of innovation however despite those nitpicky quibbles i have to say that VITRISEPTOME is still a freakin’ awesome display of 21st century techy blackened disso-death. For me just a smidge inferior to the band’s past but this very well could grow on me over time indeed.

UMUR "Absolute Elsewhere" is the third full-length studio album by US, Colorado based death metal act Blood Incantation. The album was released through Century Media Records in October 2024. It´s the successor to "Hidden History of the Human Race" from 2021, although the two full-length studio albums are bridged by the 2022 "Timewave Zero" EP. Three of the four members of the band have also been busy recording the second Spectral Voice album titled "Sparagmos", which was released in February 2024. Blood Incantation and Spectral Voice share all members except for the drummers of the two bands, who exclusively play in one of the groups.

While Blood Incantation have been brewing music since 2011 and have been relatively active since their formation, it wasn´t until the release of "Hidden History of the Human Race" that they had their underground breakthrough. Almost universally lauded for it´s intricate, progressive, and abstract death metal sound, "Hidden History of the Human Race" certainly made sure that Blood Incantation were placed firmly on the death metal map. It´s an interesting death metal release, because for all its sophistication, technical playing, and complex song structures, it´s still inherently an old school death metal release, featuring a gloomy and filthy brutality.

While a large part of the playing time of "Hidden History of the Human Race" was made up of the 18:05 minutes long "Awakening from the Dream of Existence to the Multidimensional Nature of Our Reality (Mirror of the Soul)", writing such a massive progressive death metal track obviously haven´t satisfied Blood Incantation´s cravings for abstract and complex death metal constructions, as "Absolute Elsewhere" contains only two 20 minutes plus tracks titled "The Stargate" (20:20 minutes long) and "The Message" (23:23 minutes long). Both tracks are subdivided into three shorter tracks, but you still get the experience of listening to two long tracks, as the sub-tracks seque into each other.

Stylistically Blood Incantation take their music to a new level. While still featuring loads of old school technical death metal parts, the album features just as many 70s influenced tripped-out space rock parts (Artists like Tangerine Dream, Eloy, and Pink Floyd haven´t lived in vain), which have nothing to do with death metal. So how does two such different music styles co-exist? It should be impossible, but it actually works incredibly well. Blood Incantation ensure that there is a good balance between death metal brutality, technical playing, progressive song structures, and the 70s progressive/space rock influences. "Absolute Elsewhere" is epic, melodic, and atmospheric, but also brutal, dissonant, and raw. Gloomy atmospheres are followed by epic melodic moments, and laid-back psychedelic journeys into space.

The growling vocals are cavernous, but higher in the mix than on the previous releases from Blood Incantation, which is a plus in my book. "The Message [Tablet II]" features a strongly Pink Floyed influenced section with clean singing in the Gilmour vein, and although they are relatively sparse and subtle, they provide a great contrast to the brutal growling vocals, which dominate "Absolute Elsewhere". The instrumental part of the album is well performed too, and the band are arguably a talented unit. It´s the multifaceted songwriting and unconventional progressive ideas which make "Absolute Elsewhere" such an interesting release though. These days you kind of expect that bands can handle their instruments, but it´s never a given that they can write intriguing music. Blood Incantation master both disciplines with ease. Featuring an organic, powerful, and detailed sound production "Absolute Elsewhere" is a high level release on all parameters and a 4.5 star (900%) rating is fully deserved.

UMUR "Manual Manic Procedures" is the second full-length studio album by US, Ohio based death metal act 200 Stab Wounds. The album was released through Metal Blade Records in June 2024. It´s the successor to Slave To The Scalpel from 2021, although 200 Stab Wounds did release the 2023 "Masters of Morbidity" stop-gap single (featuring two non-album tracks). There has been one lineup change since the debut album as guitarist Lance Buckley has been replaced by Raymond Macdonald.

Stylistically 200 Stab Wounds haven´t changed much since the last album, still playing an old school but still not too retro sounding type of death metal. Brutal and varied grooves, both death metal and thrash metal influenced riffs, and some brutal growling vocals in front. "Manual Manic Procedures" features a fat, heavy, and brutal sounding production job which along with the (for the style) relatively varied songwriting are the greatest assets of the album. The band are well playing too.

Upon conclusion "Manual Manic Procedures" is another good quality death metal release from 200 Stab Wounds and the greater emphasis on brutal grooves and breaks is an interesting feature of the album, which provide the music with something a little more unique than what many other contemporary death metal artists put out. When that is said, "Manual Manic Procedures" still use trid and true musical elements...they are just combined in an effectful and rewarding way. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Enter the Realm" is a demo release by US power metal act Iced Earth. The demo was originally released on cassette tape in April 1989. Iced Earth was formed by guitarist Jon Schaffer under The Rose monicker in 1984. Soon after the band name was changed to Purgatory and the 1985 "Psychotic Dreams" demo was recorded using that name. In 1988 the band name was changed to Iced Earth. "Enter the Realm" is the only demo released before the band was signed by Century Media Records for the release of their 1990 eponymously titled debut full-length studio album.

"Enter the Realm" features 6 tracks and a total playing time of 21:43 minutes. 4 of the 6 tracks would be re-recorded and featured on the band´s debut album. Only the short title track intro and "Nightmares" are exclusive to this demo, although both would appear in re-arranged/re-recorded versions on the 1997 "Days of Purgatory" compilation album.

Stylistically Iced Earth already had a clear vision of how they wanted to sound, and the skills to produce music to equal their vision. US power metal featuring sharp heavy metal riffs and the occasional hard edged thrash tinged riff, intricate lead guitar/harmony guitar sections, a pounding rhythm section (on this release the drums are almost painfully simple and a little tedious though), and a raw sounding, although still melodic lead vocalist in front. The band master both hard rocking sections, hard edged thrashy parts, and the more epic and melodic moments with equal amounts of conviction.

"Enter the Realm" is a very well produced demo release, and it could well have been released as a professional studio recording. It´s not often you´ll hear demo recordings from that time of this quality. It´s no wonder the 1000 copies which were originally produced were sold out quickly. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Seeds of Doom" is the debut full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act Incardine. The album was released through Bone Records in September 2019. The material featured on the album was however already recorded in 1993, but as the band split-up, the album didn´t see a release in the 90s. Incardine are notable for featuring a young Fredrik Folkare (Unleashed, Necrophobic, Firespawn...etc.) in the ranks. On "Seeds of Doom" he performs rhythm guitars and bass though, which is not exactly what I expected considering his high level lead guitar performances with other artists just a few years down the line.

While "Seeds of Doom" is unmistakably a Swedish death metal release, it actually sounds a bit different from the two main death metal styles played by early 90s Swedish death metal acts. They don´t really sound like the Stockholm scene (Entombed/Dismember...etc.), and they don´t sound like the US influenced acts like Vomitory and Deranged either. To my ears their closest relative is Unleashed (minus the viking/Scandinavian mythology lyrics and imagery)...but not the 90s version of that band. Instead it´s the latter day version of Unleashed that I´m reminded of, which is of course only natural as Folkare is a member and a major contributor to the sound of that era-Unleashed. So in addition to the old school Swedish death metal riffs and rhythms "Seeds of Doom" also features galloping thrashy riffs and loads of melodic lead guitar work (courtesy of lead guitarist Daniel Wallner).

If I didn´t know better, I wouldn´t have guessed that "Seeds of Doom" was recorded in 1993, as the high level musicianship, the intricate songwriting, and the powerful, clear sounding, and detailed production are all of a higher quality than most of the contemporary releases I can think of (which doesn´t mean it´s a better album overall compared to the classics of 90s Swedish death metal). So it´s not a particularly time-typical Swedish death metal release. It´s a high quality death metal release though and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Fables of the Sleepless Empire" is the third full-length studio album by Canadian avantgarde/progressive metal act Unexpect. The album was independently released in May 2011. It´s the successor to "In a Flesh Aquarium" from 2006, which was the band´s breakthrough album.

"In a Flesh Aquarium" was a highly complex, technically well played, and experimental avantgarde metal release and it has received a lot of praise over the years, and not surprisingly Unexpect have chosen a relatively similar sound and approach on "Fables of the Sleepless Empire", although "Fables of the Sleepless Empire" sound a little less chaotic and polished compared to its direct predecessor. The vocals vary between female semi-operatic cleans, male cleans, and a varity of male extreme metal vocal styles (growling, snarling, screaming...etc.). In addition to the vocals, drums, guitars, bass, violin, piano, and samples are the instruments used to create the sound. The instrumental part of the music features elements of death metal, black metal, and symphonic metal, and often features classical music influenced sections or elements. All packed into abstract and complex avantgarde metal structures and dissonance. The tracks are ever changing and they take a while to get into and remember.

"Fables of the Sleepless Empire" features a clear, powerful, and detailed sound production, which perfectly suits the material and which help bring all elements of the band´s music to the listener. Upon conclusion "Fables of the Sleepless Empire" may suffer a bit from not being as surprising to the listener as "In a Flesh Aquarium" was, when it was released, but it´s overall another high quality release from Unexpect, and if you enjoyed the sound of "In a Flesh Aquarium", this one is a safe bet. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Those Shredded Dreams" is the debut full-length studio album by Swedish death metal/death´n´roll act Furbowl. The album was released through Step One Records in June 1992. Furbowl formed in 1991 and released a couple of demos before being signed for the release of "Those Shredded Dreams". "Those Shredded Dreams" features six tracks and a total playing time of 31:38 minutes. Three of those tracks are re-recordings of the three tracks from the May 1991 "The Nightfall of Your Heart" demo.

Stylistically the material on "Those Shredded Dreams" is old school Swedish death metal mixed with an early version of death´n´roll. So this album features both brutality and buzzing raw death metal riffs (and also features a strong hardcore punk influence), and hard rocking moments of rock´n´roll. Lead vocalist Johan Liiva (who also handles all guitars and bass on the album, except for a couple of guest leads by Michael Amott) have a powerful and commanding growling delivery. He has his own distinct vocal style, which is a great asset to the band´s sound.

Although the music is both well performed and pretty well produced too (raw, organic, and suiting the music well), "Those Shredded Dreams" isn´t exactly a rocket science type release when it comes to the level of sophistication on display, but that´s not really the point. Instead the listener is treated to an honest and hard working band, performing their music with great passion and conviction. There´s not a dull moment in sight and "Those Shredded Dreams" is an entertaining release throughout.

People seem to think that it was Entombed´s 1993 album "Wolverine Blues", which was the first death´n´roll release, but while said album may have kickstarted the movement and the popularity of the subgenre, "Those Shredded Dreams" is proof that other artists (Furbowl was just one of them) were already doing something similar a few years earlier. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Electric" is the third full-length studio album by UK hard rock act The Cult. The album was released through Beggars Banquet/Sire Records in April 1987. It´s the successor to "Love" from 1985. "Love" was a huge success for The Cult, selling more than 2 million copies, but instead of following in the success of that album and producing a "Love" number two, The Cult opted for a more straight hard rock sound and they recruited producer Rick Rubin to make that happen. Before Rubin was hired, The Cult worked with producer Steve Brown and recorded twelve tracks during the summer of 1986, which was to be released under the "Peace" album title, but the band weren´t satisfied with the results and they fired Brown and shelved the recordings.

Hiring Rubin turned out to be a wise choice, as he understood how to tap into the hard rock/hair metal sound of the 80s and transform The Cult to be part of that scene. They sound 100% American on this release, and all their former UK new wave/goth rock/indie rock leanings are completely gone from the sound. Instead "Electric" is a huge and massive sounding hard rock album, designed to be performed in huge arenas and on large stadions. If you´re familiar with the Rubin produced eponymously titled debut album from Danzig (released in August 1988), there are many production similarities to "Electric", although the Danzig album is certainly a little darker, heavier, and features occult themed lyrics. The point being that "Electric" is a very well produced hard rock album and that Rubin is a genius producer.

The material on the 11 tracks, 38:51 minutes long album is hard rocking vers/chorus based rock songs with lead vocalist Ian Astbury´s, Jim Morrison sound-a-like voice in front. The band are well playing, the material catchy, memorable, and energetic and full of great power. This isn´t too polished and therefore devoid of attitude...on the contrary it´s organic, untamed, and filled to the brim with attitude. Just the way a good hard rock album should sound. So upon conclusion The Cult made a very difficult musical transition from their early sound to this American hard rock sound with ease (at least it sounds like it) and with great success. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Determined To Strike" is the debut full-length studio album by US, New York based death metal/avantgarde metal act Sarmat. The album was released through I, Voidhanger Records in June 2023. Sarmat formed in 2020 and they released the "Dubious Disk" live EP in April 2023.

Stylistically the material on "Determined To Strike" is dissonant and technical death metal, but with an avantgarde twist and some serious journeys into jazz/fusion territory. While Sarmat can certainly be both brutal and quite extreme, their at times chaotic sounding music is ultimately quite sophisticated, not to mention very creative and intriguing. This is not just another dissonant technical death metal act. The jazz/fusion elements are too dominant and they are an integral part of the compositions. Add to that some pretty weird and adventurous guitar riffs, and the whole thing is quite impressive and at times also jaw-dropping. The vocals are also very well performed and the listener is exposed to both deep growling and snarling growling. The inclusion of piano and especially horns is a touch of genius, which Sarmat use as an integral element of their already eclectic music.

The question beckons...can this even be labelled death metal? or is it actually extreme avantgarde jazz/fusion music with technical death metal elements just being a part of the sound? "Determined To Strike" is both a highly challenging but also strangely accessible release. "Accessible is probably a wrong description of what´s going on here, but despite all the craziness and the chaos featured on "Determined To Strike", I personally still find it quite memorable.

Maybe it´s because the band have chosen a production style for their album, which isn´t overtly brutal and pummeling, instead aiming for a more detailed production, although the sound production is ultimately still quite raw. Upon conclusion "Determined To Strike" is definitely one of the more unique sounding extreme metal albums I´ve listened to in a while, and they deserve a lot of attention for being this creative and for pulling it off with what sounds like a natural ease. Honestly I´m a bit at a loss for words here...but I´ll tell you one thing. This is amazing and definitely gets a recommendation from me. A 4.5 star (90%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Psychonolatry" is the third full-length studio album by Italian death metal act Electrocution. The album was released through Goregorecords in February 2019. It´s the successor to "Metaphysincarnation" from 2014, which was the band´s first album in 21 years succeeding the release of their debut album "Inside the Unreal" from 1993. While no lineup changes took place between the first two albums (which was quite the achievement with 21 years passing between the two releases), "Psychonolatry" features an almost completely different lineup compared to the lineup who recorded the preceding albums. Only lead vocalist/guitarist Mick Montaguti remains. New in the lineup are Neil Grotti (guitars), Alessio Terzi (lead guitars), Vellacifer (drums), and Matteo Grazzini (bass).

"Psychonolatry" features 11 tracks and a total playing time of 44:04 minutes. 10 of those tracks are new original compositions, while the closing track is a re-recorded version of "Premature Burial" (the opening track from "Inside the Unreal" (1993)).

The music style has changed a bit since the last album, as the material on "Psychonolatry" have become slightly more focused on technical playing. Electrocution are still rooted in early 90s death metal, but "Psychonolatry" is not a retro sounding release. "Psychonolatry" are a well playing unit, and there is good variation in both playing style and songwriting ideas throughout the album. So on most parameters "Psychonolatry" is a high quality death metal release. If I have to mention a couple of minor issues it would be that although the songwriting is interesting and effectful enough, the material aren´t that unique sounding. It doesn´t exactly scream that it´s Electrocution playing. The other issue is the drum production. While the overall sound production is professional and powerful sounding, the drums unfortunately have an artificial tone to them, that stands out in a negative way in the soundscape. Upon conclusion "Psychonolatry" is still overall a good quality death metal release and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "The Lost Art of Time Travel" is the second full-length studio album by US progressive rock act Presto Ballet. The album was released through Progrock Records in July 2008. It´s the successor to "Peace Among the Ruins" from 2005. There have been quite a lot of lineup changes since the debut album and only lead vocalist Scott Albright and guitarist/keyboard player Kurdt Vanderhoof remain. New in the lineup are Ryan McPherson (organ, piano, synthesizers, lead- and backing vocals), Bill Raymond (drums, percussion), and Izzy Rehaume (bass, backing vocals).

Stylistically Presto Ballet continue the hard rocking progressive rock style of their debut album. In many ways they remind me of Kansas, because they have the hard rock riffs and AOR leaning pop/rock choruses, but they also have the complex playing and symphonic approach to songwriting which characterized many of the European progressive rock acts from the 70s...and yes while this is contemporary progressive rock, almost all elements of this release are influenced by 70s hard rock and progressive rock, including the choice of keyboards like mellotron and hammond organ. It´s interesting to hear Vanderhoof in another setting than his other band Metal Church, and it´s obvious that he has made sure that the two acts are not musically connected. Presto Ballet can play some heavy parts here and there, but they are never heavy metal oriented. The same can be said about Metal Church which occasionally flirt with progressive rock, but never fully cross the line.

"The Lost Art of Time Travel" is a well produced release, and everthing you hear and experience while listening to the album scream high level professionalism. To my ears Presto Ballet are best when they are at their most progressive, while I appreciate them less when they are leaning towards their hard rock/AOE side, but the balance is pretty equal here, and it´s therefore fans who enjoy both styles who´ll find this an interesting release. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Earthbound" is a live album release by UK progressive rock act King Crimson. The album was released through Island Records in June 1972. It bridges the gap between King Crimson´s fourth- and fifth full-length studio albums "Islands" (December 1971) and "Larks' Tongues in Aspic" (March 1973). Recorded through a mixer directly to cassette tape "Earthbound" is a relatively lo-fi recording, and is sometimes described as a bootleg sounding live recording. The band wisely realised that, and upon release offered the album at a budget price. The reasoning being that it didn´t cost them much to record, so the fans shouldn´t have to pay much to listen to it.

Personally I´ve heard bootlegs which sound both better and much worse than "Earthbound", but it´s arguably not a particularly well sounding release. Opening with a loud, heavy, and noisy version of "21st Century Schizoid Man" King Crimson are on to a messy and untight start. "Peoria" is a 7:30 minutes long blues rock jam, which sounds almost nothing like what you´d expect King Crimson to sound. "Sailor's Tale" appears on a shorter version than the studio version found on "Islands" and it sounds uninspired and muddy. "Earthbound" is a blues jazzy improvised jam and again sounds nothing like you´d expect King Crimson to sound. Scat vocals and all from Boz Burrell.

The closing track is a 15:30 minutes long version of "Groon". A track which first appeared on the B-side to the "Cat Food" single in 1970. It´s an improvised jazz jam track...needless to say it again sounds nothing like what you´d expect King Crimson to sound like, and upon conclusion "Earthbound" isn´t a good quality live release from King Crimson. Not only is the recording quality sub par, but the band perform music here which isn´t at all in line with their studio output. Had I gone to see King Crimson on this tour I would have been extremely disappointed. A 2.5 star (50%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Islands" is the fourth full-length studio album by UK progressive rock act King Crimson. The album was released through Island/Atlantic Records in December 1971. It´s the successor to "Lizard" from December 1970. There have been two lineup changes since the predecessor as drummer Andy McCulloch has been replaced by Ian Wallace and bassist/vocalist Gordon Haskell has been replaced by Boz Burrell. "Islands" is the last studio album in phase one of King Crimson´s discography as this incarnation of the band folded acrimoniously in January 1972. It was however decided that the band would fulfill their US touring commitments in February/March 1972, which subsequently resulted in the "Earthbound" live album (released in June 1972). After that Robert Fripp opted to fire everyone and continue with a new lineup.

The reason for the fighting and disagreements between the members of King Crimson during the 1971-1972 period was due to Fripp´s resentment towards some of the other members because of their drug use and very different ideas of the future direction of the music. "Islands" generally suffers from the bad chemistry of the group and it´s a bit of a lacklustre affair compared to the three preceding studio albums from the band. The sexist groupie lyrics and blues rock direction of "Ladies of the Road" are for example completely out of character for King Crimson, and it´s not their finest moment (although the melodic Beatles influenced chorus is quite pleasant and nice, and repeated listens have somewhat softened my opinon on the track). The album opening 10:18 minutes long "Formentera Lady" is not much better with its odd mellow improvised psychedelic sound. It just passes by and seems to go nowhere.

The most interesting songs on the album are "Sailor's Tale" and "The Letters" where King Crimson show some of the things which made them unique. The classical influenced "Prelude: Song of the Gulls" sounds like the soundtrack to a Disney movie and again it´s not King Crimson at their best. The 9:15 minutes long closing title track is as such a pleasant enough listening experience, but the ambient jazzy atmosphere turns the track into sophisticated muzak.

"Islands" features a dark and slightly muddy sounding production job, and it´s not exactly a plus when paired with the generally unremarkable material featured on the album. There is a good reason why "Islands" is almost never mentioned when speaking about King Crimson. It´s simply one of their least accomplished and least interesting albums. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.