UMUR
"In Articulus Mortis" is the second demo recording by Swedish death metal act Cemetary. The demo was independently released in October 1991. It´s the band´s second 1991 demo after they released the "Incarnation of Morbidity" in April 1991. Cemetary formed in 1989 and released the two 1991 demos before being signed by Black Mark Production for the release of their 1992 debut full-length studio album "An Evil Shade of Grey".
While the "Incarnation of Morbidity" demo was recorded at Sunlight Studio, Stockholm, Sweden with producer/engineer Tomas Skogsberg, the story is quite different regarding "In Articulus Mortis", which was recorded at Radio 7 Studios. Judging from the less professional and slightly murky sounding production job Radio 7 Studios wasn´t as professional a recording studio as Sunlight Studio had quickly become in the years 1989-1991. So this is a much more raw sounding demo recording than the semi-professional sounding production of "Incarnation of Morbidity".
Stylistically Cemetary have gone further down the doom/death metal road they already hinted at on "Incarnation of Morbidity" and they´ve added clean guitar parts and keyboards to create gloomy atmospheres. The pace is mostly slow and only occasionally the band speed things up. The vocals are shouting/semi-growling which brings Cemetary even further away from the first demo.
Upon conclusion "In Articulus Mortis" is a pretty badly produced demo, and the muddy sounding production hinders a proper listening experience. More raw and primitive death metal may have worked with a sound production like this, but Cemetary are pretty ambitious and the details of their music drown here. A 2 star (40%) rating is warranted.