UMUR
"As Blood Flows" is the second demo recording by US, Illinois based death metal act Oppressor. The demo was independently released in 1993. It´s the successor to the 1991 "World Abomination" demo. Unlike the material from the first demo, which didn´t make it unto Oppressor´s debut full-length studio album "Solstice of Oppression" (released through Red Light Records in April 1994), most of the tracks featured on "As Blood Flows" would be re-recorded and included on said album. In fact it´s only the short intro track and "Eternal Damnation", which didn´t make the cut.
Stylistically Oppressor have changed their style a bit since "World Abomination". The material on the first demo was predominantly heavy and mid-paced (sometimes even doomy) old school death metal, but on "As Blood Flows" Oppressor have honed their skills and they now play faster and more technical, although they still predominantly play a very heavy and often mid-paced death metal style. The growling vocals have become more inhuman and unintelligible (think contemporary Chris Barnes and you´re halfway there), so they don´t possess the same amount of personality as they did on "World Abomination", but they still suit the more brutal and technical old school death metal style of this demo pretty well.
"As Blood Flows" features a sound production, which could just as well have graced a studio album release, so Oppressor probably spend a lot of money recording this demo (and their first demo too, which also features a well sounding production job). So upon conclusion "As Blood Flows" is another high quality demo from Oppressor and it´s the needed step up in quality from the first demo. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.