UMUR "Kadath Decoded" is the debut full-length studio album by German progrssive metal act Payne´s Grey. The album was independently released in 1995. Payne´s Grey formed in 1988 in the city of Karlsruhe and were active in the early- to mid-90s, releasing two demos (one in 1990 and another in 1991) and this debut full-length studio album. Since the release of the 1991 "Infinity" demo Haluk Balikci has been added as a second lead vocalist. Two male vocalists made Payne´s Grey stand out on the 90s progressive metal scene, but although they managed to tour with Psychotic Waltz as support act on the latter´s 1996 European tour supporting their "Bleeding" (1995) album, they never got a real breakthrough, and they are more or less just a cult band/footnote in progressive metal history. "Kadath Decoded" would be their sole studio album in their original run.

Cult bands/footnote artists don´t necessarily have to be poor artists though, and Payne´s Grey certainly have a lot to offer to fans of 90s progressive metal. "Kadath Decoded" features 12 tracks and total playing time of 67:19 minutes, so it´s quite a long release. It´s a concept album build on the H. P. Lovecraft novella "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath" (originally written by Lovecraft in 1926/1927 but only posthumously published by Arkham House in 1943). It´s a story of a nightmarish dream realm, and Payne´s Grey successfully capture the abstract occultist/monster horror of Lovecraft.

Keyboard player Tomek Turek is obviously an incredibly skilled musician and a lot of the music is based on his playing and musical ideas. The rest of the band are well playing too, but considering that "Kadath Decoded" is a progressive metal album, it´s a more dark and atmospheric release than a heavy and sharp metal ditto. It´s a higly dynamic release featuring both loud epic sections and more subtle atmospheric sections. In addition to the omnipresent keyboards, the music features guitars, bass, and drums, but also the occasional use of flute (played by guitarist Jan Schröder). The two vocalists sing a lot of harmony vocals, but also deliver their own parts. They have very similar voices though, which is a bit of a shame as two more different sounding vocalists could probably have made the vocal part of the music more varied and interesting. To my ears it´s a missed opportunity. It´s not that the music requires a beauty/beast type of vocal delivery, but two different sounding voices could have created another dynamic and provided the music with an exciting dimension. When that is said the vocals are generally well performed in typical high pitched power/progressive metal style.

"Kadath Decoded" features a decent quality sound production, although it lacks a bit of punch and heaviness. You can hear all details though and as mentioned above it´s just not the most heavy and metal oriented progressive metal release out there. The emphasis is on the arrangements (dominanted by the keyboards) and the dark atmospheres. Upon conclusion "Kadath Decoded" is a highly unique progressive metal album from the 90s. It´s not that you haven´t heard all the elements used before on other releases from other artists, but Payne´s Grey manage to use those elements and create something which doesn´t really sound like anything else. I´m sure with more experience and more albums under their belts, that Payne´s Grey could have gone on to greatness, but as "Kadath Decoded" ended up being their sole album release, that obviously wasn´t to be. They left behind a pretty interesting release though and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Infinity" is the second demo release by German progressive metal act Payne´s Grey. The demo was independently released in 1991. It follows the release of the April 1990 "Of Tyrants and Reflections" demo. Payne´s Grey formed in 1988 in the city of Karlsruhe and were active in the early- to mid-90s, releasing two demos and the 1995 debut full-length studio album "Kadath Decoded". They subsequently toured with among others Psychotic Waltz.

Stylistically the material on the 5 tracks, 31:55 minutes long demo is a more pure form of progressive metal compared to the slightly more power metal leaning progressive metal of the first demo. The addition of keyboard player Tomek Turek has had a great impact on the sound of Payne´s Grey. While lead vocalist Hagen Schmidt has a tendency to sing in a higher pitch than his voice and abilities allow him to, his vocals are generally much better sounding than on the first demo, which was more or less ruined by his strained vocal performance. He varies his vocal range more on "Infinity" too, which is great for the diversity of the material. The compositions are overall of a good quality with the symphonic keyboards providing a both epic and orchestral element.

It´s not a perfect demo and the sound production could have been much more powerful, defined, and detailed, but it´s decent enough considering that "Infinity" is a demo release. There´s loads of promise here and Payne´s Grey show great progression from the first demo and a taste of what they would become a few years down the line. A 2.5 star (50%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Of Tyrants and Reflections" is the first dmeo recording by German progressive metal act Payne´s Grey. The demo was independently released in April 1990. Payne´s Grey formed in 1988 in the city of Karlsruhe and were active in the early- to mid-90s, releasing two demos and the 1995 debut full-length studio album "Kadath Decoded". They subsequently toured with among others Psychotic Waltz.

Stylistically early Psychotic Waltz actially isn´t the worst reference, but it´s predominantly early Fates Warning with the occasional nod towards late 80s Helloween that I´m mostly reminded of. So Payne´s Grey hit the sound somewhere between the more technical power metal of the 80s and the early progressive metal of the late 80s/early 90s.

"Of Tyrants and Reflections" features four tracks and total playing time of 18.10 minutes and it´s a demo featuring a decent but not great sound quality. The band are well playing but lead vocalist Hagen Schmidt sounds terribly strained delivering what is mostly very high pitched vocals. He is not without skills, but he needs a better sound production to help his vocals shine, and maybe a bit more vocal training too.

When that is said "Of Tyrants and Reflections" is otherwise a treat for fans of the genre, and had the vocals been less forced and strained sounding, this would have been a great demo. I still hear a lot of promise and high level instrumental performances, but I´m afraid the vocals ruin the listening experience and make the demo a bit of a chore to get through. A 2 star (40%) rating is warranted.