martindavey87 Released in 2006, ‘One Cold Winter’s Night’ is a live album by progressive power metal band Kamelot, recorded earlier in the year whilst touring in support of their absolute masterpiece, ‘The Black Halo’.

Coming off of the success of their most highly revered and ambitious release, it should come as no surprise that everyone in the band is in peak form here. The playing is absolutely fantastic by everyone, and you can really sense how energised and passionate the band members are. Praise in particular to vocalist Roy Khan, who is just blasting each song as heard on their studio counterpart note-for-note.

The set list, as you’d expect, is stellar, featuring pretty much every major fan favourite, with plenty of focus given to material from ‘The Black Halo’, ‘Karma’ and ‘Epica’. Oh, and speaking of Epica, there’s a guest appearance by Simone Simons, giving us a spine-tingling duet with Khan for ‘The Haunting’.

With a crystal-clear sound, excellent set-list and unforgettable performances, this really is a remarkable live album, which truly belongs in every Kamelot fans collection.

UMUR "Spells of Speed" is an EP release by US heavy/speed metal act Spellcaster. The EP was independently released in January 2010. spellcaster formed in 2009 and "Spells of Speed" is their first release.

The 3 tracks, 17.20 minutes long EP features a relatively standard heavy/speed metal style, which is raw, hard rocking, and effective, but which doesn´t add anything new to the genre or sets Spellcaster apart from other similar artists. Lead vocalist Thomas Adams has a decent voice and delivery and the band are well playing. The songwriting is alright but again nothing exceptional for the genre. The influences from early- to mid-80s heavy metal and speed metal artists are obvious ("Locked On" is for example strongly influenced by 1982-1983 Metallica).

"Spells of Speed" features a raw, powerful, and detailed sound production, which may be a little rough around the edges, but not in a negative way. The rawness of the sound production actually suits the material really well. Upon conclusion "Spells of Speed" is a decent quality heavy/speed metal release and there´s some promise here, although Spellcaster still needed to work hard to reach a higher level of quality and uniqueness. A 2.5 - 3 star (55%) rating is warranted.

martindavey87 The Black Mages is an instrumental progressive metal band formed by Japanese composer Nobuo Uematsu, renowned for his work on the Final Fantasy video games. While I’ve never actually played the games, I can appreciate video game music, and consider the Black Mages’ first album an absolute masterpiece. Their second album was a very strong follow-up, and so it’s unfortunate that their third album falls a bit flat.

Released in 2008, Uematsu and his motley crew had 21 years of video game lineage to take inspiration from, but with their third release, ‘Darkness and Starlight’, I think it just goes to show that what works as background music in a video game doesn’t necessarily work as a metal song.

And it’s a shame, because in theory, this isn’t much different than the previous two albums, except the magic just isn’t there anymore. The excitement and energy that made the first album so fantastic seems missing, like they’re just going through the motions now.

The playing and production, as always, is exceptional, and there’s a few highlights, including ‘Opening: Bombing Mission’, ‘Neo Exdeath’, ‘Distant Worlds’, ‘Assault On the Silver Dragon’ and closing track ‘Life (in Memory of Keiten)’, but in all honesty, these songs are still fairly passable, and I’d much rather just listen to either of the previous two records. In addition, the only vocals on this album feature in the title track, a 15-minute Japanese prog metal opera, which, I might add, is one of the most horrendously boring and long-winded songs I think I’ve ever heard.

Overall, this isn’t a terrible album, but I really think at this point the band has used up all the best ideas from the franchise, and since they called it a day shortly after, I think they knew that too.

UMUR "Rip Off Your Face" is the first demo release by US, Wisconsin based death metal act Jungle Rot. The demo was independently released in 1995. Jungle Rot formed in 1992 and released two 1995 demos before being signed by Pure Death Records for the release of their 1996 full-length studio album "Skin the Living" (which is actually a reissue of their second 1995 demo with the same title).

The material on "Rip Off Your Face" is stylistically strongly hardcore influenced death metal, which is predominantly heavy and mid-paced. The vocals are throaty growling. It´s pretty basic formula death metal with a hardcore groove. It´s got that old school thrash metal influence to it too, and it´s definitely late 80s/early 90s influenced death metal to the bone. The demo features 13 tracks and a total playing time of 30:10 minutes, so it´s an (death metal) album length demo release.

"Rip Off Your Face" features a raw, unpolished and brutal sounding production job, which suits the material well. It´s not a lo-fi sounding release, although it´s not exactly professional studio recording quality either. It´s arguably both powerful and effective, so it´s a sound production which does what it´s intended to do. Upon conclusion "Rip Off Your Face" is a decent quality demo, with solid songwriting, decent musical performances, and a raw sounding production job. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "The Dark Parade" is the fourth full-length studio album by US, California based thrash/alternative/funk metal act Mordred. The album was released through M-Theory in July 2021. Mordred formed in 1984 and disbanded in 1995 after releasing three full-length studio albums and a string of minor releases. They reunited in the 2001-2007 period, but no new studio output was recorded during that period. Mordred reunited again in 2013 and released "The Baroness" single in 2015, as their first release featuring new original material in 21 years (they released "The Demos 1986-1988" compilation in 2014, but as the title suggests it didn´t feature any new original material). The "Volition" EP was released in July 2020 (5 years after the release of "The Baroness" (2015) single), so it´s arguably been sparse with releases in the 27 years since Mordred released their third full-length studio album "The Next Room" (1994).

"The Dark Parade" features 8 new original compositions (none of them were featured on the "Volition" (2020) EP) and right from the opening notes of "Demonic #7", we´re treated to the unmistakable sound of Mordred. I´ll describe Mordred´s sound a combination of thrash metal and heavy groove laden riffs, clever melodic lead guitar work, heavy and occasionally funky bass and drums, turntable scratching and effectful atmoshere enhancing keyboards, and the charismatic singing/shouting of lead vocalist Scott Holderby in front. So the above tags thrash metal/funk metal/alternative metal are all valid at various times during the album. So in that respec all is as it´s also been on the preceding releases. It´s interesting to hear a band make a comeback after so many years, and sound like they never disbanded. Mordred don´t sound tired and old, or like they have no gas left in the tank...instead they sound hungry and like they have unfinished business. This is exactly what you would like to hear on a comeback album.

If you´re familiar with Mordred´s 80s/90s releases you´ll know that they are skilled musicians who deliver their music with great passion and conviction. Nothing has changed on "The Dark Parade" (despite a few lineup changes since the 90s) which is very well performed and features many intricate and powerful details. I always say that early- mid 90s Suicidal Tendencies are Mordred´s closest relative, but although there are definitely some similarities between the two artists, Mordred are very much their own and create a pretty original sound on "The Dark Parade".

The album features a powerful, detailed, and clear sounding production job, which suits the material perfectly. The thrashy heaviness are given just the right room to shine and provide the music with rawness and aggression, while the guitar melodies and vocal parts are also in focus in the soundscape. The drums, the bass, and the keyboards/turntable are also placed exactly where they should in the mix. Upon conclusion "The Dark Parade" is a high quality comeback album from Mordred. The material featured on the 2020 "Volition" EP already showed great promise, but maybe pointed in too many different directions. That is however not the case on "The Dark Parade", which is a consistent quality release and a 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Necrolution" is the fifth full-length studio album by US death metal act Massacre. The album was released through Agonia Records in November 2024. It´s the successor to "Resurgence" from October 2021. There have been a couple of lineup changes since the predecessor as guitarist Scott Fairfax has left (he hasn´t been replaced) and drummer Brynjar Helgetun has also left and has been replaced by Jon Rudin. Prolific Swedish death metal guitarist Rogga Johansson is still part of the lineup, but it´s only lead vocalist Kam Lee who remains from the original 90s lineup. That´s of course been the case since guitarist Rick Rozz left in 2019, so the lineup is no surprise.

Stylistically there are no surprises either as this is simple and effective old school death metal with Kam Lee´s brutal yet reasonably intelligible growling vocals in front. Johansson and Lee already have a couple of collaborative projects under their belts in The Grotesquery and Bone Gnawer, so they are used to working together but this time around it´s of course primarely Lee´s baby with Johansson contributing. While Massacre produce some decent quality old school death metal on "Necrolution", I´ll take most releases from The Grotesquery and Bone Gnawer over this one though.

"Necrolution" features a decent sounding production job, solid musical performances, and some decent but not particularly memorable songwriting, and one could have hoped for a little more from such a legendary artist. As it is "Necrolution" is a pretty standard fare old school death metal release and a 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

Warthur Sometimes you need to go away to get a better handle on where you come from. Every so often, a band comes along who ends up going on a musical journey far away from the style which they originally made their names with, only to return to that genre and produce some of their best material within that format thanks to the broader musical perspective and the expanded range of techniques that journey has invested them with. Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride, for instance, drifted away from their early death-doom style for much of their middle career, only to produce some of their best albums in that vein once they came back to it.

Now, with The Last Will and Testament, Opeth have pulled off the same trick. For their run of albums from Heritage onwards, they've been more in a traditional progressive rock vein than the blend of proggy death metal and death-inflected prog metal that put them on the map. However, in the album preceding this one - In Cauda Venenum - echoes of heavier styles could be heard if you listened carefully, spurring speculation that they might one day make their big return to metal. That's what they have done here. Sure, it has plenty of quieter passages - but so has Still Life or Blackwater Park; unambiguously, The Last Will and Testament sees Opeth returning to the prog-death kingdom they founded, Mikael Åkerfeldt even breaking out old-school harsh vocals here and there alongside his clean vocals.

At the same time, this isn't a retreat to Opeth's comfort zone so much as it's a new departure. It's a concept album, like Still Life, but goes deeper into that territory than that album did, with an even bigger focus on presenting a narrative and even throwing in a touch of theatrical flair absent from that work. The story is all about a family who come together to hear the reading of the titular will - the final testament of their tyrannical, estranged patriarch. In that sense, bringing back the harsh vocals just plain makes sense - if you want to capture all these characters' perspectives, the more distinct voices the better. In fact, Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull fame not only provides some flute contributions here and there, but also throws in some narration here and there.

But where this really offers a departure is the way that Opeth's four-album expedition into retro-prog territories has polished and refined their command of the less heavy side of their sound, with quiet moments of folk-tinged or classically orchestrated music worked in to excellent effect. Having Anderson along for the ride becomes doubly appropriate, because whilst the style here is far from retro, it's learned enough lessons of the past to truly claim to be part of a musical tradition you can trace back all the way through Anderson's pioneering work with Jethro Tull (along with Anderson's other first-wave prog peers).

Maybe you love both classic-period Opeth and their more recent prog-embracing, metal-abjuring works, in which case you don't really need this review - you're going to listen to Last Will and Testament sooner or later anyway and you'll probably enjoy it just as much as the rest of their discography. But this is also an excellent album for anyone who's pickier about their Opeth. If you loved their metal-oriented work but felt that the albums from Heritage on went in a direction you weren't inspired to follow, then this may well be a great point to get back on board, because they're offering sounds here they've allowed to lie fallow for over a decade. If, on the other hand, you came onboard with their recent work but aren't quite keen on their metal side, this might put you off - but I'd encourage you to give you a try, because this might be the "in" you needed to really get to grips with the band's metal roots.

As for me, I think it easily slots into the top tier of Opeth releases. At the very least, it's their best metal-oriented album since Ghost Reveries, and it may well be on a par with any of their other studio efforts.

UMUR "In Torment in Hell" is the sixth full-length studio album by US, Florida based death metal act Deicide. The album was released through Roadrunner Records in September 2001. It´s the successor to "Insineratehymn" from June 2000 and the band´s last album on Roadrunner Records. Deicide had long been dissatisfied with their record deal, and combined with internal strife beween the Hoffman brothers and Glen Benton, "In Torment in Hell" ended up being a rushed contractual obligation fulfillment release.

Stylistically it´s pretty much back to the brutal anti-christian/blasphemous death metal roots of the first four releases, after the more adventurous and different sounding "Insineratehymn" had challenged both themselves and their fans. The material doesn´t sound particularly inspired though, and the sound production is also on the thin side, so while there is arguably still a lot of quality here, "In Torment in Hell" does display Deicide in a less favorable light compared to the high quality performances and material on their early releases.

So upon conclusion "In Torment in Hell" is among Deicide´s least interesting releases, but since we´re dealing with Deicide, they are still able to sandblast your face with some brutal death metal and some angry blasphemous lyrics delivered in brutal growling style by Benton. "In Torment in Hell´s" most grave issue is probably that there´s nothing new under the sun, and that the band had done similar things before, which had more impact, power, and memorability. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Kołysanki" is the fifth full-length studio album by Polish music act Lux Occulta. The album was released through the Trzecie Ucho label in March 2014. Lux Occulta were originally active from 1994 until 2002, but in 2012 it was announced by guitarist Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka (Decapitated, Vader, Machine Head, Sceptic) that Lux Occulta were working on a new album. That album became "Kołysanki". Only Kiełtyka (who in addition to playing guitars also plays accordion on this release), lead vocalist Jarosław Szubrycht and keyboard player Jerzy Głód remain from the lineup who recorded "The Mother and the Enemy" (Lux Occulta´s fourth full-length studio album from November 2001). New in the lineup is guitarist Maciej Tomczyk.

If you´re familiar with the avant-garde extreme metal sound of "The Mother and the Enemy", you´ll know that Lux Occulta occasionally toyed with both jazz, electronic music, and trip-hop parts during that otherwise quite extreme and black/death metal oriented release ("Yet Another Armageddon" is for example a fully fledged female vocal-led trip-hop track) and on "Kołysanki" those elements are the dominant ones. You´ll find metal oriented sections here and there, but "Kołysanki" is predominantly not a heavy metal oriented release (although raw shouted vocals and a few distorted guitar riffs do appear on occasion). The tracks are quite experimental and feature a lot of interesting vocals (often in Polish) and effects. Regular vers/chorus structures aren´t really Lux Occulta´s thing. It´s not easy listening music by any means and it´s some of the more experimental works of an artist like Ulver I´m reminded of and also 70s progressive/experimental music artists like Robert Wyatt and Hugh Hopper (of course in a more contemporary setting).

It´s definitely an interesting, darkly atmospheric, and avant-garde oriented music release and it´s quite bold considering that Lux Occulta after all released four metal oriented albums before this one. I guess you could say that you were warned after listening to "The Mother and the Enemy", but "Kołysanki" does after all take the experimental ideas in a completely different direction and add other textures and jazzy electronic elements to them, so you are excused if you find this a confusing album. Confusing in this case means great, bold, and adventurous, and it´s obvious from the sound production, to the performances, and the intriguing compositions that Luc Occulta have struck gold and a 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

martindavey87 After a slow and steady upwards trajectory over the course of three releases, it seems that with 2002’s ‘Century Child’, their fourth studio album, Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish have refined their sound, and taken a huge step up in both critical and commercial success.

Treading the thin line between power metal and symphonic metal, the band have really hit their stride with this album, sounding more inspired and more confident than ever. With a strong emphasis on the symphonic and operatic elements, as well as additional male vocals to compliment Tarja Turunen’s voice, ‘Century Child’ has a much more well-rounded sound than its predecessors.

With great instrumental performances and an excellent production that really gives the music a rich, vibrant sound, there really aren’t many faults with this release, other than a couple of filler tracks, it’s all pretty stellar.

And with some absolute bangers such as ‘Dead to the World’, ‘End of All Hope’, ‘Bless the Child’, ‘Slaying the Dreamer’, the underrated ‘Feel For You’ and the obligatory symphonic metal band cover of ‘The Phantom of the Opera’, ‘Century Child’ displays a band who have really established themselves as one of the top bands of their genre, and is an album that belongs in every metal fans collection.

UMUR "Insineratehymn" is the fifth full-length studio album by US, Florida based death metal act Deicide. The album was released through Roadrunner Records in June 2000. It´s the successor to "Serpents of the Light" from 1997, although the two studio albums are bridged by the 1998 live album "When Satan Lives".

"Insineratehymn" sees Deicide meddling a bit with their otherwise relatively conservative formula. Roughly speaking the first four albums featured many of the same ideas and elements, but "Insineratehymn" sounds a bit different, as the band have opted to play more mid-paced and rhythmically different riffs and drum patterns. "Insineratehymn" is also a slightly more atmospheric release than the pummeling death metal madness of the four preceding releases. Some of the riffs are quite unconventional for death metal (take a listen to "Standing in the Flames") and the guitar solos are often also atmopshere contributors. What hasn´t changed are lead vocalist/bassist Glen Benton´s rough growling vocals and anti-christian/blasphemous lyrics. So image wise Deicide are still deeply rooted in that movement, which becomes apparent already on opening track "Bible Basher".

"Insineratehymn" features a well sounding production job, although it´s not as brutal sounding as the preceding releases. The rhythm guitars maybe lack a bit of punch, but everything is audible in the mix, and if you disregard what came before, "Insineratehymn" is a well sounding release.

So upon conclusion "Insineratehymn" is a good quality release by Deicide. After a couple of albums I began to wish that the band would challenge themselves a bit and try something different and when "Serpents of the Light" came out I was a bit fed up with the relatively sameness of the band´s releases, so in many ways "Insineratehymn" was a welcome change of pace and direction. I don´t think it´s a perfect release, and I still prefer what came before it, but it´s bold and relatively adventurous, which also earn Deicide points in my book. If only all tracks had been as memorable as the best tracks on the album (which they aren´t), "Insineratehymn" could have been a killer release. As it is it´s a good quality release, which shows a different side to Deicide and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Undead" is the twelfth full-length studio album by US, Florida based death metal act Six Feet Under. The album was released through Metal Blade Records in May 2012. It´s the successor to "Graveyard Classics III" from 2010, but unlike it´s predecessor, "Undead" is an album with new original material and not a covers album featuring death metal versions of classic hard rock, punk, heavy metal, and thrash metal classics. There have been a couple of lineup changes since "Graveyard Classics III", as bassist Terry Butler has been replaced by Rob Arnold (who also plays guitar on the album), and drummer Greg Gall has been replaced by Kevin Talley. Both members leaving were longstanding members of Six Feet Under. Lead vocalist Chris Barnes and lead guitarist Steve Swanson remain from the lineup who recorded Graveyard Classics III".

New blood has meant some slight changes of sound, and especially the addition of Talley has meant that the drum work is a bit more technical that usual on a Six Feet Under album. This is not to be misunderstood as if I said that the material on "Undead" is technical death metal though...not in the slightest. This is still old school groove laden death metal with brutal growling vocals, relatively simple brutal riffs, easily accessible song structures, and horror/gore lyrics. Talley just brings more variation and interesting drumming details to the music, which makes "Undead" a more varied album than usual from Six Feet Under. Not enough great things can be said about his playing. But knowing his past achievements it´s really no surprise. It´s just a bit unusual to hear him play music as basic as this. The rest of the band are well playing too and Barnes sound pretty good here too (although I could have done without the many effects on his voice).

"Undead" is a well produced album featuring a powerful, brutal, and detailed sound production, which suits the material perfectly, and upon conclusion it´s one of the better albums in the band´s vast discography. I´ll mention Talley again as one of the main reasons for that, but the material is relatively well written too, although there´s little here you haven´t heard before on preceding releases by the band. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "The Mother and the Enemy" is the fourth full-length studio album by Polish black metal act Lux Occulta. The album was released through Maquiavel Music in November 2001 and it´s the second Lux Occulta album to feature the two Decapitated members Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka (lead guitars) and Martin Rygiel (bass). Drummer Krzysztof Szantula left in the middle of the recording sessions and the remaining drum parts were therefore recorded by session drummer Gerard Niemczyk (Schismatic, Death Sea, Holy Death...etc.).

While a more abstract avant-garde direction was sometimes heard on "My Guardian Anger" (Lux Occulta´s third full-length studio album from November 1999), Lux Occulta have opted to take that direction all the way on "The Mother and the Enemy". The music is still somewhat in the symphonic black metal mold (although it´s now just one element of the band´s sound), but the abrupt tempo- and time signature changes and changes in riff style and atmospheres combined with quite a few creative and unconventional songwriting ideas (how about a jazzy saxophone break during "Architecture" or a fully fledged female vocal-led trip-hop track in "Yet Another Armageddon"), have arguably taken Luc Occulta in an avant-garde black/death metal direction. Some of the things happening on this album really shouldn´t work, but because Lux Occulta are as skilled and clever as they are, they sometimes make odd musical ideas work really well within the context of their relatively extreme and at times quite technical black/death metal sound.

"The Mother and the Enemy" features a powerful, raw, and detailed sound production, which suits the material well. "My Guardian Anger" was a great album in its own right, but Lux Occulta have stepped up in all departments on this album and "The Mother and the Enemy" is therefore an excellent avant-garde extreme metal release on all parameters. A 4 star (80%) rating is fully deserved.

UMUR "Rated-X" is the debut full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act Deranged. The album was released through Repulse Records in September 1995. Deranged formed in 1991 and released the 1992 demo "...the Confessions of a Necrophile", the "...the Confessions Continues" EP in 1993 and the "Upon the Medical Slab" single and the "Architects of Perversions" EP in 1994. So they had four minor releases under their belts before writing and recording "Rated-X". As far as I can see and hear, none of the tracks from the previous releases have been re-recorded and included on "Rated-X".

Being familar with the preceding releases by the band, it´s great to hear how much they have developed both their songwriting and their performances since forming in 1991. The first couple of releases were a bit amateurish and while the last couple of releases before "Rated-X" definitely showed progression and featured more professional sounding production jobs, they still lacked something to give them the last push. That something is present on "Rated-X" which is a well written, effective, brutal, and energetic US influenced brutal death metal release. Sure the songwriting and the gory lyrical themes are slightly one-dimensional, and Deranged aren´t the most unique sounding band in genre, but this is still damn savage and powerful sounding death metal.

One of the things which makes this work so well, are the many tempo changes. While Deranged can blast away with the best, they are also very successful in writing heavy death metal grooves and mid-paced parts which are brutal and heavy (just take a listen to the closing minute of "Black Semen Vengeance"). There´s little here which can be identified as melodic, but there´s still some hooks here and there to hold on to. The vocals are unintelligible (for the most part) growling vocals.

"Rated-X" features 10 tracks and a total playing time of 40:07 minutes. 9 of those tracks are originals, while the closing track is an unlikely cover of "Paint It Black" by The Rolling Stones (performed in a pretty brutal death metal version). The closer is a bit of a gimmick track really, and I´ll primarely rate "Rated-X" based on the original material written by the band. Featuring a detailed, raw, and brutal sounding production job, "Rated-X" is overall a good quality brutal death metal release and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "My Guardian Anger" is the third full-length studio album by Polish black metal act Lux Occulta. The album was released through Pagan Records in November 1999. It´s the successor to "Dionysos" from November 1997. On this release Lux Occulta have been joined by the two Decapitated members Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka (lead guitars) and Martin Rygiel (bass). This was before the release of Decapitated´s debut full-length studio album "Winds of Creation" (released in April 2000). Kiełtyka was only 18 years old and Rygiel 16 years old when they recorded their parts for "My Guardian Anger".

Stylistically the material on "My Guardian Anger" is symphonic black metal, but it´s quite different from the symphonic black metal style found on the two preceding Lux Occulta album releases. Lux Occulta have opted for a much heavier, riff oriented, and varied black/death metal style to be the basis of the music while the symphonic keyboards add texture on top along with the snarling black metal vocals and occasional death metal growling. It´s quite busy music and the soundscape is often chaotic and furiously fast-paced and blasting. There´s also a progressive edge to the songwriting and "My Guardian Anger" contains just about everything the first two albums didn´t...

...professional sound production values, intriguing and varied compositions, and above all high level musicianship. It´s not that you´ll find much here that you haven´t heard other symphonic black metal bands bring to the table, but the flawless performances and the creative songwriting make up for a lot of that. "My Guardian Anger" is a high quality release from Lux Occulta and to my ears it feels like a rebirth of the band after the first two relatively anonymous albums. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Architects of Perversions" is an EP release by Swedish death metal act Deranged. The single was released through Repulse Records in September 1994. It´s the successor to the 1994 "Upon the Medical Slab" single and it´s the band´s fourth minor (non-album) release since forming in 1991.

The material on "Architects of Perversions" pretty much continues where "Upon the Medical Slab" left off. This is brutal death metal featuring gory lyrics and a combination of guttural unintelligible growling vocals and the occassional higher pitched snarling screaming. The pace varies from slow, mid-paced, fast, and blasting. The music also features some pretty basic leads, which aren´t that interesting, but I´m sure they are there to create some variation.

The sound production is decent, but unfortunately a sligth step down in quality from the sound production on the "Upon the Medical Slab" single, which is a really well produced release. Upon conclusion "Architects of Perversions" is another decent early release by Deranged, and it´s recommendable to fans of early 90s brutal death metal. It´s not particularly unique or offers something out of the ordinary to the listener, but it´s decent enough for what it is. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Dionysos" is the second full-length studio album by Polish black metal act Lux Occulta. The album was released through Pagan Records in November 1997. It´s the successor to "Forever Alone, Immortal" from 1996.

Stylistically the material on "Dionysos" continues the symphonic black metal style of "Forever Alone, Immortal", but this time with more focus on the symphonic keyboards. It´s still pretty raw and basic black metal underneath the symphonic keyboards and the vocals are also pretty standard blackened snarling (with the occasional death metal grunt appearing to make the vocals more varied). Although Lux Occulta don´t reach the heights of Cradle of Filth, it´s the more well known British band I´m often reminded of while listening to "Dionysos".

While "Dionysos" is only slightly more professional and interesting than "Forever Alone, Immortal", there has been a lift in quality since the rather amatuerish debut album. "Dionysos" may not be the most intriguing or the most creative symphonic black metal album out there, but it´s overall a decent release featuring a decent quality sound production, relatively strong musicianship, and decent (but not excellent) songwriting, and a 2.5 star (50%) rating isn´t all wrong.

martindavey87 Released in 1989, ‘Pretty Hate Machine’ is the debut album by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. Mostly written and recorded by singer and instrumentalist Trent Reznor during down-time whilst working at a studio, it would become an influential and pivotal album in the early days of industrial rock, and in particular, industrial metal.

Seemingly years ahead of its time, ‘Pretty Hate Machine’ sees a blend of rock and electronic elements fused to create a very harsh, gritty and bleak-sounding album. The angst-ridden vocals convey despair and anguish, while atmospheric keyboards create moods of desperation and isolation. This album is heavy, yet danceable!

With early hits including the infectious ‘Head Like a Hole’, ‘Terrible Lie’, ‘Sin’, ‘Kinda I Want To’, ‘Sanctified’ and ‘Down in It’, there is no shortage of potential here, and it’s easy to hear that even on early releases, you know that Nine Inch Nails are destined for bigger things.

UMUR "Strength" is the second full-length studio album by US heavy/gothic metal act Unto Others. The album was released through Roadrunner Records in September 2021. It´s the successor to "Mana" from February 2021. "Mana" was however first released under the Idle Hands monicker in May 2019, but as Idle Hands opted to change their name to Unto Others in 2020, they also chose to re-release their debut full-length studio album under the Unto Others monicker. It´s exactly the same album released under two different monickers though. Since the first album bassist Brandon Hill has been added to the lineup making Unto Others a quartet on this release.

Stylistically the material on "Strength" is a continuation of the heavy/gothic metal style of "Mana". Lead vocalist/guitarist/keyboard player Gabriel Franco has a voice and and vocal style right out of the 80s UK pop/rock/gothic music scene (spiced up with the occasionally more raw heavy metal vocals) and artists like The Mission, Sisters of Mercy, and Fields of the Nephilim are all valid references (The Cure should be mentioned too). Unto Others combine the gothic rock style with some energetic and melodic traditional heavy metal though, and that combination gives "Strength" (and "Mana" before it) a relatively unique sound.

"Strength" features some effective and memorable vers/chorus based songwriting, but Unto Others are clever composers who understand that songs typically need a little more than that and therefore most songs feature at least one section with harmony guitars, a guitar solo, or another detail to spice things up (double pedal drumming is another unconventional feature in music like this). The band are a well playing unit and Franco´s voice and personal delivery are the unique elements which elevate the band´s music to a higher state. "Strength" features a well sounding and professional sound production too, so upon conclusion it´s a high quality sophomore studio album from Unto Others and a continuation of the promises made on "Mana". A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Never, Neverland" is the third full-length studio album by US heavy/gothic metal act Unto Others. The album was released through Century Media Records in September 2024. It´s the successor to "Strength" from september 2021.

Stylistically not much has happened since "Strength". Unto Others are still a guarantee for high quality heavy/gothic metal. The songs are 2-3 minutes long vers/chorus stuctured and relatively easily accesssible. If something a bit different should be mentioned it would be the inclusion of the relatively hard edged and riff heavy "Momma Likes the Door Closed", but other than that song plus a few other heavier moments (the semi-thrashy "Flatline" is another), "Never, Neverland" is generally a pretty melodic and instantly sing-a-long type release often leaning closer to 80s influenced gothic rock like The Mission than towards any form of heavy metal.

"Never, Neverland" is a well produced release, although it´s lacking some of the heaviness and power of the two preceding releases. This is generally a more rock music oriented release and the production values naturally follow suit. The band (who´s lineup has remained unchanged since "Strength") is as well playing as ever and lead vocalist/guitarist Gabriel Franco still sounds like a more angry and potent Robert Smith (The Cure). Upon conclusion "Never, Neverland" is a good quality release from Unto Others, but to my ears not quite as great as the two albums before it. A 3 - 3.5 (65% star) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Upon the Medical Slab" is a single release by Swedish death metal act Deranged. The single was released through Malodorous Mangled Innards Records in 1994. Deranged formed in 1991 and had up until the release of "Upon the Medical Slab" released the 1992 "...the Confessions of a Necrophile" demo and the 1993 "...the Confessions Continues" EP (basically a re-recording of some of the demo tracks from the 1992 demo).

While Deranged definitely had good intentions of writing and playing some nasty gore themed brutal death metal on their first couple of releases, "Upon the Medical Slab" is the band´s first release, where they sound like a tight and professional playing unit. The pace of the music has been heightened considerably, and the much clearer and detailed sounding production also does the material many favors. The drums have a punch to them, the guitars sound savage, brutal, and raw, and the vocals which are now both guttural growling and higher pitched screaming are effective. Even in those days this was not particularly unique, but there´s nothing wrong with the quality of the two tracks featured on the 8:01 minutes long single. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Mana" is the debut full-length studio album by US heavy/gothic metal act Unto Others. The album was released through Eisenwald Records in February 2021. But while "Mana" is considered the debut full-length studio album by Unto Others, the album was actually previously released in May 2019 under the Idle Hands monicker. After the band opted to change their name to Unto Others in 2020, they also chose to reissue "Mana" and make it part of Unto Others' discography.

Stylistically the material on "Mana" is a melodic type of heavy rock/metal with nods toward gothic rock. Although the music features a lot of 80s UK pop/rock influences (ranging from catchy pop melodies in the vein of Tears for Fears and the hard rock of The Cult) Unto Others manage to put a fresh take on tried and true musical elements, to create a pretty original and personal sound. It bodes well for the future of Unto Others that they already have a relatively unique sound on their debut album.

The 11 tracks on the 40:09 minutes long album are all around 3-4 minutes long vers/chorus structured songs and in that respect "Mana" is not the most adventurous or structurally varied release. It´s an immediate and extremely catchy album though, and you are able to sing along to any track on the album already during the first listen. Lead vocalist/guitarist Gabriel Franco (who also handles the bass on the album) has a powerful voice and a commanding delivery (again highly influenced by British 80s pop/rock/goth singers), and the tracks feature great driving beats and basslines, and loads of melodic guitar work (both clean electric and distorted electric chords, leads and harmonies). Sometimes it´s hard edged enough to land in the metal camp (there are even a couple of sections on the album featuring double bass drumming), but just as often it would be more correct labelling the music heavy/gothic rock.

"Mana" features a detailed and clear sounding production, which suits the material perfectly and upon conclusion it´s quite the impressive debut album. This is beyond promising and a highly recommendable release to those enjoy instantly catchy 80s influenced melodic heavy rock/metal with touches of gothic rock. It´s not often you come across debut releases with such an original sound. A 4 - 4.5 star (85%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Absolute Power" is the eponymously titled debut full-length studio album by UK heavy metal act Absolute Power. The album was released through FETO Records in May 2011. Absolute Power was formed in 2006 by a prolific bunch of UK heavy metal scene musicians/producers. It´s a supergroup featuring bassist Shane Embury (Napalm rhythm guitarist Mitch Harris (Napalm Death, Bent Sea, Brujeria, Venomous Concept...etc.), Brave the Cold, Defecation, Righteous Pigs...etc.), rhythm guitarst John Walker (Cancer, Liquid Graveyard), rhythm guitarist Russ Russell (Tronos), lead guitarist Paul Harrington (Danmaku, Terrible Claw...etc.), drummer Iean Treacy (Benediction, Meathook Seed), and lead vocalist Simon Efemey (producer & engineer who has worked with among others Napalm Death, Paradise Lost, and Pitchshifter).

Most of the guys involved are predominantly known for their involvement in the UK extreme metal scene and most of the above mentioned artists fall into that catagory, but "Absolute Power" is something far removed from the extreme metal scene, as it´s instead an old school 80s influenced heavy metal release greatly influenced by artists like Saxon and especially Judas Priest (take a listen to "Raging Pursuer", which could just as well have been a Judas Priest song). It´s all well performed and especially Efemey stands out as a capable vocalist performing raw heavy metal singing (and choirs/harmonies) and he is occasionally flanked by previous Judas Priest vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens who delivers high pitched screaming vocals. Harrington deserves a mention too for his blistering lead work.

The songwriting is solid and the listener is treated to both raging heavy metal tracks and heavier mid-paced epic tracks. You won´t hear anything here you haven´t heard before, but I´m pretty sure that´s part of the plan. These guys just wanted to make a traditional heavy metal album and if that was the purpose they succeed pretty well. To my ears the sound production is maybe a bit too polished and clear and some parts lacking a bit of power and rawness, but if you enjoy your traditional heavy metal with a clear and polished sound production and featuring a melodic orientation "Absolute Power" could be your poison. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Forever Alone, Immortal" is the debut full-length studio album by Polish black metal act Lux Occulta. The album was released through Pagan Records in September 1996. Lux Occulta was formed in 1994 and released the "The Forgotten Arts" demo in 1995. The original version of the album features 6 tracks, while the 2001 remastered version (released by Metal Mind Productions) features the Sisters of Mercy cover track "Burn".

Stylistically the material on "Forever Alone, Immortal" is a raw but keyboard heavy (atmospheric and at times symphonic) type of black metal. The vocals alternate between black metal snarling, death metal grunts, and some almost hysterical desparate sounding vocals. The sound production is pretty lo-fi and the whole release have an air of amateurism surrounding it. This sounds more like a demo than a full-length studio album released through a label.

The tracks are relatively long (two of them exceeding 10 minutes in length), but most tracks feature a lot of repetition of riffs and rhythms, so it´s not the most challenging or creative black metal release out there (although folky progressive rock sections with flute and cello do appear and provide some variation). The musicianship is a bit below par too, so upon conclusion this isn´t exactly a promising start for Lux Occulta and a 2 - 2.5 star (45%) rating is warranted.

Warthur Hey now, Horrendous, don't put yourself down! You might have the most self-deprecating band name in death metal but this stuff is pretty good!

Idol is the first album I've heard from Horrendous, but it's leaving me inclined to dip a little further into their discography. Apparently, they dial up the psychedelically-tinged progressive sides of their sounds here; what you get is a mixture of technically proficient, complex death metal, progressive song structures, and the occasional quieter, spacier moment - the short instrumental Threnody being perhaps the most sustained example of the latter.

Combined with lyrics which manage to be confrontational and compelling without being performatively edgy, this presents a thoughtful vision of death metal from the opening salvos all the way to the doomy album closer Obulus. In short, not horrendous at all - though I suppose "Very Good" isn't exactly a good band name.

UMUR "By Nature So Perverse" is the third full-length studio album by multi-national metal act Liquid Graveyard. The album was released through Sleaszy Rider Records in June 2016. It´s the successor to "The Fifth Time I Died" from 2011. There have been a couple of lineup changes since the last album as drummer Gustavo Segura has been replaced by Nicholas Barker and bassist Al Jimenez has been replaced by Shane Embury. The newcommers are of course both very prolific British musicians who are known from their involvement in artists like Napalm Death, Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir, and Brujeria, just to mention a few.

I don´t know if it´s the inclusion of the two new gentlement to the lineup, or if the ressurrection of guitarist John Walker´s other band Cancer in 2013 have anything to do with it, but "By Nature So Perverse" is a much more potent, intense, and extreme metal oriented release than the two preceding album releases from Liquid Graveyard. The two previous albums featured a strong progressive metal/avant-garde metal element, but that part of the band´s sound is considerably toned down on "By Nature So Perverse", which instead focuses almost exclusively on the death metal and thrash/groove metal influences which were also a big part of the earlier releases. There´s even the odd nod towards grindcore here and there, so "By Nature So Perverse" is generally a pretty extreme release.

To my ears this new more "normal" sound suits Liquid Graveyard much better. As much as I always praise bold and adventurous music, the first two Liquid Graveyard albums just felt inconsistent and the experimental part of the band´s music didn´t really work. So they´ve taken the best elements from the first releases and have built on them to create the powerful, raw, angry, and brutal sound on "By Nature So Perverse". Lead vocalist Raquel Walker (married to John) solely performs blackened snarling vocals on this album and doesn´t perform clean vocals like she did on the preceding releases from Liquid Graveyard.

Upon conclusion "By Nature So Perverse" is a bit unexpected if you´re familiar with the earlier Liquid Graveyard albums. Usually an artist turn on some knobs between releases, but Liquid Graveyard have turned the extreme metal knob all the way to the top and I´m sure the addition of Barker and Embury have given the Walkers a push in that direction. A good quality release overall and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

Warthur Lyrically, Blackheart Revolution follows the same thematic playbook as its predecessors in the Genitorturers discography - horny gothic dominatrix fantasies are the order of the day - but musically it feels like the band spent the time since their last major burst of recording activity giving their sound a refresh, adding a muscular alternative metal undercurrent to things and dialling back on the more well-worn industrial metal clichés whilst still remaining broadly in the same ballpark. Is it a defiant rallying cry for alternative sexuality, or just an attempt by the Genitorturers to move with the times? Listener, it's both, and whilst it's no top-tier classic, it's a neat new direction for the group, and if it is to be their swansong, it's a solid way to go out.

Warthur This EP - released under several configurations - is largely a delivery mechanism for Lecher Bitch, which had appeared on the Vampire: the Masquerade Bloodlines soundtrack and so ended up being one of the Genitorturers' more widely-known tracks, but the live cuts here are pretty decent too. The group's particular style of horny industrial metal was, as a genre, beginning to lose steam once the 1990s were done, and this ends up being the last hurrah for the group's earlier sound, their approached being somewhat updated for the subsequent Blackheart Revolution. Worth it if you need Lecher Bitch in your life, otherwise you'll probably want to check out their first couple of albums before getting around to this.

UMUR "In Chambers of Sonic Disgust" is the fifteenth full-length studio album by Danish death metal act Illdisposed. The album was released through Massacre Records in June 2024. It´s the successor to "Reveal Your Soul for the Dead" from August 2019. There have been one lineup change since the predecessor as guitarist Ken Holst has returned to the fold after leaving in 2019 and not performing on "Reveal Your Soul for the Dead". Illdisposed are therefore a quintet again on "In Chambers of Sonic Disgust".

If you´re familiar with the last couple of Illdisposed releases the heavy and groove laden death metal style found on "In Chambers of Sonic Disgust" won´t be a surprise, neither will the occasionally more atmospheric and melodic death metal leanings surprise you much. "In Chambers of Sonic Disgust" is everything you expect to hear on an Illdisposed album in 2024. What is unfortunately a bit disappointing is the relatively powerless production job courtesy of Tue Madsen. It´s a detailed and as such well sounding production, but compared to the last couple of Illdisposed releases this one sounds a bit more tame and lacking power (the bass drums for example sound limb).

Unfortunate production choices or not, Illdisposed still understand how to write an effective and memorable death metal tune and "In Chambers of Sonic Disgust" features several songs which the band can be proud of. Upon conclusion "In Chambers of Sonic Disgust" is a solid release from Illdisposed but unfortunately not among their best efforts and a 3 star (60%) rating is therefore warranted.

UMUR "...the Confessions Continues" is an EP release by Swedish death metal act Deranged. The EP was released through Obliteration Records in 1993. The title of the EP is a continuation of the title of the band´s 1992 demo "The Confessions of a Necrophile". "...the Confessions Continues" features three tracks from the demo in re-recorded versions (and with slightly different titles).

Deranged formed in 1991 with the intent to record and perform the most vile and brutal death metal they could, and they succeed pretty well on this release. For 1993 this is brutal no frills death metal with guttural unintelligble growling vocals and nasty gory lyrics. If you´re familiar with the "The Confessions of a Necrophile" demo, you´ll notice right away that these re-recorded versions are tighter and sligthly more well produced. So compared to the rather amaturish sounding demo, this the material is actually given a chance to shine on this EP. How much it shines is entirely up to the listener, but to my ears this is a decent early 90s brutal death metal release, featuring a sound production which is more or less a demo quality production, but is still relatively powerful and well sounding. What´s important here is that Deranged have developed since the 1992 demo, and that they have. A 2.5 - 3 star (55%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "The Confessions of a Necrophile" is a demo release by Swedish death metal act Deranged. The demo was independently released in August 1992. Originally on Cassette tape. Deranged formed in 1991 and this is their debut release.

Stylistically the music is brutal death metal with effect laden unintelligible low register growling vocals. The lyrics are gore themed and pretty nasty, which of course is nothing unusual for the genre, even in those days. I guess they lean towards the Cannibal Corpse school of death metal and lyrical themes, but the material on the 4 track, 16:47 is generally mid-paced and there aren´t that many faster parts here, although they of course occur (including blast beats).

The sound quality is not that great, although you are able to hear what´s being played and the details of the compositions. It´s all just a bit murky and uninviting. The playing isn´t the most tight I´ve heard either, so while "The Confessions of a Necrophile" shows some promise, it´s certainly not a death metal demo which blows me away. If I´m quite honest it at times sounds pretty amaturish. A 2.5 star (50%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "The Fifth Time I Died" is the second full-length studio album by multi-national metal act Liquid Graveyard. The album was released through Rising Records in March 2011. It´s the successor to "On Evil Days" from 2009 and there have been two lineup changes since the predecessor as bassist Adrian de Buitléar has been replaced by Al Jimenez and drummer Acaymo Delgado has been replaced by Gustavo Segura. Only guitarist John Walker and vocalist Raquel Walker remain from the lineup who recorded "On Evil Days".

Stylistically the material on "The Fifth Time I Died" continues the hybrid death metal, thrash/groove metal, progressive metal, avant-garde metal style of "On Evil Days". Walker still sings both snarling blackened extreme metal vocals and clean vocals. The album is both well performed and well produced (although the sound production has a dry digital quality to it, which is a bit lifeless), but just as the case was on the previous album, the songwriting leaves a bit to be desired. The tracks are powerful and also entertaining while they play, but they aren´t particularly memorable. "The Fifth Time I Died" is still a good quality release, and I find it intriguing at some points, but as a whole listening experience it´s not consistent enough. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Path of Fire" is the third full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act Aeon. The album was released through Metal Blade Records in May 2010. It´s the successor to "Rise to Dominate" from 2007 and features one lineup change since the predecessor as bassist Max Carlberg has been replaced by Marcus Edvardsson. Carlberg´s tenure with Aeon was relatively brief as he only played on "Rise to Dominate". While "Path of Fire" was recorded in September 2009 at Empire Studio in Östersund, Sweden, Erik Rutan handled the mixing of the album at his Mana Recording Studios in St, Petersburg, Florida.

...and the sound and style of music featured on "Path of Fire" are also undeniably linked to the Florida death metal scene. Aeon were from the beginning always greatly influenced by artists like Deicide, Morbid Angel, and occasionally Cannibal Corpse, and that trend is continued on "Path of Fire". The Deicide influence is particularly strong here, almost to the point of the music reaching worship territory. Thankfully Aeon are skilled musicians, fully able to deliver a powerful US influenced death metal attack with more than usual conviction. The vocals vary between growling and higher pitched screams. Sometimes doubled, which isn´t far away from how Glen Benton (Deicide) performs vocals. The only feature which isn´t all that great is the lyrics, which are quite primitive/juvenile anti-christian/blasphemous themed. Not that anti-christian/blasphemous themed lyrics are an issue in themselves. Such lyrics can be both powerful and have a strong effectful message, but in this case they are just a bit cringe worthy and juvenile.

"Path of Fire" features a powerful, brutal, and intense sounding production job, which suits the material perfectly, so upon conclusion it´s a good quality US influenced death metal release from Aeon. There are few surprises here compared to the previous releases by the band, but there´s still enough positive musical development for this one to be a stronger album than its predecessors (despite the rather awful lyrics). A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "On Evil Days" is the debut full-length studio album by multi-national metal act Liquid Graveyard. The album was released through My Kingdom Music in October 2009. Liquid Graveyard was formed in 2006 by married couple John Walker (Cancer, Absolute Power) and Raquel Walker (Abÿfs). John performs the guitars and Raquel performs the vocals on the album. the bass is performed by Adrian de Buitléar and the drums are performed by Acaymo Delgado. Liquid Graveyard was born after the second split-up of Cancer.

Stylistically the music on "On Evil Days" is a mix of death metal, thrash/groove metal, progressive metal, and avant-garde metal. Walker sings both snarling blackened extreme metal vocals but also clean vocals. While some riffs are recognisable as riffs which could have been included on a Cancer album, Liquid Graveyard are a different kind of beast to Walker´s more well known other band. This is music which is very hard to describe correctly because of the many different musical elements used and combined. It´s certainly a both creative and unconventional sounding release that´s for sure...

When the songs are dominated by Walker´s clean vocals (like on "Criministers"), I´m sometimes reminded of the Norwegians in Matter Mortem, but that´s not the case at all when she screams and snarls her blackened vocals at the listener. The band are well playing and Walker is a skilled vocalist and paired with the powerful, detailed, and well sounding production job, "On Evil Days" is definitely both a well performed and well produced release. For all the adventurous ideas and creative songwriting, it´s the songs which lack something to elevate "On Evil Days" to a higher plane. So upon conclusion it´s a good quality release but it seldom reaches excellence and therefore a 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Animate//Isolate" is the debut full-length studio album by US death/thrash metal act Obsolete. The album was released through Unspeakable Axe Records in April 2021. It´s the follow-up release to the 2018 "The Rumored Death of Atlas" EP, which was the band´s first release.

The 9 tracks on the 35:11 minutes long album feature a technical death/thrash metal style. Sometimes leaning more towards the thrash metal side of things and sometimes leaning more towards death metal. It´s not a clear cut case. I also hear the occasional nod towards black metal and also some vintage speed/heavy metal riffs. So this is a combination of many stylistic elements. The vocals are predominantly raw and snarling. The tracks are relatively technical in execution and the song structures are a little more challenging than your regular vers/chorus based songwriting formula.

"Animate//Isolate" features a well sounding and powerful production job, and the musicianship is high throughout, so upon conclusion it´s a high quality debut release by Obsolete. A few more memorable moments and more focus on cathiness could have elevated the album to an even higher level, but it´s still a release worthy of a 3.5 star (70%) rating.

UMUR "Inside the Electric Circus" is the third full-length studio album by US heavy metal act W.A.S.P.. The album was released through Capitol Records in November 1986. It´s the successor to "The Last Command" from November 1985 and features one lineup change as guitarist and founding member Randy Piper has left to join L.A. Guns. Lead vocalist Blackie Lawless has taken over the rhythm guitar role, giving up his bassist role to new member Johnny Rod.

Stylistically the material on "Inside the Electric Circus" are a direct successor the hard rock/heavy rock sound of the two preceding albums. Not much have been changed here and it´s still lead vocalist Blackie Lawless and his rough voice and screaming delivery which take center stage in the soundscape...and that´s a good thing, because the instrumental part of the music really isn´t that interesting. The hard rocking riffs are relatively uninspired and the vers/chorus format of the songs make them predictable and formulaic. That is not unusual for this type of music, but when the riffs aren´t more memorable and sharp than they are here, the vers/chorus format becomes tedious and the songs a little hard to get through. It has often been said by the band themselves that they were burnt out and not particularly inspired while writing and recording the material for "Inside the Electric Circus", but while it may not be their most inspired effort, the quality of this album isn´t far behind the two preceding albums. So that probably says more about the general quality of W.A.S.P.´s music from this era, than it does about this particular release.

For the time it was released "Inside the Electric Circus" features a relatively well sounding production job. It could have been more powerful and more heavy, and they could have chosen a better sounding drum production and less reverb on everything, but I write that down to the production choices of the day, as many other releases from this era sounds a lot like this one. So upon conclusion "Inside the Electric Circus" may be a bit of a run-of-the-mill type album from W.A.S.P., where they didn´t mess around with the successful formula of the first two albums, but it´s still a decent quality release and a 3 star (60%) rating isn´t all wrong.

UMUR "Repulsion For Humanity" is the second full-length studio album by multi-national death metal act Sinsaenum. The album was released through earMUSIC in August 2018. It´s the successor to "Echoes Of The Tortured" from 2016 although the two full-length studio albums were bridged by the 2017 "Ashes" EP. "Repulsion For Humanity" was recorded by the same sextet lineup who recorded the previous releases by the band, so Sinsaenum still features the vocal services of both Sean Zatorsky (Dååth, Chimaira) and Attila Csihar (Gravetemple, Mayhem, Tormentor, Aborym). Sinsaenum is quite the supergroup death metal project though and the lineup also features guitarist Stéphane Buriez (Loudblast), drummer Joey Jordison (Slipknot, Vimic, Scar the Martyr, Muderdolls), bassist Heimoth (Decrepit Spectre, Seth, Void), and guitarist Frédéric Leclercq (DragonForce, Menace, Kreator). The latter is the founder of Sinsaenum.

Stylistically the material on "Repulsion For Humanity" pretty much continues the US death metal style of the preceding releases by the band, and it´s especially the Florida scene and artists like Morbid Angel and Deicide who come to mind (one song features a heavy Pestilence influence too). There´s an occasional blackened edge to the proceedings, but it has decreased a bit since the last couple of releases. The musicianship is on a high level on all posts and especially Jordison deserves a special mention for his energetic and powerful precision drumming. He is such a great drummer and shows it again here. The sound production is of a good quality and slightly more raw than on the preceding releases, which suits the material well. So on most parameters "Repulsion For Humanity" is a good quality sophomore release by Sinsaenum. I´m missing a bit more uniqueness and original songwriting and maybe also a few more hooks, but other than that this is a quality death metal release for fans of technically well played US death metal predominantly influenced by the greatest Florida artists of the early 90s. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Serpent Devourment" is the third full-length studio album by Danish death metal act Maceration. The album was released through Emanzipation Productions in January 2025. It´s the successor to "It Never Ends..." from November 2022. "It Never Ends..." was a comeback album from Maceration who at that time had not released an album since the 1992 "A Serenade of Agony" debut full-length studio album. Maceration was originally a project band formed by two members of Invocator and "A Serenade of Agony" also featured the prolific Swedish musician/producer Dan Swanö (Edge of Sanity, Bloodbath, Nightingale...etc.) on vocals. Swanö also performed vocals on "It Never Ends...", but on "Serpent Devourment" he doesn´t perform, but is instead responsible for the mixing and mastering of the album. Since "It Never Ends..." almost the entire lineup has actually changed and it´s only guitarists Jakob Schultz and Robert Tengs (who has switched from bass to guitar) who remain from the lineup who recorded "It Never Ends...".

Stylistically this sounds very Swedish...the guitar tone, the mid- to fast-paced brutality, and the relatively simple structures of the tracks. I´m often reminded of especially Grave (and occasionally of Dismember), although Maceration add more gloomy atmospheric moments with lead guitar themes and solos. The musicianship and the sound production are top notch for the genre, and the songwriting is effective and relatively memeorable too, so although "Serpent Devourment" is neither a huge surprise (it´s more or less the naturel development I had expected since "It Never Ends...") nor a standout album in the genre, it´s a solid effort from Maceration and defnitely worth a listen if you´re interested in old school Scandinavian death metal. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

Warthur Talk about your dramatic turns of events! With Mike Portnoy returning to Dream Theater out of the blue and Mike Mangini bowing out with good grace (so far as we can tell), expectations where high for this album. It's not that the Mangini era of the band is outright bad, so much as it's rather mixed; A Dramatic Turn of Events was pretty solid, but their self-titled album was less celebrated and The Astonishing met with a serious backlash.

Notably, with the latter they abandoned their usual full-band collaborative approach to songwriting, Petrucci and Rudess handling all the music themselves and Petrucci writing the lyrics solo, further contributing to the sense that the well-honed Dream Theater creative engine wasn't quite working as it should. Then again, Distance Over Time and A View From the Top of the World seemed to find the band back on an upward swing - the question was, would the return of Portnoy reinvigorate the band or disrupt them just as their creative process was recovering from the weird experiment of The Astonishing?

Before you even get to the music here, you're confronted with cover art that seems designed specifically to build high expectations. Sure, it's a spookier, gloomier image than we've become used to from Dream Theater (though not so much that it feels completely uncharacteristic), but what really jumps out about it is that it's a big riff on the Images and Words cover; we've got an older girl stood next to her bed, and whilst the surreal features of the Images and Words cover suggested the colourful imagery of dream, here we're stepping more into the realm of nightmare.

So not only is this Portnoy's big comeback, but it's being set up as this big thematic sequel to the band's breakthrough album - if Images and Words was Songs of Innocence, this is Songs of Experience. Lyrically and thematically, this continues right into the album itself; "Parasomnia" is a term for a particular category of sleep disorders, and the songs here are all about sleep paralysis, nightmares, and other things of that nature. It's not a narrative concept album so far as I can tell, but it's definitely a thematic one, with the band taking us all on a thrilling trip through the realm of nightmare.

If the album's cover and lyrics showcase thematic unity, the credits suggest the return of the fivefold creative partnership responsible for the success of this lineup's successful run from Metropolis Part II to Black Clouds & Silver Linings. To the extent that Mangini got credits for songwriting, he did because Dream Theater typically share the credit for all of their musical compositions and generally only go for individual credits when it comes to song lyrics - which Mangini notably contributed much less of than Portnoy had. Portnoy's back on the lyrics again here, and one can only assume that he's settled back into making contributions to the musical compositions too, since all five men in this lineup had become well-used to workshopping ideas with each other.

All of this show of unity and co-operation would come to nothing if the music didn't hold together of course, and I'm happy to report that this is a decidedly strong Dream Theater album. It's not on the level of albums I'd personally put on the absolute tippy-top tier of the band's output - Images & Words, Metropolis Part II, and Octavarium - but it's a decidedly solid effort which refreshes their customary style with the combination of a well-defined and tightly targeted atmosphere and mood on the one hand, and on the other an injection of a few more gleeful retro-prog influences into the mix than we've heard on recent albums from the group.

One suspects Portnoy may have had a hand in that, given that he'd spent much of his time away from the group working with Neal Morse (both on Morse's own projects as bandleader and in more collaborative contexts like Transatlantics), and anyone who's that keen to keep contributing to Neal's prog projects probably has a healthy appetite for old-school prog stuff, but at the same time this isn't so much of a divergence from A View From the Top of the World as to represent an outright repudiation of that album, or the Mangini era as a whole.

Really, my biggest criticism of it is the needless Images and Words nod on the front cover - I think it's silly of the band to implicitly invite such comparisons when this isn't really a throwback to that era. The group aren't rewinding the clock here or pretending the last few albums didn't happen - they aren't hopping back to a pre-Mangini period, it's more like Mangini tagging out and Portnoy tagging in back in, the group carrying the lessons learned forward. It remains to be seen whether this new era of the band will have the staying power of the last time this particular lineup was all together - like I said, the Mangini era did start strong before it got into the weeds a little - but whilst this isn't a revolution in the band's sound, it's still a promising start.

martindavey87 I knew early into my love affair with Rush that I was mainly a fan of their 80’s synth-heavy era. As a long-time prog fan, I gravitated to albums like ‘Grace Under Pressure’, ‘Moving Pictures’ and ‘Signals’. That’s not to say I disliked the bands more hard rock material, I just had a firm belief of what my preferences were. So, going through the bands discography from the start, 1974’s self-titled debut is a solid hard rocker that holds up today, but after that, it’s been all downhill so far.

1975’s ‘Fly By Night’ didn’t really do much for me, and sadly, neither does this, the bands third studio album, ‘Caress of Steel’.

Which is a shame, because Rush are one of my favourite bands, and the trio of Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart have created some absolutely stellar albums over the years. But there’s just nothing about this one that clicks with me. There’s a couple of decent tracks, such as ‘Bastille Day’ and ‘I Think I’m Going Bald’, but I’m really not likely to listen to any of these by choice.

And to top it off, the Canadian’s make their first foray into full-on progressive rock territory, with two tracks reaching durations of almost 13 and 20 minutes respectively, but holy hell these tracks are boring! I absolutely struggle to keep listening without losing interest, oftentimes forgetting it’s even the same song I’m listening to.

And sadly, that’s ‘Caress of Steel’. As much as I love Rush, this album just isn’t resonating with me, and since their next studio album is a firm, prog classic, I think it’s time to move on to that one…

UMUR "The Age of Mastery" is the fourth full-length studio album by US power/heavy metal act Jag Panzer. The album was released through Century Media Records in September 1998. It´s the successor to "The Fourth Judgement" from 1997 and features one lineup change as guitarist Joey Tafolla has been replaced by Chris Broderick. The former left once before in 1986 (to pursue a solo career) and his second stint with the band would be relatively short as he returned in 1995 and left again in 1997 after recording "The Fourth Judgement".

Stylistically the material on "The Age of Mastery" is a continuation of the US power metal/heavy metal style of "The Fourth Judgement". Thankfully the band realised that their failed attempt at playing groove metal on "Dissident Alliance" (1994) was a huge mistake, and "The Age of Mastery" cements that fact, being the second release in a row in the band´s usual US power metal/heavy metal style.

Jag Panzer are very well playing and lead vocalist Harry Conklin is skilled vocalist with a powerful set of pipes. He can sing both high pitched screaming vocals and more low end rough vocals. The instrumental part of the music features elements from both power metal, traditional heavy metal, the occasional thrashy riff (listen to "Sworn to Silence" for proof of that), and also more than a few nods toward neo-classical heavy metal (and the even more rare nod towards 80s progressive metal). It´s like listening to early- to mid 80s Fates Warning/Queensrÿche combined with Dio and Judas Priest. There´s that epic atmosphere to it all, but also some pretty basic heavy metal riffs and rhythms, which keep the material grounded and raw. Considering that "The Age of Mastery" is a 1998 release, it must have sounded incredibly old fashioned upon release, because there´s nothing on this album, that you wouldn´t immediately associate with 80s US power/heavy metal. To fans of the genre (including me) that´s of course a great treat, but I understand if some contemporary listeners found it hard to appreciate.

"The Age of Mastery" features a well sounding, detailed, and powerful production, which suits the music well, so upon conclusion it´s a good quality US power/heavy metal release from Jag Panzer. When all the positives are said, the songwriting aren´t fully up to par with the most prolific acts in the genre, and that´s where Jag Panzer lack the final touch. It´s good quality music, but it only on occasion touches excellence. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

martindavey87 Released in 1999, ‘Demons & Wizards’ is a power metal collaboration between Jon Schaffer of Iced Earth, and Hansi Kürsch of Blind Guardian. Any band featuring two such prominent names within the power metal community could be amazing, and this SHOULD be amazing, but sadly, it fails to live up to its full potential, leaving us with something that sounds exactly as you’d expect; Iced Earth music with Blind Guardian vocals.

And that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but the problem is that this is just so damn average. There’s plenty of high-energy metal thrashing, galloping guitar riffs, epic orchestrations and Gregorian chants (like, who asked for these?), but amongst all of that, there’s only a number of truly memorable songs.

There’s no doubting that tracks like ‘Heaven Denies’, ‘Poor Man’s Crusade’, ‘My Last Sunrise’, and ‘Fiddler On the Green’ have all the makings of power metal classics. But the rest, well, they’re all pretty forgettable. And it’s a huge shame, because this had the potential to be an absolutely classic album, but sadly, for whatever reason, it’s not.

martindavey87 ‘Haze of Nemesis’ is the third album by German progressive metal band Red Circuit. It was released in 2014, five years after its predecessor, and follows on exactly where the band left off, with plenty of explosive, high-energy tracks, centred around massive sounding guitar riffs, atmospheric keyboards and the incredibly powerful voice of renowned Sri Lankan singer, Chity Somapala.

Unlike the bands previous two outings though, ‘Haze…’ does seem a bit samey after a while. That’s not to say it’s bad, but this sounds almost identical to everything the band has done before, and the seeming lack of variety does get a repetitive.

Still, it’s not all bad, as there are some absolute bangers here. ‘Oceans Apart’, ‘My Lonely Heaven’, ‘Serpent’s Smile’, ‘Believing a Lie’ and a cover of Peter Gabriel’s ‘Digging in the Dirt’ are all fantastic reasons to give this album a chance. And with a great production that really makes every song sound absolutely huge, there’s no denying that, although the band stick to their established formula, they do it very well. So why change what isn’t broken?

UMUR "Ashes" is an EP release by multi-national death metal act Sinsaenum. The EP was released through earMUSIC in November 2017. It bridges the gap between the band´s debut- and sophomore studio albums "Echoes of the Tortured" (2016) and "Repulsion For Humanity" (2018). The material on the 6 track, 27:19 minutes long EP is exclusive to this release...well almost. "Dead Souls" which closes the EP was also featured on "Echoes of the Tortured" (2016). It´s included here in a remixed version.

The material on "Ashes" continues the US death metal style of "Echoes of the Tortured", and it´s still Florida acts like Morbid Angel and Brutality, which are the main influences, although the music also features an occasional blackened edge. It´s technically well played death metal which is quite brutal but also relatively accessible and memorable. Bearing in mind the prolific musicians involved (Frédéric Leclercq, Joey Jordison, Stéphane Buriez, Sean Zatorsky, and Attila Csihar) it´s no surprise that the musicianship is on a high level on all posts. Zatorsky delivers his growling vocals in a convincing intelligible fashion, while Csihar compliments the death metal growling with his snarling higher pitched black metal style vocals.

As "Ashes" also features a powerful, brutal, and detailed sound production, you can put checkmarks on all basic features...high level musicianship, well sounding production, and effective and memorable songwriting. What you don´t get when listening to "Ashes" is a unique death metal listening experience. There´s a good chance you´ve heard other versions of these riffs, vocals, and drum patterns before, and while that´s a minor issue when the remaining parts are as great as they are, it´s still a slight issue. Therefore a 3.5 star (70%) rating isn´t all wrong.

UMUR "Alpha-Omega" is the third full-length studio album by US, New York based hardcore/crossover thrash metal act Cro-Mags. The album was released through Century Media Records in May 1992. It´s the successor to "Best Wishes" from 1989 and only Harley Flanagan (bass, vocals) and Doug Holland (guitars) remain from the lineup who recorded the predecessor. New in the lineup are drummer Dave DiCenso, guitarist Gabby Abularach, and lead vocalist John Joseph. The latter makes a return to the band after he quit in 1987 and relieves Flanagan from his lead vocalist duties (Flanagan performed lead vocals on "Best Wishes (1989)").

Stylistically Cro-Mags add another layer of heavy/thrash metal influences to their hardcore/crossover thrash metal sound, and this was their most "metal" release up until then. The album features quite a few powerful riffs and heavy rhythms and some nice lead guitar work too (which often reminds me of Rocky George from Suicidal Tendencies). The return of Joseph to the lineup unfortunately does nothing good for the music. He has a pretty awful voice and vocal style. When he sings in raw hardcore mode it´s actually decent enough, but whenever he tries to sing anything melodic or performs one of his awkward sounding shouts it´s hard not to cringe with embarassement. I´m a bit harsh on him here, but there are just some vocal moments on this album which are unacceptable on a professional recording. His rap style vocals on "Eyes of Tomorrow" doesn´t help on that impression. I found his unique vocal style quite charming on "The Age of Quarrel" (1986), but here it´s more forced and strained, which is not pleasing to the ears.

When that is said the instrumental part of the music thankfully elevates the album to a higher state. There are some very powerful and intriguing songwriting ideas here, which deserve praise. It´s obvious that these guys are much more than "just" a another hardcore/crossover thrash metal act from New York. "Alpha-Omega" is well produced too, featuring a clear, powerful, and detailed sound production, which suits the material well. So other than the awkward vocals, this is through and through a quality release. So a 3 star (60%) rating isn´t all wrong, but be prepared for some pretty odd sounding vocals.

UMUR "Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed and Something Black" is an EP release by Danish death/thrash metal act Hatesphere. The EP was released through Scarlet Records in December 2003. It bridges the gap between the band´s second- and third full-length studio albums "Bloodred Hatred (2002)" and "Ballet of the Brute (2004)". "Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed and Something Black" is more a mini-album than it´s an EP as it features no less than 7 tracks and a total playing time of 27:59 minutes.

As the title may suggest the EP features both old, new, and borrowed (Cover tracks) material. I´m not sure what the "black" means in the title, but there is probably a message there. "Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed and Something Black" opens with "Release the Pain", which is the only new original track featured on the EP. It´s followed by covers of "Bark at the Moon" by Ozzy Osbourne and "Caught in a Mosh" by Anthrax and the EP then closes with four live tracks. Two tracks from the 2001 eponymously titled debut album ("Hate" and "Bloodsoil") and two tracks from "Bloodred Hatred (2002)" ("Low Life Vendetta" and "Plague").

"Release the Pain" continues the At the Gates meets The Haunted death/thrash metal style of the preceding releases, and while it´s arguably a solid new track from Hatesphere, there´s no surprises there. The two covers are actually pretty great and Hatesphere manage to put their own spin on the tracks. It´s especially great to hear "Bark at the Moon" given the death/thrash treatment. The live tracks feature a good quality sound production and the performances are tight, energetic, and raw. They were recorded live on the 1st of March 2002 at Voxhall, Aarhus, Denmark, which is the band´s home turf. The homeground situation is felt too as there´s some great response from the audience and some nice interaction with the audience from lead vocalist Jacob Bredahl.

Upon conclusion "Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed and Something Black" is a good quality EP and it´s therefore certainly a release worth your time. There´s both enough quality and enough quantity here to warrant a purchase. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Just a Face in the Crowd" is the seconnd full-length studio album by US, Hoboken/Jersey City, New Jersey based thrash metal act Gothic Slam. The album was released through Roadracer Records in 1989. It´s the successor to "Killer Instinct" from 1988 and proved to be the band´s last release before disbanding in 1993 (although a demo was recorded in 1991 but shelved).

Stylistically the material on "Just a Face in the Crowd" continue the thrash metal style with crossover leanings (the music for example features riot gang backing vocals) that was introduced on "Killer Instinct" (1988). Gothic Slam are well playing and lead vocalist Daniel Gomez delivers a passionate and powerful performance. He has a voice and vocal style which can be described as a combination of Bon Scott (AC/DC) and Steve "Zetro" Souza (Exodus), although he maybe lacks the uniqueness to his performance as his influences are able to deliver.

"Just a Face in the Crowd" features 9 original tracks and a cover of "Thunder and Lightning" by Thin Lizzy. Both the originals and the cover are well performed, energetic, and entertaining, and "Just a Face in the Crowd" is well produced too, which provides the material with good conditions to shine. The songwriting is relatively memorable and effective, but Gothic Slam don´t produce anything you haven´t heard before. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is still warranted though, as this is a good quality recording.

UMUR "Chronicles of Lunacy" is the seventh full-length studio album by German death metal act Defeated Sanity. The album was released through Season of Mist in November 2024. It´s the successor to "The Sanguinary Impetus" from 2020. Both "Disposal of the Dead / Dharmata" (2016) and "The Sanguinary Impetus" saw Defeated Sanity toying with a more technical and at times even progressive death metal sound, but "Chronicles of Lunacy" is a slightly more back to the roots brutal death metal release...

...which of course isn´t completely true. Defeated Sanity have learned a few tricks from creating the last couple of albums, and "Chronicles of Lunacy" is still a highly technical death metal release. The technical playing is on this release just an element of the band´s brutal death metal sound, instead of being one of the pillars of said sound, which was the case on the last couple of releases. Defeated Sanity are an incredibly well playing unit and especially band founder and drummer Lille Gruber plays some otherwordly fast-paced and difficult drum patterns. It´s hard not to drop the jaw while listening to his playing. The vocals are unintellible and quite one-dimensional growling. They are as on most Defeated Sanity releases the weak link of the music.

The raw, brutal, and massive sound production suits the music well, and upon conclusion "Chronicles of Lunacy" is another strong statement from Defeated Sanity. It´s nice to hear them returning a bit to the more brutal sound of their past while still holding on to the more mature and intriguing songwriting approach of the last couple of releases. I think they´ve found a good balance on this album. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

martindavey87 ‘Rock and Roll Over’ is the fifth studio album by legendary American rockers KISS. Impressively, it’s their sixth release (including a live album) within two and a half years, and follows on from ‘Destroyer’, an album that quite literally changed my life. However, impressive feats aside, this is very much KISS, by-the-numbers.

That’s not to say this isn’t a good album, in fact, this is oftentimes considered by fans to be one of their most popular releases. And after the creative peak of ‘Destroyer’ and the success of 1975’s ‘Alive’, KISS were really on top of the world. But for me personally, I guess when you’ve heard one KISS song, you’ve heard them all, it’s just a matter of how many of them I like. And while ‘Rock and Roll Over’ has its fair share of great tunes, it also has a number of fillers.

Tracks like ‘I Want You’, ‘Take Me’, ‘Calling Dr. Love’, ‘Hard Luck Woman’ (which could easily be a Rod Stewart song) and ‘Ladies Room’ sees the classic line-up of Stanley, Simmons, Frehley and Criss at their sleazy best, coming out with such gems as “put your hand in my pocket, grab hold of my rocket”, but hey, that’s what we expect from KISS, and on that, they deliver.

Overall though, while ‘Rock and Roll Over’ is a decent enough album, and with a duration of barely 32 minutes, it’s not exactly difficult to sit through. It’s just that I think there’s much better KISS albums out there. But still, this is KISS in a nutshell, and if you’re a fan of the band, then this is certainly a worthy addition to the collection.

UMUR "Unlock the Shrine" (subtitled "Reliquary of the White Abyss") is the debut full-length studio album by German atmospheric black/doom metal act The Ruins of Beverast. The album was released through Van records in August 2004. The Ruins of Beverast was formed in 2003 by Alexander von Meilenwald (who handles all instruments and vocals on the album) after the demise of his former band Nagelfar. "The Furious Waves of Damnation" demo was released in 2003.

If your introduction to The Ruins of Beverast was through the "The Furious Waves of Damnation" (2003) demo, the sound of "Unlock the Shrine" is probably a bit of a surprise. The demo occasionally hinted at the sound of this album, but is predominantly a fast-paced raw and atmospheric black metal release.

The music style of "Unlock the Shrine" is a bit hard to describe as it takes equal influences from black and doom metal, but aren´t really neither. The tracks are generally long, featuring only a few main riffs and beats, but they build slowly towards climaxes and layers upon layers of atmospheric guitar riffs, keyboards, samples which are added along the way. The vocals are predominantly black metal type screams, and the album does feature sections which are close to regular mid-paced black metal (and some parts which are fast-paced blasting black metal). The greatest asset of the music is the gloomy and depressive atmosphere, which is further enhanced by the repetitive nature of the tracks. Heavy and oppressive music best listened to in the dark...

"Unlock the Shrine" features a very well sounding production job. It´s harsh, raw, and organic, but also detailed and every instrument and vocal part is audible in the mix. It´s the kind of production which is purposedly rough around the edges, and kudos must be given to Meilenwald for creating such a masterful sound for his material. I´m intrigued by Meilenwald´s vision and by his skills, which means he is able to deliver that vision to the world. I hear moments of a genius at play in the way the songs are composed. When that is said, some tracks are maybe a bit too repetitive and drag on for a little too long, but those are minor issues on an otherwise high quality release and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.