Review by Vladimir on January 9, 2023.

From the eldritch depths of Copiapó, Chile, comes a vile deformity of death/black/doom metal by the name of Umbra. Originally started as Coprófago in 2014, but changed its name to avoid confusion with another Chilean band with the same name, while also changing its musical direction. On December 2nd 2022, Umbra released its debut full-length album Mater via the label Tragedy Productions, with various guest musicians involved in this project to contribute with their vocal duties. Let’s see what this death-worshipping project of doom managed to materialize, shall we?

As a “Mater” of fact, the album is consisted of aggressive death-thrashing riffs, melodies open string riffs as well, deep guttural growls and harsh back vocals, drums that vary between blast beats, double-bass and slow mid-tempo drumming. On tracks from 'Worthlessness Wilts' to 'Let Us…', songs take a slower death/doom metal approach that builds tension and atmosphere of horror, with a brief appearance of female vocals on 'Mother Of All that Was', before continuing to rip and tear with blast beats and death metal on the final track 'Self-flagellation Ritual'. There are also some clean singing vocals on tracks 'Mother Of All That Was' and 'Epiphany' that appear on the last half of the songs, but they sound kind of dull on 'Epiphany' and it just doesn’t work on the song’s outro. Lyrics are of anti-religious nature that mostly express impending doom with themes of death worship here and there, which I think fits quite well with this style of music. The album’s overall execution is solid with its sound production and death/doom metal songwriting that gives a generally unpleasant feeling of a diabolical and rotting atmosphere.

Mater is but a debut album and probably a glimpse of something greater that is to come with the future of Umbra. It offers dread and horror in its diabolical riffs, guttural growls and death—ripping blast beats, that will surely give you some satisfaction. Overall, I find Mater as a solid album that I think is suitable for fans of doomy death/black metal with themes of anti-religion and death worship. It may not be much, but it’s honest work nonetheless. 

Rating: 7.7 out of 10

Review by Krys on January 27, 2004.

So, they finally arrived. After going through the fourth dimension and abductions we finally get a chance to witness their arrival. And let me tell you the pleasure is all mine; three aliens have landed and are ready to harass your body and torment your soul.

There are bands in this world that with every release deliver quality music and never disappoint their fans. For me, a prime example is Hypocrisy. After the more or less controversial "Catch 22", Peter and Company revisit their roots and pound our brains with a promising mix of old school Hypocrisy and a modern edge.

Employing musical styles from as far back into their discography as "The Fourth Dimension" and "Abducted", fast, mid-tempo and even doom like songs can be found on "The Arrival". But while their latest opus is not the most original piece of music they've done, this isn't a case of a band chasing their own tail either. Even though tracks like 'Eraser' or 'The Abyss' could easily fit the musical concept of "The Fourth Dimension", the songwriting and production sets them a few levels higher than their predecessors. In fact the most noticeable aspects of "The Arrival" are the arrangements and production. Theoretically simple songs are full of background guitar licks, subtle solos, a tight rhythm section and a variety of Peter's screams and growls.

Maybe I'm just another old school fan but Hypocrisy proves time and time again that death metal can kick ass while being heavy and melodic without going into blast beats and competing to be the fastest band around. In a world where good songwriting is as scarce as alien abductions, we need the three named Hypocrisy to probe our asses and remind us how music should be done in the first place.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 10
Atmosphere: 9
Production: 10
Originality: 6
Overall: 10

Rating: 9 out of 10