Utumno- Across the Horizon

Utumno is yet another forgotten Swedeath artifact of the early 90's, releasing only a demo, a single, and this EP before disbanding between '90 and '93. Featuring the guitarist and vocalist of Abhoth amongst others, there are certain similarities to Abhoth and other Swedeath forerunners, including the typical Sunlight Studios guitar sound, but it's far more atmospheric than Entombed, Aboth, Grave, etc. This is not to say it's watered down, because it definitely isn't; the EP is mostly fast tremolo picking and Entombed-esque d-beat/thrash riffs. What makes this release stand out are the depressing doomy sections and mournful melodic parts. Utumno manage to inject a healthy amount of each into their music without overcompensating and sounding more melodic than death metal. The vocals are slightly more shrieked than the average death growl, which neither adds nor takes away from the music. The drums are consistent, and blast only very occasionally, maximizing their effectiveness. The bass is unfortunately not outstanding though it can be detected lurking beneath the surface of the music. On a last note, Across the Horizon is also quite depressing I find, something of a rarity in death metal, and something I really enjoy. For fans of Gorement, Dismember, and Carnage.