Review by Daniel for Utumno - Across the Horizon (1993)
Swedish death metallers Utumno may only have been around for a few short years yet they managed to achieve a level of notoriety that has only grown with each passing decade & mainly off the back of this excellent six-track E.P. which I was lucky enough to pick up through the tape trading scene at the time. The Swedish death metal movement had peaked by this stage with its undeniable leaders Entombed having already started to move on to fresh creative endeavours however "Across the Horizon" offered diehard fans of the genre hope that all was not lost. I really enjoyed "Across the Horizon" as a teenager & have found myself returning to it quite often over the several decades since. It seems to have gained somewhat of a cult following in that time too which is not without merit & it's about time I exposed a few of our members to its charms.
"Across the Horizon" is an unapologetic celebration of the Swedish death metal scene. It doesn't try anything too different but Utumno's sound is still fresh enough to give them their own identity. The key ingredient here is energy as the production job offers a lovely balance between rawness & clarity & the compositions are all high on adrenaline. You certainly won't be surprised to discover that Utumno are Swedish as the guitar tone of guitarists Staffan Johansson & Denis Lindahl sits comfortably within the expected space without ever reaching for as many layers of distortion as some of the scenes main players. Drummer Johan Hallberg (also of thrash/speed metallers Cranium) can certainly blast away with the best of them but he picks his moments well which gives his blast-beats some added oomph when they do arrive. It's the psychotic vocals of Jonas Stålhammar (Abhoth/At the Gates/God Macabre/Macabre End/The Crown/The Lurking Fear) that puts the icing on the cake though & he often reminds me of Sadistik Exekution front man Rok in that he sounds genuinely unhinged which gives Utumno an additional edge.
The tracklisting is exceptionally strong with the vast majority of the material being very solid indeed. Both of the tracks that appeared on 1991's "The Light of Day" E.P. have been re-recorded for this release but I'm not familiar with the original so I can't say how they compare. I do find this version of "Saviour Reborn" to be the least impressive inclusion though & it sees the quality levels dipping just a touch. My favourite cuts are probably opener "The Light of Day", "I Cross the Horizons" & "Sunrise" although it's hard to pick between them as there isn't a genuine classic that stands out from the rest. Instead, we receive a consistent barrage of high-class death metal that should leave you feeling like Utumno have missed an opportunity in not continuing on past this release.
In the vast sea of Swedish death metal releases from the early 1990's, it's easy to see how a record like "Across the Horizon" might have been swallowed up, reliant on the long-term affection of the more committed underground followers to perpetuate its reputation. Time has seen it rising to the top though & I have to say that I'm glad because it's a very fine record in its own right. I may not be the biggest fan of the Swedish sound when compared to the more sophisticated US one but that doesn't stop me from appreciating the savagery that Utumno harness in battering their way through this collection of underappreciated death metal history.
For fans of Gorement, Uncanny & God Macabre.