Review Summary: A great debut album with potential for more success!
This is the debut album of Swedish Post hardcore outfit Urma Sellinger. Urma Sellinger was founded in 2010 in Swedens' capital city Stockholm and produced a 3-track-EP called "Live, Laugh, Love" together British star producer Matt Hyde (not to be confused with the same named American producer) who was co-producer for Slipknots Grammy-nominated album "All Hope Is Gone". Hyde worked together with successfull bands like Bullet For My Valentine, Funeral For A Friend, Gallows and As I Lay Dying. Live, Love, Laugh peaked on 1st place at MySpace most listened albums and due to this success the band was voted to play the Moshpit Open Air 2010 together with acts like Shadows Chasing Ghosts, The Ghost Inside, Yashin, Enter Shikari, You Ate My Dog and We Are The Ocean to name a few. Urma Sellinger shared stage with All Ends, Embrace Elijah, Hollows and Adept. The band joined Rock am Ring contest to get a slot at 2012s version of Rock am Ring which is sold out so if they win they would play in front of 80,000 people as best newcomer act. The band was interviewed by German retail store Impericon.com.
Urma Sellinger played at the Swedish edition of Emergenza a newcomer contest for bands all around Europe were the best bands got a slot at many music festivals like Taubertal Festival in Germany or Sziget in Hungary. In an interview with Swedish newspaper Västerviks Tidningen the band stated Hyde wanted work with the band cuz he saw many potential in Urma Sellinger. In an other interview with Arbetarbladet Hyde stated that he will producing the debut album too. And this is the result.
Together they spent in Studio since February 2011 and worked on the album in Lunatic Music studios in Gävle and in Bro Studios in London till January 2012.
Urma Sellinger (that is name of the album) was released on January 26th, 2012 as download worldwide and as CD on their official band online store which distributes the album worldwide too. The album consists out of 11 tracks two of them (Far from Sandra and Rise To The Challenges) appeared on the 2010s debut EP also. The single "For Those We've Lost" was released on January 8th, 2012 as Download single worldwide and had premiered on Swedish rock music radio station Bandit Rock on the same day. Songs of Urma Sellinger aired on Australian online radio station The Pit.fm. The cover has a black-colored background and the logo of the band is in the foreground of that cover which is designed by Finish graphic design studio Century Design.
The albums lyrics deals with broken behaviours (Far from Sandra, Plastic Smile), war (For Those We've Lost), society problems (Have You Seen Yourself Lately?, Rise To The Challenges) and love (Every Second, Every Day). Some lyrics have political backgrounds like For Those We Lost but the members don't see Urma Sellinger as an political band. The band sounds similar to Silverstein and Funeral For A Friend. The songs most times played in a mid tempo way and the vocals changes between screamings and clean vocals. The clean parts are sung by two vocalists while the screaming parts are sung by one of the three vocalists. I don't see any weak moments in this album.
I like it: It is a well-produced album which show the whole potential of the band and it makes stoked for more. Urma Sellinger shows that unsigned newcomer bands can play in the same position like the most-successful acts like Silverstein, Adept, Funeral For A Friend, Shadows Chasing Ghosts or A Day To Remember to name a few. This album is right for fans of melodic hardcore bands like Silverstein, The Amity Affliction, Funeral For A Friend and good old From Autumn To Ashes who disbanded in 2008.
Urma Sellinger is definitively the first highligh of worlds rock and metal music year of 2012 but the year is long and the next exciting releases will come like Sympathy For Nothings "A Taste Of Light" which is going to see the world on April 13th, 2012. I give this album full 4 out of 5 stars because this album shows that unsigned bands can sound as professional as bands who are signed to the most famous record labels like Century Media, Rise Records, Victory Records or Hopeless Records. I hope Urma Sellinger will signed by such a label and I hope that they don't get a mainstream band.
By the way: While recording this album original bass player Alex Vålvik left band due to personal reasons. But it hadn't a influence on the working. Vålvik is named in the inlay of this album and I just can say "this must be friendship". Go on and conquer the rest of the world.
