Unleashed were always the black sheep of the Swedish death metal scene.
They didn’t record at Sunlight Studios and never bothered with the buzzsaw sound of the Boss HM-2 heavy metal pedal, or for that matter gore-filled lyrics. Instead they offered up tales of Viking lore and a clean, surgical death metal assault. Twenty-five years later and not much has changed on album #12. Here there’s a mix of mid-tempo thumpers (Defenders Of Midgard, The Bolt Thrower) and blistering speed workouts (Where Churches Once Burned), all boasting Johnny Hedlund’s distinctive growl and Thor-friendly themes.
