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The thrash metal scene has the 'big' four, if you were to do such a thing for the Stockholm death metal style, then I am sure Unleashed, together with Entombed, Grave and Dismember, would be one of them. They have certainly developed their style in their 20 years existence, but unlike Entombed (more rock ‘n’ roll), they have stuck to their original sound. After a few mediocre albums, the band came back very inspired and fanatical with the album 'Hammer Battalion'. With a big smile on my face I must say that they are pursuing the same course. Besides the mighty riffs, the guitar harmonies the band produces are again first class and every song invites you to bang your head off. The album has enough variety in tempo, some very fast ("Wir Kapitulieren Niemals"), others more mid-tempo. If I have to mention 2 of my favourite tracks, it would be "Return Fire" and "Far beyond Hell". I listened to the album for the first time sitting behind the steering wheel of my car. I was lucky that there wasn't a police-car in the neighbourhood; otherwise they would have caught me oscillating the road from one side to the other. These songs have so many excellent and effective riffs, pure art. With this kind of quality albums, Unleashed is still be a band to reckon with in their next 20 years. I hope they do what they promise us with their fourth song.
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