Swedish death metal warriors Unleashed always deliver. That can
again be said about their twelfth full length album. Just like the predecessor 'Odalheim'
the album was recorded and produced by guitarist Frederik Folklare in his Chrome
Studios. With lyrics about the usual mythological Viking themes not a lot has
changed. The music is again a mix of death metal and some black influences, gang
shouting refrains, devastating drums, ruling bass lines and melodic solos.
Perhaps you think that there are no surprises on this album and in general you
are right, but the doomy title track "Dawn Of the Nine" is probably the slowest
song from the band in their career and you might guess of what other band the
riff in the song "The Bolt Thrower" reminds me of. Another favorite track is
"Let the Hammer Fly" because of the thrash riffs and "Defenders Of Misgard" is
an almost epic track with a lot of variety and not typical Unleashed. Head
Viking Johnny Hedlund perhaps isn't the best and most impressive grunter in the
genre, but with his style and the repeating refrains it never bores.
What impresses me most about the band Unleashed is that they keep their
recognizable sound without repeating themselves on every album. A nice album to
bring to the hammer.
