Albums

Album Review: Unleashed

[Album: Hammer Battalion]
[Label: Steamhammer/SPV]

Swedish veterans Unleashed have been plying their trade for nearly 20 years; as such, you would expect that ‘Hammer Battalion’, their follow-up to 2006’s ‘Midvinterblot’, would be anything other than a tight, accomplished addition to their back catalogue of Viking death metal. And you’d be right; but in a music scene where bands are pushed to the hilt, only to lack the maturity or experience to produce consistently (Trivium, Avenged Sevenfold), this is definitely no bad thing.

‘Hammer Battalion’ kicks off with ‘The Greatest of All Lies’, as Unleashed tear into Christianity with brutal aplomb; vocalist Johnny Hedlund greets the listener with a guttural “DIE!” and continues to tear in with angst and anger galore, backed up by thundering bass lines and thrash-influenced guitars chugging away relentlessly. This vein is continued on ‘Long Before Winter’s Call’ as Unleashed pick apart their target with visceral, frantic anger.

Outside of these battles with religious dogma, Unleashed’s song writing concepts appear to have changed little in the course of their history; lyrical themes of waging war and allusions to Viking imagery are bellowed out over relentless, brutal riffs, and this is best demonstrated by the title-track: “The order is to kill/Fire at will/The order is to kill/Fire at will/Hammer battalion – unleashed!” It would be stretching the truth to say that the lyrical content was anything more than, to put it politely, uncomplicated. It’s fair to say that those thus far unimpressed by the concepts of Viking metal are unlikely to have their minds changed by Unleashed, who revel in a sound they have been crafting for the best part of two decades, and don’t appear to wish to change.

But then, why should they? In ‘Hammer Battalion’, Unleashed have created an accomplished album by choosing not to stray far from their trademark sound. There are some outstanding tracks to choose from; ‘Midsummer Solstice’ is an aggressive, fast paced black metal romp that is perfect for a solid 3-minute headbang, while ‘Black Horizon’ and ‘Carved in Stone’ exemplify what makes Unleashed such good examples of the genre. Viking metal, if one wants to call it that, is getting increasing exposure, particularly in the United Kingdom, and this can only be a good thing for Unleashed; there are few better exponents than these veterans, and Hammer Battalion is a fine addition to their catalogue.

For fans of: Emperor, Mayhem, Entombed
Band link = Unleashed

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