 |
|
September 7, 2008 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
01. Winterland
02. Destruction (Of The Race Of Men)
03. Only The Dead
04. The Longships Are Coming
05. Helljoy
06. Insane For Blood
07. I Bring You Death
08. Attack!
09. CEO
10. One Night In Nazareth
11. Praised Be The Lord
12. Metalheads
13. To Miklagard
14. Long Live The Beast
|
|
Sweden's metal scene is one of the world's leaders in the 2004 metal release category, continuing to pump out albums with the word "hit" written all over them. One of the country's legends, UNLEASHED, are no exception. The death metal greats have just added another triumph to their list of achievements with the release of their brand new offering, "Sworn Allegiance". The title itself is a clear and concise indication of the raw power that lies within the depths of this killer new album. Armed with an array of steel-bending riffs, pulverizing vocals, and a barrage of intense metal firepower, the Swedes have UNLEASHED a massive attack of unrelenting aggression and destruction. If the heavy artillery does not get you, the shrapnel will.
The offensive begins with a devastating blast in the form of "Winterland" - a galloping, chain-driven track with non-stop thrashing drums, blistering guitar work and some nice growls from vocalist/bassist Johnny Hedlund. The thrash-sounding "Destruction (Of The Race Of Men)" is a "Lord Of The Rings"-inspired tale describing the spawned Orc army and their intention of obliterating mankind from Middle Earth. In the beginning, Hedlund grunts out references to the "Land Of Rohan" and "Isengard", then just before the blazing guitar solo, he screams out some familiar words - "A new power is rising! It's victory is at hand. There will be no dawn of men." Very nice! "Only The Dead" is a dark, bombastic sounding song depicting some kind of reference to that of a lewd act. The errie guitar riffing on this one is just killer. This is clearly one of the best stand-outs on the disc. One of UNLEASHED's favorite topics, the ancient Viking godfathers, is touched upon in "The Longships Are Coming".
A quote from Hedlund's explanation about the meaning of the song says "Lindisfarne (also known as "Holy Island") is said to be the first evidence of a Viking attack in the year of 793. One can only imagine what it must have been like for the monks in the monastery when they realized what was coming their way. Praying to God for help didn't help much...". This is definitely another one of the best songs on the album.
Some other honorable mentions are "Attack!" - a thrashy 1 minute and 40 second head-banging hell-of-a-good time, and "Insane For Blood" - a fast-paced, double kick dominated song with some really nice shredding. The band pay respect to their worldwide legion of fans with the appropriately titled anthem, "Metalheads". In a nutshell, the song is about banging your head at a live metal show. Although some people have said that the lyrics are somewhat cheesy, you simply cannot ignore such lines as "Come on, bang your heads. True metalheads!". I mean, this is heavy metal, folks! I think it's commendable when a band appreciates their fans to the extent that they will go and write a song dedicated specifically to them.
Musically speaking, UNLEASHED have delivered and album that is nothing short of top-notch, in-your-face death metal mixed with their own unique style. The band did a great job of putting all the material together and play the songs very well together. Axe-shredders Fredrik Folkare and Thomas Olsson deliver killer performances, along with drummer Anders Schultz, and Johnny Hedlund's vocals are angrier then ever. Production credits go to Fredrik Folkare, who mixed the album at Chrome Studios, and Peter In de Betou from Tailor Made Productions (AMON AMARTH, DIMMU BORGIR, KATATONIA), who mastered the disc.
Well, what more can I say? The only way to witness the brute strength of this album is to hear it for yourself. Raise your first in the air, swear your allegiance to metal and go and buy "Sworn Allegiance". I am confident that it will not leave your CD player for at least a few months!
|
|
|
|
