Embedded Files
UNLEASHED "Fire Upon Your Lands"
UNLEASHED "Fire Upon Your Lands"
By Dr. Abner Mality
With this, their 15th album, UNLEASHED have proven to be the most durable and prolific of the OG Swedish death metal bands. For this, they certainly deserve respect. But analyzing this album puts me in a peculiar position where one moment I'm pumping my fist and invoking my Viking spirit and the next moment, I'm overcome by how formulaic it all sounds.
I've also heard UNLEASHED called the AC/DC of Swe-death and that for sure is true. Their last 8 albums have all been minor variations on the same songs and themes, almost to the point where some become indistinguishable. "Fire Upon Your Lands" is no exception. Yet like AC/DC, UNLEASHED's Viking-tinged death metal is very comforting and reliable in its way. With this album, they seem to be a bit on the faster side as the likes of "A Toast To The Fallen", "Hail The Varangians!" and "To My Only Son" motor along at a pretty good clip. Sometimes it's small moments that win the day...the very heavy chorus of "War Comes Again", the shifting riffs of "To My Only Son" (my pick for best song), the steady gallop of "The Road To Haifa Pier". These remind us that the band can still construct worthy moments.
But if you're looking for that chest-rattling HM-2 guitar sound, forget it. It seems that the torch has been passed to younger bands like LIK and ENTRAILS as far as that goes. Like most recent UNLEASHED albums, the sound here is smoother, not as abrasive. I'd like to see some of the gloom that made their first three album so memorable back in the mix. But at this point, they're not really going to switch things up in that way.
Lyrically, this continues the narrative of Viking adventure that was also part of "Odalheim" and "No Sign of Life". The storytelling flows well from song to song and you can tell singer Johnny Hedlund has put his heart and soul into this tale. That helps things overall.
My feelings are conflicted on this one, but I will say that if you've enjoyed UNLEASHED's output over the last 10 to 12 years, "Fire Upon Your Lands" should satisfy you. I just think they have it in them to do more.
Report abuse