Unleashed - Odalheim

Wow! I can't say that I was expecting too much from Unleashed with their new album 'Odalheim'. I found their previous album 'As Yggdrasil Trembles' to be lackluster so I was expecting just another 'okay' death metal album from them. But 'Odalheim' is the best thing they have done in years.

Okay, so it is quite different to what is normally put out by Unleashed. For starters, their is a real lack of brutality on 'Odalheim'. However, this is replaced with viciousness. It is fierce! It is dark. And it is Epic! Instead of bludgeoning the opponent with hammers, they have sliced them all with shining new swords and set the village ablaze. And this fire burns at great pace.

The riffs have great variation. Fast, death riffing and soaring tremolo picked melodies that sometimes make this album feel like it is given a black metal touch. Sometimes it slows down and nods along to help make it a little more accessible to that Amon Amarth fanboy who thinks the whole viking gimmick stops at them, but Unleashed adds that technical and disjointed twist to prove that they are, and always have been the the true kings of Viking. Even the solos feel like you are being wrapped in netting as you are about to be dipped upside down into a torturous fire.

Even Johnny Hedlund's vocals have changed up a lot. Along with his usual death metal growls also comes a harsh black metal voice. But this also feels commanding (hear the chorus line of 'Odalheim' and 'Rise of The Maya Warriors'). The leader of this battalion is fuming and wants to tear down the entire village. Just listen to the lyrics in 'By Celtic and British Shores'. Enough said.

Then the drumming is blistering. Aggressive. This is the fire that is blazing through the village. Explosions going off in the village as the battalion heads off back through the sea. The trees are burning and crashing down on the crumbling homes. There is simply no hope for any survivors from this raid.

Unleashed has become a group of Berserkers here. What an album! It will be interesting to see where 'Odalheim' will take them. With the popularity of the more accessible Amon Amarth, maybe one will get hold of this, look into the rest of Unleashed's history, and discover who really has Odin on their side.

Ikil