Unleashed
Shadows In The Deep

From the very first seconds of the opening track "The Final Silence", the bestial roar of Johnny Hedlund, as if in agony, suggests that there will be no ballads on this album. And so it is. Fortunately. After the rather impressive debut "Where No Life Dwells", rightfully considered the fundamental album of Swedish death metal, Hedlund's team needed to keep the raised flag and produce material on the second full-length at least no worse than their first-born. It must be said that the Scandinavian coped with this 100%. I don't think anyone will argue that this album has become a real standard for Swedish death metal, because all the components are there: loud, one might even say scary riffs and solos that send shivers down your spine, coupled with guttural, but still readable vocals. "Shadows in the Deep" is filled with a memorable atmosphere that envelops you like fog. "Countess Bathory" is a perfect example of this all-consuming dampness of fog, when the dawn is still so far away, and endless hatred ("Never Ending Hate") begins to corrode from within. The fast-paced "The Immortals", almost doom/death "Shadows in the Deep", the older sister of "Before the Creation of Time" - "Onward into Countless Battles" - all these are pearls of the album, which can rightfully be considered the best work of Unleashed. This does not mean that the remaining albums of the band are worse. No, they were just different, recorded after "Shadows in the Deep", and the shadow of this monolithic album will always fall on them. One of the best examples of not only Swedish ("Stockholm") death metal, but also death metal as such.

Second mandatory effort from swedish masters Unleashed who founded by Sir Johnny Hedlund after the disbanded of legends Nihilist. I think this will be the peak of their long career that transports you to the world where drakkar land on Lindisfarne's shores where Viking warriors Berzerker conquer and plunder. A must for all followers of the Swedish Death Metal verbo in a precious repress by Century Media with some live bonus tracks.