Back in the day there used to be this company called Atlantic Records that would make these cheap cassettes with lousy recordings of mostly unknown death, thrash and black metal bands. Unleashed was one of those and their 1991 debut Where No Life Dwells was a tape that just about everybody eventually bought simply for the terrible cover of Breaking The Law. It was a couple of years later that I heard Shadows of the Deep and the band had come up with a powerful death metal album.

Now, Unleashed main-man Johnny Hedlund has been at it for a while, first cutting his teeth with the pre-Entombed Nihilist as bass player and then forming Unleashed in 1989 as vocalist/bass player. Since then though, the band has been a bit inconsistent and never quite been able to live upto the potential of Shadows of the Deep. Still, 2006’s Midvinterblot was a solid effort and this year sees the band release its 12th album, Hammer Battalion.

Album opener The Greatest of All Lies sees the band in fine form with some classic Swedish death thrash that’s reminiscent of Dismember when they’re truly firing on all cylinders. Hedlund sounds particularly vicious and things are off to a good start. After this the album just completely takes off. It’s one head-banging riff after another with Long Before Winter’s Call and Your Children Will Burn till the middle of title song Hammer Battalion where the band slow things down with a guitar break.  The album also has a very strong middle section with Marching Off To War, Entering the Hall of the Slain and the superb Black Horizon really standing out. Carved in Stone has some nice guitar harmonies and a bit of an American thrash metal vibe to it while the double punch  of Home of the Brave and I Want You Dead ensures that the album ends on a high. 

The songs are all short, to the point and aggressive and luckily, never get monotonous. The band display a terrific flair for grooves and varying tempos and each song has its own identity but what really stands out is some kickass soloing that’s not always been the case with Unleashed.

Hammer Battalion sees Unleashed at its most consistent and aggressive since Shadows Of The Deep. Every one of these thirteen songs will make you want to bang your head and as a statement of intent, Hammer Battalion is impressive testament to a veteran band that’s still got more than a few gallons of gas left in the tank.

Hammer Battalion Unleashed indeed! \m/



Label - SPV
Year of Release - 2008