{"id":64709,"date":"2025-08-12T19:28:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T19:28:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/64709\/"},"modified":"2025-08-12T19:28:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T19:28:08","slug":"unleashed-fire-upon-your-lands-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/64709\/","title":{"rendered":"Unleashed – Fire Upon Your Lands Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"One of the most amusing stories in metal lore is how every single member of influential Swedish death metal act Nihilist left because they didn\u2019t want to work with Johnny Hedlund any longer. These wayward musicians then formed Entombed, leaving Hedlund to his own devices to create Unleashed and chart his own course into Swedish metal history. That course often involved tales of Viking raids and drunken toasting to the Norse Gods, beating Amon Amarth to those now well-worn tropes by some 5 years. The typical Unleashed sound is riffy, hooky, and a touch anthemic, but heavy enough to leave hammer marks. It\u2019s been a long, strange voyage since 92, and they\u2019ve had their share of ups and downs, but they\u2019ve been trending in the right direction since 2012s Odalheim. It\u2019s been almost 4 years since they dropped 2021s No Sign of Life, but here they come again with 15th album, Fire Upon Your Lands. Are the longships still seaworthy? Does the fire still burn in Eitri\u2019s foundry? Let us test the runes.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll say this for the 2025 version Unleashed: they still pack a lot of vim and vigor in their raiding kit. Opener \u201cLeft for Dead\u201d gives no quarter, coming for your head like a rabid berserker. It\u2019s heavy, mean, and reminds me of the extra-nasty stuff on their Where No Life Dwells debut, before they adopted the whole Viking schtick. Hedlund sounds large and pissed off, and the riffs have weight and teeth. \u201cA Toast to the Fallen\u201d keeps the heaviness flowing while shoehorning in lines about toasting the fallen and hailing Thor at every possible opportunity. Since I\u2019m never opposed to hailing and toasting Thor, I have no beef, and it\u2019s a fun, beer-swigging tune for the bold. From there, Unleashed run like an everflowing stream from one ballsy beat down to another like \u201cWar Comes Again,\u201d with aggression and urgency balanced adroitly with nods to macho melodeath. It\u2019s a classic Unleashed cut and hits the spot like the blood of one\u2019s enemies. The burly, battle-hardened title track feels like it came from their Midvinterblut album, which is one of my personal favorites, so I enjoy it plenty.<\/p>\n

The best part about Fire Upon Your Lands is the overall consistency of the material. There\u2019s a pornucopia of raw energy and sizzle over the album\u2019s 38 minutes, with pretty much every song delivering body blows. Even cheese-stuffed anthem \u201cHold Your Hammers High\u201d works due to sheer caveman death metal seduction. Are there issues? Well, the track \u201cTo My Only Son\u201d is like a shameless reboot of Manowar\u2019s classic gem \u201cDefender,\u201d about a warrior\u2019s letter to his son telling him how to live proudly. Hell, they even borrow the line, \u201cAs you read these words, I want you to know\u2026\u201d. Since I grew up blasting \u201cDefender\u201d a zillion times in my formative years, my brain autofills with \u201c\u2026that I would have been there to watch you grow. But my call was heard, and I did go.\u201d It\u2019s not a bad song, but it cuts way too close to a legendary moment in metal. Closing cut \u201cUnknown Flag\u201d is a bit odd, since it seems to be about pirates and therefore conflicts with the whole Vikings ethos. It\u2019s the weakest track here, but it isn\u2019t a dead loss, just a touch underwhelming. With all the songs in the 2-4 minute window, things blast along at a frantic pace, their tried-and-true style sounding refreshed, reborn, and badass. It\u2019s one of the most lively Unleashed platters, and it all hangs together well.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

With the same lineup in place forever, the playing is tight, crisp, and effectively minimalist when needed, maximalist when it helps. Johnny Hedlund\u2019s booming death vocals sound surprisingly ageless. He\u2019s found the Fountain of Death Youth and snarls and roars like a much younger man throughout the Viking blitz. He\u2019s always had a certain Neanderthal charm to his delivery, and it\u2019s still present as he regales you with yarns about conquest and chronic mead abuse. Long-time axe tandem Tomas Olsson and Fredrik Folkare bring their riffy, gritty style to the field, delivering thuggy grooves, vicious leads, a touch of classic d-beatery, and interestingly fluid and melodic solo work. The riff quality is above average, and they drive the material hard. I\u2019m especially fond of their work on \u201cLeft for Dead\u201d and \u201cA Toast to the Fallen,\u201d and they bring just enough blackened rage to the party to spice up the more typical death lines.<\/p>\n

After some 33 years in the raiding game, Unleashed don\u2019t show their age on Fire Upon Your Lands. All the classic Unleashed trademarks are present, the writing is sharp, and the attitude is appropriately beastial and unyielding. I didn\u2019t expect this much fire, and I\u2019m very happy to be burned by it. Now it\u2019s your turn to gird thy loins and push that enemy shield wall into the sea. Do it for Johnny!<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Rating: 3.5\/5.0
DR: NA | Format Reviewed: Damn This Goddamn STREAM to Hades!!
Label: Napalm<\/a>
Websites: unleashed.se\/website\/index.php<\/a> | facebook.com\/unleashed<\/a> | instagram.com\/unleashed_official<\/a>
Releases Worldwide: August 15th, 2025<\/p>\n

\n\tGive in to Your Anger:\n<\/p>\n