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Review: Unleashed - Sworn Allegiance
Unleashed
www.unleashed.se
Sworn Allegiance

Label: Century Media Records
Year released: 2004
Duration: 44:41
Tracks: 14
Genre: Death Metal

Rating:
4.5/5


Review online: February 15, 2005
Reviewed by: Christian Renner
Readers' Rating
How do you rate this release?

Rated 4.11/5 (82.22%) (9 Votes)
Review

This band has been around for 15 years now and I can honestly say this is the first album from them I have ever listened to. I had heard of the band before but I never really felt the need to go out and purchase anything from them. A friend suggested I give this a listen and after listening to the burned copy he gave me I had to go out and get a copy of my own (see burning music does help sales in some cases!).

This is going to sound kind of out of place but I can't remember (if ever) I listened to a death metal album that I thought was "catchy". I am not saying it is catchy in a, it has a good beat and you can really dance to it gay kind of way (American Bandstand reference) but rather there are more than a few songs that really stick in your head well after you have finished listening to the album. The first of these songs is track 3 "Only the Dead" which for some odd reason the chorus really stands out and trust me when someone overhears you singing to yourself, "I only fuck the dead" well let's just say the looks are what you would expect when Mr. Furley thinks there is something really strange going on (Three's Company reference). The next song that really stands out is track 4 "The Longships are Coming" which is a slower track but just sounds mean kind of like when Bruce Banner says "don't make me angry, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry" (Incredible Hulk reference). Next is track 7 "I Bring you Death" which has a killer up tempo riff that just defies you to keep your head still and could quite possibly snap your neck faster than a tombstone piledriver courtesy of The Undertaker (WWE Monday Night Raw reference). Then we have track 10 "One Night in Nazareth" which is another slower track that speeds up near the middle for a very cool guitar solo before slowing back down for the finish which reminds me about how I feel every time I hear there are talks between the NHL and the Players Association and then come to find out nothing has changed (NHL lockout reference…end it already you bunch of GREEDY FUCKERS!!!). Last but certainly not least is track 12 entitled "Metalheads" which is fast with a killer accompanying riff that almost sounds like a, dare I say, a death metal band having a good time which is something I thought I would never say kind of like Lars telling James to forget about the lube he is used to it by now (Metallica reference).

All the strange references aside this is simply one quality death metal release and one that has been stuck in my CD player for quite some time now. The rest of the songs are aren't as memorable as the ones I mentioned but are far from mere filler which boils down to a death metal album that will appeal to more than just fans of the genre. Highly Recommended.

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Interview with vocalist and bassist Johnny Hedlund on October 6, 2019 (Interviewed by Luxi Lahtinen)
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