UNLEASHED - Hammer Battalion

With Unleashed (almost) everything stays the same - and that's a good thing. Also Hammer Battalion once again beats uncompromising Swedish death lead around the ears of the ecstatic death metal fan, which keeps the majority of the competition at a distance. Johnny Hedlund's bunch belongs to the cream of the death metal scene and has developed a completely independent style over the last two decades, which is only minimally varied on Hammer Battalion. Long-time fans will be happy about the usual rhythmic, straightforward steamroller songs, but should have no problems with the marginal innovations. With two or three songs, the band will skilfully try out more varied arrangements. Neither the dark basic atmosphere suffers from that, nor do the subtle experiments seem like foreign bodies. Unleashed clearly remain Unleashed, but show that after nine albums they are still able to look beyond their own horizons. -- Michael Rense