In the early ’90s, the general death metal assumption was that bands from Sweden, particularly Stockholm and its suburbs, were carbon copies of Nihilist. And then Entombed. And then Dismember. Certainly, the second and third generation of Swedes that hell-spawned bands from the subterranean thrust of Hall of Fame records Left Hand Path and Like An Everflowing Stream intentionally emulated and then re-possessed the “Stockholm Sound” as their own, but several Swedes from the earliest and nastiest days of Swedish death metal never wanted to haunt the same chapel, so to speak. Unleashed, which formed immediately after Johnny was ousted/left Nihilist, had an interpretation of death metal unlike their peers in Sweden. Instead of a maze of riffs inspired by horror movies and dirty Americans in Autopsy and Repulsion, leadmaster Johnny Hedlund and his newly minted Unleashed opted not for the right or left hand paths but to trailblaze their own.
By centering on songcraft but not losing sight of Swedish death metal mores, Unleashed, in many respects, reflected the output of Venom, Motörhead, Sodom and, yes, Autopsy. That is to say, they wrote clearly defined, traditionally structured songs—the tap your foot, bang your brains out kind expressly tailored for the stage—when complexity and histrionic displays of musicianship were all the rage. As early as debut demo The Utter Dark and its follow-up …Revenge (both from ’90), Unleashed were different. Brutal all the same, but the songwriting concept—simpler is better—was advanced for the era. Maybe it was retro before there was retro, but it’d take Entombed and Dismember a few years/records to figure out what Unleashed had already known and parlayed into their two demos, the now ultra-rare EP …And the Laughter Has Died and debut full-length, Where No Life Dwells.
Unleashed were well-known to tape traders, but the Swedes were interested in more. Not just a one-off on an obscure foreign label (of which there were plenty), but tours, promotion and follow-up records. Like any other young, energized group of dudes they wanted to pursue their idols. They got the deal they were looking for (sort of) by signing to then-nascent Century Media Records. Clearly, the label saw potential in an ex-Nihilist product and brisk sales—3,000-plus copies each—of Unleashed demos made the possibility of a full-length an easier sell. So, Unleashed ferried down to Germany twice—in ’90 for a promo and in ’91 for Where No Life Dwells—to record where no Swedish band dared. For logistical, linguistic and economic reasons, Unleashed’s contemporaries stayed closed to home at the time. But by venturing away from studios in Stockholm and into the arms of producer/Despair guitarist Waldemar Sorychta in Dortmund, the Swedes found a new sonic signature.
Where No Life Dwells isn’t like other Swedish death metal records of the era. Songs like “Dead Forever,” “Before the Creation of Time,” “Unleashed,” “If They Had Eyes” and “Into Glory Ride” had power and clarity. Coupled with Sorychta’s clear yet punchy production—more like Colin Richardson than, say, Tomas Skogsberg—Unleashed’s songs didn’t have to be studied or endlessly revisited to understand. They were built on an array of tightly controlled and repeated riffs—the rhythm section replicated the idea—so the end result mirrored British heavy metal more than the (equally enjoyable) murk emanating out of Stockholm. Additionally, Hedlund and company were the first to incorporate Viking motifs—lyrical and aesthetical—into the deathiest of metal. While it may not be a distinguishing factor now, from a historical perspective it immediately set Unleashed apart. Sure, they had anti-Christian and D&D-based lyrics, but the Viking thing was absolutely unique.
Joining Entombed and Dismember at one end of the Hall and Motörhead and Venom at the other, it’s with great respect we finally open the doors to Unleashed’s Where No Life Dwells. Onward into glory ride, boys!
Need more classic Unleashed? To read the entire seven-page story, featuring interviews with the members who performed on Where No Life Dwells, purchase the print issue from our store, or digitally via our app for iPhone/iPad or Android.
Source: www.decibelmagazine.com
