Unleashed - As Yggdrasil Trembles (4/5)

01. Courage Today, Victory Tomorrow! 03:55 02. So it Begins 03:24 03. As Yggdrasil Trembles 04:52 04. Wir Kapitulieren Niemals 03:26 05. This Time We Fight 03:02 06. Master Of The Ancient Art 03:48 07. Cheif Einherjar 03:42 08. Return Fire 04:04 09. Far Beyond Hell 03:18 10. Dead to Me 02:47 11. Yahweh and the Chosen Ones 03:52 12. Cannibalistic Epidemic Continues 04:59 13. Evil Dead 02:32

‘Viking Metal’. There seems to be a lot of that going around, nowadays. Unleashed are generally looked at as having been one of the key Viking Metal bands since the early 90s, but I’d like to make a point even at this early stage - what the hell is Viking Metal?! Basically, it appears to be death metal, or melodic death metal, that just happens to be about Vikings. So…it’s bands who make a career out of a single lyrical theme. Shouldn’t that get old, after a while?

Now, I find Vikings and Norse mythology as interesting (yeah, alright, read that as “cool”) as the next man, providing he’s clutching an axe and in possession of a truly epic beard. It seems like there should be a “but” here, but honestly, there’s not… Despite the question I posed literally seconds ago, don’t care if the whole Viking thing is getting old for you - I still fucking love it. And as a result, in my book, ‘As Yggdrasil Trembles’ is by extension also really cool.

Thankfully, the music also backs me up on that one. Yeah, it is just death metal that happens to be about Vikings, but it’s really rather good death metal. That happens to be about Vikings. The album for the most part strikes a decent balance between technical execution and something called “song writing” which results in a group of songs that are very heavy, but not overly fast-paced or intricate; at times, you’d actually call it catchy. There’s a solid, sort of bluesy mid-tempo heartbeat to the album you can tap your foot and nod your head to, and even growl along to the vocals if you can make them out. Basically, Vikings haven’t sounded this cool since Amon Amarth.

For the most part the album follows that heavy mid-tempo format, a formula which is established with aplomb on opener “Courage Today, Victory Tomorrow!”. Driving riff-based rhythm, topped with a pacey guitar lead and more than competent drumming from Anders Schultz…and of course Johnny Hedlund’s hoarse growl painting blood-drenched lyrical battlefields. You might be tempted to allege that you’ve heard songs like “So It Begins” before - in fact that Amon Amarth comparison I drew a minute ago might run a little close to the bone - but there’s no denying that Unleashed carry off their style in a solid and professional manner. In any case, you can’t expect total originality from a genre based on things that happened over a thousand years ago.

“Return Fire” and “This Time We Fight” are examples of the album’s faster numbers, giving guitarists Fredrik Folkare and Tomas Måsgard a chance to show off; both featuring an epic and frankly bitchin’ guitar solo over a galloping riff. These are perhaps the standout moments of the album, even; there’s an almost joyous sense of chaotic fervour about the way Unleashed go about their business. Metal to bang your head to ferociously, with a big “yeeahh” grin on your face. It’s not something I’m particularly inclined to actually try, but “Return Fire” seems like it would be a great song to listen to while spurring a horse to a frankly irresponsible gallop, possibly as part of some kind of cavalry charge.

Something which may see this album stand out somewhat from the “death metal about Vikings” crowd is the occasional clean melodic moment from Folkare, often opening or closing a song, which comes as an interestingly fragile respite from the thunderous destruction that rains down on every other portion of the album. “Master of the Ancient Art” showcases this nicely, with the quietly picked intro and outro providing an excellent juxtaposition to the rest of the song. It shows a level of inventiveness and craftsmanship to the songs, going beyond the “song = riff + blastbeats + growling + widdly solo” formula that dominates much of contemporary death metal.

If my “death metal that’s about Vikings” argument needed any further advancement, incidentally, Unleashed have very kindly closed the album with a nod to their roots; a cover of “Evil Dead” by Death. For those of you malingering at the back of the class, yes, Death invented Death Metal - it’s kind of in the name - and “Evil Dead” featured on their earth-shaking debut, ‘Scream Bloody Gore’. It’s a nice touch from Unleashed, and they even manage to do the original justice. The fact that it hardly seems out of place at all among the original, more Viking-oriented songs, makes my point more succinctly than I ever could.

The album title makes reference to the ‘World Tree’ of Norse mythology; Yggdrasil is an enormous tree that lies at the heart of the nine worlds, where the Gods meet to commune. So Yggdrasil trembling is kind of a big deal - it’s basically the entire world shaking. While this isn’t an album that’s going to shake the foundations of the metal world, it’s very much a respectable effort, and one that in a just world would see Unleashed enjoy a similar level of success to fellow Swedish Vikings Amon Amarth. It feels almost unfair to pidgeonhole Unleashed away with the other pointy-helmet-enthusiasts, because they’re more than capable of making an impact on the death metal scene as a whole.

As Yggdrasil Trembles is available to buy or download at Play.com

Genre : Death Metal

Article by Phil Sim