This is the Way, We're Unleashed

Unleashed (Sweden)

Where No Life Dwells

May 1, 1991

Death... the Norse way. Somewhat of a Motörhead in the world of death metal, Where No Life Dwells sounds like anything Unleashed could come up with today in demo format. But this was 1991, and heavy chunky old school death metal with the viking focus was a fucking cool idea. Sticking to a no-frills showcase of the ideal classic Swedish death metal sound as an offshoot of an early incarnation of Entombed (songwriter/bassist Johnny Hedlund formed Unleashed as a reaction to his mates in Nihilist reforming themselves as Entombed without him), this thing packs a mighty fucking punch and is quite overlooked by other prominent, though no less badass, hometown merchants of death. Amidst all the battle axe mayhem and glorious rides to Valhalla (not to mention the obligatory early-90's Christ-baiting) are some sick groovy riffs and enough killer ideas to carry legitimate esteem and recognition. They pillage through wailing screams of guitar feedback and gallop up storms of bloody beatdowns, even "...And the Laughter Has Died" heaving down on some Autopsy-like grimy haunting doom atmospheres, a personal highlight. Choose this path for some violent ecstasy and into glory ride.

Altar of Blood, Altar of Pain

Asphyx (Netherlands)

The Rack

April 13, 1991

Fuck yeah, Friday the thirteenth! Let's bust out some old school death metal horror! So Asphyx have released their latest -post, -post, -post breakup album, Deathhammer, as everyone knows of course. I'm not a big fan of band reunions, or comeback albums, etc. It's not that I'm against the reasons for reforming or anything, or the idea behind coming back together to relive something long past or whatnot, I just find that in the vast majority of cases, the new albums suck compared to the old ones. To me that doesn't necessarily imply their reputation is tarnished in any way. If anything, it makes me listen back to the classics that much more. Granted, Asphyx have not been idle for a few years now, but they've got me pumping out their influential early-90's classics despite the wealth of new material. The Rack is a significant contribution particularly to the Netherlands extreme music scene, but also had far reaching impact elsewhere. They took an approach to death metal with a lot of punk attitude, combining bludgening post-Pestilence power and Van Drunen's unhinged vocal snarls ala Autopsy or Obituary, sped up Discharge-fed d-beat intensity with crushing epic Celtic Frost doom marches, all scoured in grimy crust. Worth it for the title track alone, it's a fucking beast. Stream below.