Back when I knew where it was, this CD never failed to get me hyper when I put it on at 4 in the morning. To paraphrase another reviewer, this is the party death metal album. I have no idea what Johnny Hedlund is barking about most of the time, but it sure puts you in the mood to bounce off the walls. Try the surging "Immortals" for instance. It kind of sounds like the extra bonus track you never heard from Motley Crue's Shout At the Devil album with Max Cavalera on vocals instead of Vince Neil. By the time, you get ten seconds into "Shadows in the Deep", I dare you to stay seated. This is first-class death metal, simple and straightforward. "Countesssss Bath-oreeeeaaaahh". Yeah, this good stuff. The music is great and accompanied by some of the better vocals in death metal (though the message can be offensive at times assuming you are able discern some of it).
No, they weren't in the class of early Entombed or At the Gates in terms of technical proficiency, but I have to imagine Unleashed provided the soundtrack for partying Swedish death metalheads for much of the early to mid 90s. If you are a long-time student of Swedish death metal, you've already got it. However, if you're just beginning your research or arrived on the scene a little late (nothing wrong with that), you could do a lot worse than to start your collection with Shadows in the Deep. Now, if I could only find my copy...
