ALBUM REVIEW: No Sign Of Life – Unleashed
It’s all but impossible to imagine metal existing without the influence of Viking history. The raiders from the frozen north have become synonymous with the devil’s music and for good reason. The popular image of wild-eyed pagans who lived violent and brutal lives makes for rich lyrical inspiration and it’s no surprise that bands continue to embrace it. But it’s also a bit over-egged. Drinking horns, onstage battle re-enactments and songs about Norse Gods have all been done and it can often feel like there’s no new ideas left in the Longship.
Enter UNLEASHED and their fourteenth full-length, No Sign Of Life. At first glance, it’s doing nothing new; it’s a straightforward death metal album full of Viking imagery. It’s certainly entertaining, but it doesn’t do much to stand out and could even be accused of playing it safe. After all, blast beats plus Valhalla equals fun. Once you start to scratch the surface though, it becomes apparent that UNLEASHED are way more ambitious than most.
No Sign Of Life is a concept album, based on an unpublished novel written by vocalist/bassist Johnny Hedlund. There’s a single storyline running through it which also forms the backbone of their previous four releases. This isn’t just another death metal record, it’s chapter five in a massive, ongoing Viking fantasy saga set in a post-Ragnarok word. It’s the metal equivalent of a long-winded series of fantasy novels, with a great emphasis on axes buried in spines and villages being burned to the ground.
Once you know that, No Sign Of Life becomes a lot richer and the already-enjoyable music takes on a greater depth. Songs like The Highest Ideal might sound like a tick box list of genre tropes – rapid fire drums, brutal riffs, a chorus of “hail Odin” – but as part of an epic tale of vengeance and blood, it’s really impressive. The feral intensity of Where Can You Flee? is a pummelling, gore-splattered rage anthem, but it becomes more than just a cool metal song once you understand exactly who the protagonist is pursuing and why.
The overarching theme is what makes No Sign Of Life such a gem, but to be fair you could probably still enjoy it even without reading the background material. The King Lost His Crown for example is a fast-paced slab of death metal anger, You Are The Warrior is red-blooded, macho nonsense par excellence and the title track is just immense. Hedlund sounds like he’s lost in battle fury and the fast pace practically commands you to bang your head constantly. For all the grandiose pretensions of multi-album storylines, No Sign Of Life is remarkably accessible.
A detailed understanding of the fictional world UNLEASHED have created does lend a tremendous weight to it all and we would of course recommend diving headfirst into the mythology. However, if you just want a mindless mosh session this’ll still fit the bill. This is proper, old school death metal played fast, aggressive and heavy.
Rating: 8/10
No Sign Of Life is set for release on November 12th via Napalm Records.
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