Review by Felix on December 4, 2019.

Since two and a half decades, Unleashed plough through the incrusted soil of death metal. Thanks to their (slightly overrated) debut, they accelerated from zero to one hundred in a matter of seconds. During the following years, they released tons of good songs but although a few albums that failed to reach their high standard. These albums were the direct predecessors of Sworn Allegiance so that the here described album came as a pleasant surprise. It showed an inspired band that celebrated its second coming. Unleashed had regained its once infectious energy and this circumstance resulted in a lot of absolutely amazing songs. But before I deal with the tracks in detail, let us have a look at the production. The powerful, sometimes rubbing guitars and the natural drums provide the foundation for Jonny Hedlund´s voluminous voice. As usual, his vocals do not sparkle with variety, but he does his job with devotion and makes his voice heard in a courageous manner. I like his style of singing because he does not belong to the "I can only growl" category. In short, raise the horns for the technical implementation of the 14 numbers and enjoy the sound.

Now it is time to exercise carefully the song material. Of course, Unleashed do not betray the Gods of death metal and complexity is still an unknown component to them. Yet they are not primitive. Painfully simple tunes like "The Immortals" do not occur. Speaking of simple things, let me draw a veil of silence over some of the lyrics. For example, "CEO" is overloaded with imbecile clichés so that my last brain cells (the ones that survived my headbanging sessions during the eighties) want to commit suicide. Furthermore, lines such as "I only fuck the dead" do definitely not belong to the most poetic works ever. Apart from that, one can only say that shit happens, Mr. Hedlund; I have a different conception of a fulfilled sex life. But I wanted to inform you about the songs themselves. Unleashed bomb us with a mixture of rapid and mid-paced songs that show the ingenuity of well executed Swedish death metal. The high-speed tunes conquer your auditory canals without any detours. Catchiness, aggression and dynamism meet on an equal footing. This results in unfussy highlights like "Destruction (of the Race of Men)", "Attack!", "Praised be the Lord" or "Long Live the Beast". Exactly this way of proceeding was missing on Warrior and Victory. These songs bring back pleasant memories of the fast-paced classics of their first outputs while sweeping away the vapid aftertaste of the boring numbers of the aforementioned works.

Their mid-tempo songs are not generally weaker. Inter alia due to its Viking lyrics, "The Longships Are Coming" is 100% Unleashed and shines with good riffs and drilling solo guitars. "To Miklagård" marks another successful example of the combination of historical lyrics and a more or less sedately rhythmic approach. Anyway, due to my universal affinity for high velocity songs, I prefer the more rapid outbursts of the album - an album that does not suffer from any serious defects. Admittedly, the grain of unpredictability is missing. But with regard to tradition-conscious bands in general, this is a widespread problem and no big deal. To have the "right" attitude is of higher value. Additionally, no throwaway composition damages the flow. The 45 minutes appear as exactly the right length. For the vast majority of death metal maniacs, this time is well spent. Coherent songs have right of way and any kind of technical ecstasy must wait. It sounds rather ironic, but the rediscovery of their roots pushes the band forward.

Rating: 8.4 out of 10

Review by Alex on May 21, 2018.

Druid Lord's latest work of disgust Grotesque Offerings is a death/doom metal spear. It strikes slowly and deep thus inflicting wounds far beyond convalescence. Druid Lord makes precise incisions into the listener's mind by combining highly melodic riffs, with pummeling drum and bass work. The voraciousness of every note being played summons the impression that Grotesque Offerings may have been entirely recorded in analog. 

Druid Lord appeared on my radar when I was browsing through Hell's Headbangers web store. Presented before my untamed, lust driven eyes, was the artwork of Grotesque Offerings which swiftly steered my senses and lured me towards Druid Lord's dark dungeon of dystopia. I refuse to ruin the experience for the listener by revealing the lyrical themes' exact derivatives, however, I will state that most, if not all of it is based on old horror films.The idea of portraying scenes in horror movies through music is a concept I commend and implore Druid Lord to keep embedded within their death/doom metal model. 

The opening track is a perilous tale that is perfectly portrayed by the band's musical craftsmanship. Slow heavy drums materialize and a soothing guitar solo sets the tone of the opening song "House of Dripping Gore", which ceremoniously ushers in the hideous scenarios re-animated and unveiled. The Pete Slate and Benn Ross guitar combination have provided the listener with some of the most unforgettable riffs of the album. Songs such as "House of Dripping Gore", "Murderous Mr. Hyde" and "Black Candle Séance" display patience and brilliance when inscribing or carving the guitar notes onto a blank slate, in hopes of achieving an everlasting impression. 

The drumming throughout the album is particularly slow with some occurrences of mid-paced sections. There is a very thrash metal style of drumming present on "Last Drop Of Blood" more towards the middle of the track and lasts for less than a minute. I enjoyed that sudden shift in speed and ferocity from Elden Santos. The drums are played very vehemently on Grotesque Offerings; there is much feeling and passion evident on each track, thus magnifying the gloom of the doom. Sometimes drummers arrive at the studio just to record their parts on an album. With this attitude, the album suffers tremendously, as most keen listeners of metal can easily identify when the drumming effort appears to be "soulless." One example of this is on Nightwish's 2015 album, "Endless Forms Most Beautiful", (I will chime in on this lazy offering in a future extensive review). That is not the case here, Elden Santos's drumming concretizes the stories being told; each segment featuring his drumming boldly embraces the concepts. 

The vocals are easily understood but sound similar to grunts; they do have a doom metal sound due to Tony Blakk's deep enunciation, however; I would have liked a bit more obscurity in the vocal pronunciation, which would have greatly expanded the evil presence of the music being played. 

Grotesque Offerings holds up well against many other death/doom metal releases of 2018 and 2017. Each song is bathed in addicting, crisp, guitar, bass, drums and vocal work. The samples from various horror movies are an excellent addition to the music. The samples partially paint a grim picture to give the listener an idea of the scene, then leaves the listener to envision the rest, compliments of Druid Lord's superb musical output. I can't wait to get the vinyl version of the album which is currently available for pre-order on Hell's Headbangers.

Rating: 9.1 out of 10