Review by Krys on July 11, 2002.

I never thought that I would use those words writing about Unleashed, but I’m not sure if after a 5 year break it would be better for them to come out and release mediocre album or stay away from the scene altogether to be remembered as a cult band from early 90s. I’m sorry to say, but “Hell’s Unleashed” is way below this band’s capabilities and unless they redeem themselves with next release we might have another case of a once great band going straight downhill with fans laughing behind their backs.

Fourteen tracks that clock in at around 43 minutes are so ordinary that I’m not sure this material would’ve made any impact 10 years ago. “Hell’s Unleashed” is straightforward traditional Swedish death metal with mostly mid-tempo songs that build around simple, catchy riffs and overused lyrical subjects.

It simply hurts to write this but my expectations were sky high from these guys. If from 14 tracks I can find just a handful of quality riffs and couple songs that actually sparked some fire in my eyes then either someone mixed CD sleeves or Unleashed didn’t give their best effort, not to mention the worst in their career. As I said, it’s not all bad here; tracks like ‘Demoneater’, ‘Demons Rejoice’, ‘Burnt Alive’ or few parts here and there raise some hope for the future, but on “Hell’s Unleashed” there’s just way too few of them. Groovy death metal in its simplest form with absolutely no technical masturbation, ‘clean’ hardcore like vocals and no actual overall energy can sum up this release. To make things clear, I’m not all for ‘musical masturbation’ but unfortunately “Hell’s Unleashed” is a case that could use some due to its bland songwriting and musty ideas.

I won’t even go into the subject of lyrics but “...Rock around the clock, playing hide and seek now, she sure knows how to suck, such a nice little mouth, drives a man insane...” (‘Joy in the Sun’) is not exactly what I’m looking for. I’m mad and extremely disappointed; with a few classic albums under Unleashed’s belt this is below their dignity.

Bottom Line: Band's own words: "We create Hell, you Unleash it!!!" ...Maybe next time.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 6
Atmosphere: 4
Production: 8
Originality: 3
Overall: 5

Rating: 5.2 out of 10

Review by Alex on November 4, 2020.

Twelve years later and the sewer lurkers still carry the stench of old death metal along with them. Loved the tunes Undergang put out since the first day I heard them, had to go back and check out what else they had. Listened to their debut album Indhentet Af Døden and fell in love with it. To this day it's still the best I think they've done, but there were opportunities to out do it. Misantropologi is good, though it could have been better if they had balanced the grindcore with the death metal convincingly. The genres seemed a bit disconnected from each other in some instances but no real harm was done. On Aldrig I Livet, it seems as though they did a better job of consolidating the two all the while introducing elements of doom metal. Thus said, I think Aldrig I Livet is Undergang's best material since their debut Indhentet Af Døden, and it definitely tops their previous full length Misantropologi.

The first two tracks are the shortest on the album and they do well with projecting what's to follow on the album. As usual David's vocals are still delivered from some hidden compartment in his stomach reeking of some abhorrent gunk to match with the stomping thump of the drums. As usual Undergang don't stop there, they bring riffs, some are just straight up savage as on 'Indtorrent' or 'Menneskeæder' whilst others take up a more atmospheric approach as can be heard on 'Ufivillig donation AF vitale organer' and album title 'Aldrig i Livet'. Bringing me to the main focus of this new album from the Danish death metal delinquents; though Misantropologi had strong ideas instrumentally, it never really tried to depart from its traditionally lauded roots, hence most of the songs sounded recycled to people who were familiar with Undergang. Therefore, contrary to their prior album, Aldrig I Livet excels at not just merging the death, grind and doom effectively, but the band appears to be more confident about stretching their sound and challenging their musicianship in search of a truly new chapter in their songwriting.

Its evident throughout the album that Undergang diligently focused on giving the listener an unforgettable experience with songs like 'Rodt dodt kod' and 'Indtorret' displaying the band's ability to hold onto their blueprint yet simultaneously create something that takes the extra step in progressing the material, in-turn giving the record a true thematic appeal through the many variations installed. Grindcore moments divert into thrashing death metal segments that take advantage of the momentum by traversing slower territory, and it's back and forth onwards. Yes there is still a lot of DNA shared with Wormridden and Hyperdontia among others; however, that's to be expected given David provides vocals for the latter and guitars for the former; however, the manner in which Aldrig I Livet's musicianship is pitched, one can't help but praise the album for its refreshing character. Hence, I think with this new record, Undergang may have managed to carve out a route for exploration, thus transporting their sound to more exciting all the while disgusting and disastrous domains.

Rating: 9.2 out of 10