UMUR "Midvinterblot" is the 8th full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act Unleashed. The album was released through Steamhammer Records in October 2006. It´s the successor to "Sworn Allegiance" from 2004.

Stylistically "Midvinterblot" pretty much continues the death metal style of "Sworn Allegiance (2004)". Unleashed sound inspired and deliver their music with great skill and conviction, and the material on the 15 track, 46:27 minutes long album are generally well written. Unleashed write relatively simple vers/chorus structured death metal tracks, which are all between 2 and 4 minutes long, and there are a couple of infectiously catchy tunes among them like "We Must Join With Him" and "Valhalla Awaits".

Actually most tracks are enjoyable while they play, but when the album is finished the same happens as it did on the predecessor, and I simply don´t remember many tracks off the album. So I must conclude that there are some tracks which aren´t remarkable/memorable beyond their playing time, or that they lean toward being filler material. Some tracks stand out because the lyrics are a bit cringe worthy (badly written), but despite a few reservations, the material are generally enjoyable and powerful Swedish death metal.

Unleashed are a well playing band and Johnny Hedlund has a strong and distinct sounding voice and growling delivery. "Midvinterblot" also features a powerful sounding production and upon conclusion it´s a good quality release by Unleashed, which continues the positive upward quality trend of the last couple of albums. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

Nightfly For some reason and I'm not sure why, Unleashed never seem to have got the respect they deserve. Speaking personally, these days at least, I always expect that when they release a new album it will be very good, even excellent, old school death metal and they have been on a roll for years now. There was a time though in the late 90’s/early 00’s that they released a few whilst not dreadful by any means, less than stellar albums. On 2004’s Sworn Allegiance they really upped their game and Midvinterblot which came two years later was even better, perhaps their best album ever in fact.

Midvinterblot is a fantastic album brimming with memorable old school Swedish death metal laced with a healthy dose of thrash. Most of the songs are pretty short, fifteen in total but barely a bad one amongst them. Unleashed are on fire with an arsenal of great riffs and incendiary musicianship. Most of its up tempo but when it’s not like the (relatively) slow grind of the title track it’s just as compelling due to the catchy as hell riff. Despite the shortness of most of the songs they still manage to pack a lot in with plenty of changes and a healthy dose of melody without resorting to becoming a melodic death metal band. It’s difficult to pick favourites down to the overall great consistency but the first four of Blood Of Lies, This Is Our World Now, We Must Join With Him and Midvinterblot are a grand statement of intent. Equally good is The Avenger with its crushing riffing, the frantic short sharp Psycho Killer, The thrashing I Have Sworn Allegiance and Age Of The Warrior with numerous tempo changes from a slow grind to all out blasts.

The musicianship is as expected top notch with a special mention to drummer Anders Schultz who whilst not overly technical drives it all along to perfection with an explosive performance throwing in all the right fills when required. Johnny Hedlund’s vocals are easily recognisable and stand out amongst death metal growlers and more accessible than most which is no bad thing and you can hear clearly what he’s singing even if they may not be the most thought provoking lyrics.

In the years that followed Midvinterblot I’ve enjoyed all of Unleashed’s albums and thinking about it there must be a new one coming along soon as it’s been three years since Dawn Of The Nine. This to my ears however remains their creative highpoint.