Unleashed | |
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 Unleashed live at Metal Frenzy Open Air 2024 inGardelegen | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Genres | Death metal |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Labels | Century Media,Steamhammer,Nuclear Blast,Napalm Records |
| Members | Johnny Hedlund Fredrik Folkare Tomas Måsgard Anders Schultz |
| Past members | Robert Sennebäck Fredrik Lindgren |
| Website | unleashed.se |
Unleashed is a Swedishdeath metal band that was formed in 1989 by Johnny Hedlund inStockholm. Common lyrical themes found in the band's music includeViking culture, recollection of a pre-Christian world, andNorse folklore. A number of their recent songs also contain references toJ. R. R. Tolkien. Unleashed (along withDismember,Entombed andGrave) is considered one of the "big four" of Swedish death metal.[1][2]
Unleashed was founded in 1989 by vocalist and bassist Johnny Hedlund. Unleashed recorded demos "Revenge" and "Utter Dark", which got them a record deal with the German labelCentury Media Records. In 1991, the band released their debutstudio album,Where No Life Dwells, and toured withMorbid Angel in Europe and the US.
In 1992, Unleashed released their second studio album,Shadows in the Deep, including acover version ofVenom's "Countess Bathory". Their next studio albums wereAcross the Open Sea in 1993 andVictory in 1995, the latter being the last album which guitaristFredrik Lindgren played on. Lindgren began to focus strongly on playing punk rock in his bandLoud Pipes, consisting of members from famous Swedish death metal bands, and when he finally left Unleashed they replaced him with Fredrik Folkare, who played guitar on the fifth Unleashed studio albumWarrior in 1997.
The band went on hiatus after 7–8 years of recording and touring. They were concentrating on life outside the music business, their musical side projects, and studying. After a reissue of the band's classics in 2002, the band released a new album calledHell's Unleashed in the same year, and they began to tour once again. This was also the same year Hedlund had come under scrutiny because of allegations that he was aNazi sympathizer.Dave Grohl ofFoo Fighters initially had intended to approach Hedlund, hoping he would contribute lead vocals to one of the songs for hisProbot metal project, but the album producer,Matt Sweeney, discouraged him from doing so because of the rumors of Hedlund's alleged sympathies.[3] Hedlund quickly branded these accusations as false and stated,Unleashed praises nature, beast and man. Man....regardless of background, place of birth or color of the skin.[4][5]
In 2004, Unleashed released their seventh studio album,Sworn Allegiance. In October 2006, the band released their eighth studio album,Midvinterblot. Unleashed toured Europe in November 2006 as part of the Masters of Death tour, withGrave,Dismember, andEntombed. On February and March 2007, they headlined a North American tour withKrisiun andBelphegor. June 2008 saw the release of their ninth studio album entitledHammer Battalion.
On 24 July 2009, Unleashed signed a contract with German labelNuclear Blast Records for the release of their tenth album entitledAs Yggdrasil Trembles. In the press statement the band said, "We are very much looking forward to this new cooperation! The recording of the album is scheduled for October/November this year."[6]
In summer 2010, Unleashed was part of theSummer Breeze Open Air and theWith Full Force heavy metal festivals in Germany.[7] The band's 11th studio albumOdalheim was released also on Nuclear Blast Records in April 2012, and their twelfth recordDawn of the Nine was released 24 April 2015. In early 2018, it was announced that Unleashed had signed to prominent Austrian labelNapalm Records, through whom they released their next album entitledThe Hunt for White Christ later that year. In February 2021, the band announced that they were working on their 14th studio album. The resultingNo Sign of Life was released in late 2021.
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