Search - Unleashed :: Shadows in the Deep / Across the Open Sea

Where Is It????

James F. Colobus | Pittsburgh, PA United States | 09/21/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"You'd be surprised how often I find myself wondering where I put my copy of Unleashed's Shadows In the Deep. Is it at my parents' house in Virginia? Did my sister's ex-boyfriend borrow it? Did I lose it? I just can't remember and it's getting more and more frustrating. There's only so much enjoyment I can derive from listening to the 30-second free samples ...Back when I knew where it was, this CD never failed to get me hyper when I put it on at 4 in the morning. To paraphrase another reviewer, this is the party death metal album. I have no idea what Johnny Hedlund is barking about most of the time, but it sure puts you in the mood to bounce off the walls. Try the surging "Immortals" for instance. It kind of sounds like the extra bonus track you never heard from Motley Crue's Shout At the Devil album with Max Cavalera on vocals instead of Vince Neil. By the time, you get ten seconds into "Shadows in the Deep", I dare you to stay seated. This is first-class death metal, simple and straightforward. "Countesssss Bath-oreeeeaaaahh". Yeah, this good stuff. The music is great and accompanied by some of the better vocals in death metal (though the message can be offensive at times assuming you are able discern some of it).No, they weren't in the class of early Entombed or At the Gates in terms of technical proficiency, but I have to imagine Unleashed provided the soundtrack for partying Swedish death metalheads for much of the early to mid 90s. If you are a long-time student of Swedish death metal, you've already got it. However, if you're just beginning your research or arrived on the scene a little late (nothing wrong with that), you could do a lot worse than to start your collection with Shadows in the Deep. Now, if I could only find my copy..."

Classic Death Metal Album.

El Smoksta | ILLINOIS | 11/02/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have the original. ROCK ON! Though I never listened to any of their other albums, this ranks as one of the biggest ass-kicking albums I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. SO RISE, IMMORTALS, WITH POWER, FROM HELL, WE MARCH!!!"

Shadows in the Deep is a classic

death metal and black metal | Austin, TX | 02/06/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Record labels love to package great CDs with bad ones, as it lets them avoid selling the junk on its own. Unfortunately for us, record labels have an inverted view of reality, because the dumbed-down junk is what the largest number of people seem to like.



On this CD, "Shadows in the Deep" is the winner for the death metal fan -- and "Across the Open Sea" is where Unleashed lost inspiration and began their decline into simpleton heavy metal with loud angry vocals. However, that later album does have better production and more consistency, so it's probably outselling the death metal classic "Shadows in the Deep."



That album is an oddity in death metal: disguised as normal heavy metal song arrangements, these songs blossom from extremely basic riffs into complex conclusions with, like old Bathory, a Viking theme and a sense of the animistic spirituality of these ancient but intelligent people.



Riffs are often notes not chords, played with extreme precision to capture both the rhythm of note change and the internal texture of the riff in their hummingbird-fast tremolo strumming. Vocals resemble the gruff exhalations of violent people subjugating adversaries. Personally, I think the drumming on this album is under-rated because it works well with simple material and easily expands to the more complex through deft and breathtaking tempo changes. It is not overplayed like many of the drummers at the time who were more trying to show chops than highlight the changing features of a song.



For those who like death metal, Unleashed offer a unique and powerful style on their first two albums, and you can get one of them, "Shadows in the Deep," here. While most hardcore fans prefer their first, "Where No Life Dwells," I recommend "Shadows in the Deep" for its more streamlined, mature perspective on similar material."