Dawn Of The Nine:
1. A New Day Will Rise
2. They Came To Die
3. Defenders Of Midgard
4. Where Is Your God Now?
5. The Bolt Thrower
6. Let The Hammer Fly
7. Where Churches Once Burned
8. Land Of The Thousand Lakes
9. Dawn Of The Nine
10. Welcome The Son Of Thor!
Having finally found the time to sit down and listen to ‘Dawn of The Nine’ track by track in its entirety, I recommend that any death metal fan do the same. Unleashed certainly aren’t rewriting the book on the genre, but they are demonstrating why they continue to be a band at the forefront of the stripped down, old school, Swedish death sound.
‘Dawn Of The Nine’ is the twelfth studio album from these masters. It doesn’t experiment with new directions, it doesn’t attempt to be more “mainstream” friendly, it doesn’t attempt to reach out to a new segment of fans like so many other bands I’ve loved have attempted to do in recent years. Instead, it continues to embrace what myself (and doubtlessly others) find appealing about the band. ‘Dawn Of The Nine’ is simple in a pure, unadulterated fashion that makes me want to drink beer, bang my fist on the table and headbang along.
Johnny Hedlund’s vocals are menacingly distinct, snarling yet understandable. This album makes you feel like joining the viking hordes and fighting battles alongside them, burning churches and crushing the White Christ. The slower segments, which I was not fond of on the first couple listens, have grown on me and enhance the atmosphere woven throughout the album. Delving into the story, it’s antagonistic, as evidenced by tracks such as “Where Is Your God Now” and “Where Churches Once Burned”. Songs like these are relevant in so many different ways, and so many different interpretations. The outro to “Where Churches Once Burned” creates a gloomy atmosphere, enabling one to imagine the silence and calm of a coming dawn after watching flames lick a darkened sky.
Speaking of a reawakening of Thor, and the rise of a mighty (mythologically) based return of Viking values, ‘Dawn Of The Nine’ does not disappoint on the promise of continuing where ‘Odalheim’ left off. It proves that Unleashed is still hungry, still uncompromising and still an exemplary choice when it comes to viking/pagan influenced death metal.
My favorite tracks: Where Churches Once Burned, The Bolt Thrower, Dawn Of The Nine, Where Is Your God Now?
