Review by Brian on September 29, 2015.

Deafheaven is one of those bands that has got a bad rap by the "true" crowd when it comes to black metal. They didn't help their cause with their previous album. Sunbather, in title alone isn't very black metal nor is the pink album cover. However the album did very well critically. It was plastered all over year end lists in 2013. Their follow up comes in the form of 5 slabs of unrelenting post black metal titled New Bermuda. This time around they went for a heavier, darker approach than Sunbather.

The biggest improvement on New Bermuda is George Clarke's vocals. On Sunbather it was all one steady high pitched scream with no variation. There was no character to his vocals. It's what held it back from being a great album. This time he adds mixture of some deeper snarls to go with higher shrieks. The music also made some changes. There are quite a bit of chugging guitar riffs. This works so well with the shoegaze elements. Maybe these guys took it to heart when they were called hipster metal or that they weren't really heavy and were more just a shoegaze/post rock band with screaming vocals.

They don't waste time bring all these new elements to the table. Right off the bat in opening track "Brought to the Water" they quickly go from a tremolo picking black metal riff to a chugging heavy riff. This eventually all melts into a beautiful shoegaze melody that reeks of what Deafheaven is all about. "Luna" continues the assault with heavy chugging riffs and elaborate black metal melodies all wrapped up in a shoegaze blanket.

"Baby Blue" is the best and heaviest song on the album. It starts off with a peaceful little intro before busting out into twisted black metal with blast beats. This should make the "true" fans happy. Again the chugging guitars take center stage really beefing up the sound. This song also is Clarke's best vocal performance on the album. He attacks the song with a variety of tortured screams from high to somewhat deeper until it fades out in a very soft shoegaze melody.

"Come Back" has a little post rock vibe for the first part of the song before the albums best chuggy riff kicks in. Again the vocals give the song depth because he uses variations which he didn't do on the last album.

Closer "Gifts from the Earth" has a dreamy 90's alternative rock feel. It could pass for a Smashing Pumpkins song if weren't for the vocals. This time around Clarke layers the vocals for a fuller sound. There's a spoken part that is hidden underneath the screams. It shifts to a heavy moment before it's climax of a beautiful uplifting melody that finally eases into piano and acoustic guitar that finish off the album.

Deafheaven has come back stronger that ever. If you put aside your preconceived notions of what this band is and just listen to the music you will find a well written, well executed and well produced album. I expect that New Bermuda will find itself on lots of year end lists. I know it will be on mine.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Review by Felix on January 20, 2026.

I like Unleashed since they were one of the initiators of the Swedish death metal detonation. But this does not mean that they always released great albums. Over a period of almost one decade, they had nearly completely lost their orientation. It began with the so-so “Victory”, led into the uncomfortable fields of boredom (“Warrior”)... and then came “Hell’s Unleashed”. Okay, its beginning is acceptable, although slow-moving songs like the opener or 'Fly Raven Fly' do not spread any kind of energy. But the riffing is solid, and the choruses guarantee, despite or just because of their repetitive simplicity, a certain catchiness. The fast-paced 'Demoneater' marks the highlight of the first four songs, while the crunchy title track is simply too short to leave an impact. Not bad, by far not perfect. This is the right description from my point of view. By the way, 'Peace, Piece By Piece' is another miniature track with a length of less than two minutes. That’s regrettable, because it had the potential for more. But Hedlund and the other guys had a talent for making the wrong decisions in those days.

The remaining nine tracks show what I mean. The band plays on and on, hailing the God of conventional song patterns, and forgets to deliver at least a few exciting riffs. Tempo changes are not very welcome; the solos remain interchangeable. Embarrassing lyrics like those of 'Dissection Leftovers' (a kind of absurd harbinger of “Only the Dead”) or 'Joy In The Sun' do not make things better, to describe it politely. “She sure knows how to suck”… that’s fine, but not adequate content on a death metal album, at least in my narrow-minded opinion. 'Mrs. Minister' sounds like the next lukewarm speed track, the successor of 'Mediawhore', the alibi track of “Warrior”. Hedlund’s voice fails to break up the monotony that the mostly pretty similar guitar lines create. The solid chorus, like the one of 'We’ll Come For You', is almost the only reason to party during the second half of the album. But this song also shows another dilemma of “Hell’s Unleashed”. If its solo was done with the intention to offer a pretty devastating guitar, the production cannot hide its weakness. It does not fail in the standard parts, but it cannot convey a dense feeling of total power.

And so we stumble through songs like 'Triggerman', to pick up a more or less random example. Thank God, they do not need more than 2,5 minutes to come to an end; nevertheless, one question remains: what was the reason to record them? I cannot identify the smallest idea of inspiration, and I am not able to find a resilient substance in some songs. Everything that the almost “epic” track 'Burnt Alive' has to say could be pressed into one minute without losing any important elements. Do not listen to these songs when you drive down the highway at night. The risk to fall asleep is too big. Especially the blunt, primitive drumming has a very tiring effect (almost as tiring as the instrumental “horror” outro, which is just useless). In hindsight, it is almost a wonder that Unleashed returned with one of their masterpieces,  “Sworn Allegiance”,  but indeed, they re-emerged like a Phoenix from the ashes. Nevertheless, 1995 to 2003 can be seen as lost years in the history of Unleashed.

Rating: 5.2 out of 10

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