UMUR
"Hellsworn" is the second full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act Demonical. The album was released through Cyclone Empire in May 2009. It´s the successor to "Servants of the Unlight" from April 2007. There´s been one lineup change since the preceding album as lead vocalist Ludvig Engellau has been replaced by Sverker Widgren.
Stylistically Demonical more or less continue the old school Swedish death metal style they initiated on "Servants of the Unlight". Dark, grim, and brutal death metal with the HM-2 guitar tone dominant throughout, and a good variation between mid-paced brutality, a few slower parts, some faster-paced parts, and even a couple of blasting deathgrind parts. Of the original Swedish death metal acts it´s still Grave I´m mostly reminded of because Demonical also operate in the most brutal and aggressive part of the Swedish death metal spectrum. Although Widgren is a slightly different growling vocalist than Engellau it´s details and Widgren is a great fit for Demonical.
"Hellsworn" features a brutal, raw, and powerful sounding production job, which suits the material perfectly. So upon conclusion "Hellsworn" is a good quality sophomore studio album from Demonical. You still won´t find anything here you haven´t heard before (on releases from the early 90s Swedish death metal scene) and "Hellsworn" also sounds a lot like "Servants of the Unlight". Actually to the point where it wouldn´t be wrong to label them sibling albums, but if you enjoyed "Servants of the Unlight" you´ll pretty surely appreciate "Hellsworn" too (I know I do). A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.