UMUR
"Victory In Blood" is the fourth full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act Unanimated. The album was released through Century Media Records in December 2021. It´s the successor to "In the Light of Darkness" from April 2009, although the two full-length studio albums are bridged by the August 2018 "Annihilation" EP. The quintet lineup who recorded the "Annihilation" EP remains, but there have been a couple of lineup changes since the release of "In the Light of Darkness" as drummer Peter Stjärnvind has been replaced by Anders Schultz (Unleashed) and Jonas Deroueche (Carbonized, Face of Evil) has been added as second guitarist, making Unanimated a quintet on "Victory In Blood".
Stylistically "Victory In Blood" is a continuation of the blackened melodic death metal style of "Annihilation" and if it wasn´t for the fact that the sound productions on the two releases are slightly different, the material from both releases could have been recorded at the same time. "Victory In Blood" is another high quality blackened melodic death metal release from Unanimated, but it´s really no surprise at this point, that Unanimated always deliver quality products. There are very few surprises though and you get pretty much what you expect from them. High level musicianship, professional production values, and dark atmosperic hybrid black- and death metal with a melodic touch.
Unanimated are of course one of the originators from Sweden of the blackened melodic death metal style along with artists like Dissection and Necrophobic, but they´ve always maintained their own original touch and don´t really sound too much like the other mentioned artists. When that is said they don´t deliver anything out of the ordinary for the genre either, but they always deliver quality. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.