UNANIMATED

Death Metal / Melodic Black Metal • Sweden

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Unanimated are a melodic Black/Death Metal band formed in 1988 in Stockholm, Sweden. They released one untitled rehearsal demo (1990), one demo "Fire Storm" (1991) and two albums "In The Forest Of The Dreaming Dead" (1993) and "Ancient God Of Evil" (1995) before disbanding in 1996.

In 2007 the band announced they were back together and had started work on a new album. In 2008 they played their first reunion gig in Stockholm and also a gig at the Party San festival in Germany was done. During October 2008 the new album "In the Light of Darkness" was recorded at Necromorbus Studio with producer Tore Stjerna. The band also announced they had signed with Regain Records for the release of the new album and re-issues of the first two albums. "In the Light of Darkness" was released in early May 2009 as well as the re-issues of the first two read more...

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UNANIMATED Discography

UNANIMATED albums / top albums

UNANIMATED In the Forest of the Dreaming Dead album cover

4.00 | 1 ratings

In the Forest of the Dreaming Dead
Death Metal 1993

UNANIMATED Ancient God of Evil album cover

3.44 | 4 ratings

Ancient God of Evil
Death Metal 1995

UNANIMATED In the Light of Darkness album cover

4.00 | 2 ratings

In the Light of Darkness
Death Metal 2009

3.50 | 1 ratings

Victory In Blood
Melodic Black Metal 2021

UNANIMATED EPs & splits

3.42 | 2 ratings

Annihilation
Melodic Black Metal 2018

UNANIMATED live albums

UNANIMATED demos, promos, fans club and other releases (no bootlegs)

UNANIMATED Rehearsal Demo 1990 album cover

0.00 | 0 ratings

Rehearsal Demo 1990
Death Metal 1990

3.00 | 1 ratings

Fire Storm
Death Metal 1991

UNANIMATED re-issues & compilations

UNANIMATED singles (0)

UNANIMATED movies (DVD, Blu-Ray or VHS)

UNANIMATED Reviews

UNANIMATED Victory In Blood

Album · 2021 · Melodic Black Metal

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.

3 months ago
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Report #880674

UNANIMATED Annihilation

EP · 2018 · Melodic Black Metal

UMUR

"Annihilation" is an EP release by Swedish death metal act Unanimated. The album was released through Century Media Records in August 2018. It bridges the gap between Unanimated´s third- and fourth full-length studio albums "In the Light of Darkness" (April 2009) and "Victory In Blood" (December 2021). 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 "Annihilation".

Unanimated are along with artists like Dissection and Necrophobic one of the seminal blackened melodic death metal acts from Sweden (in the case of Dissection the scale maybe tips a bit more towards black metal) and while they´ve matured and have refined their style over the years, they still play a pretty old school rooted blackened melodic death metal style, which isn´t far from the style of music they played in the early 90s. To my ears the occasional blast beat parts lean a lot towards black metal, and if anything they´ve moved a bit more towards black metal in latter years.

The quality of the four tracks on the 20:46 minutes long EP is high and if you enjoy raspy black metal vocals, intriguing melodic yet still heavy and brutal guitar work, a dark and ominous atmosphere ("Of Fire and Obliteration" is the best example of that with its dark and ambient music style), and a well playing band, "Annihilation" definitely isn´t the worst release in this style. The EP also features a professional, clear, and meaty sound production, so "Annihilation" is through and through a good quality release. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

3 months ago
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Report #880673

UNANIMATED In the Light of Darkness

Album · 2009 · Death Metal

UMUR

"In the Light of Darkness" is the 3rd full-length studio album by Swedish death/black metal act Unanimated. The album was released through Regain Records in April 2009. Unanimated was formed in 1988 and released two studio albums before disbanding in 1996. They reunited in 2007 with almost the same lineup as the one who recorded their second full-length studio album "Ancient God of Evil" from 1995. The only lineup change is that guitarist Jonas Mellberg isn´t part of the reunited lineup. He hasn´t been replaced here and therefore "In the Light of Darkness" was recorded by the four-piece Micke Jansson (vocals), Peter Stjärnvind (drums, additional guitars), Richard Cabeza (bass), and Johan Bohlin (guitars). The album features several guest lead guitar performances.

Stylistically it´s like Unanimated were never gone. It may have been 14 years since the release of "Ancient God of Evil (1995)", but "In the Light of Darkness" sounds like the natural successor to the 1995 release, and we´re therefore still treated to melodic black/death metal. Artists like Dissection and especially Necrophobic are valid references. Unanimated were pioneers of this style, and it´s audible when listening to "In the Light of Darkness" that we´re dealing with seasoned musicians/composers.

The material on the 10 track, 45:47 minutes long album is powerful, raw, and quite often features a majestic atmosphere (the occasional Scandinavian folk tinged melancholic melodies are also a feature in the music). Melodic lead guitar themes, varied rhythms, both fast-paced tremolo picking and heavier riff types, and a raw and passionate raspy black metal type vocal delivery on top. The blasphemous/occult lyric themes perfectly compliment the rest of the music. "In the Light of Darkness" is well produced too, and upon conclusion it´s a strong comeback release by Unanimated. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

more than 2 years ago
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Report #638092

UNANIMATED Ancient God of Evil

Album · 1995 · Death Metal

UMUR

"Ancient God of Evil" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act Unanimated. The album was released through No Fashion Records in March 1995. Unanimated is one of the most prolific acts on the blackened part of the early 90s Swedish death metal scene along with artists like Dissection and Necrophobic. The debut full-length studio album "In the Forest of the Dreaming Dead (1993)" generally received a lot of praise and is today considered a bit of a classic blackened death metal release from the early 90s, but it didn´t elevate Unanimated from being an underground act to slightly more mainstream underground appeal. In other words, they are still one of the less known early 90s death metal artists from Sweden.

Since the release of "In the Forest of the Dreaming Dead (1993)" there´s been one lineup change as bassist Daniel Lofthagen has been replaced by Richard Cabeza (Dismember, Carbonized, Murder Squad, General Surgery, etc.). Richard Cabeza also played on the band´s demos, but did not appear on "In the Forest of the Dreaming Dead (1993)", probably as a consequence of his involvement in the heavy recording and touring schedule of Dismember, which was an act he was also a member of in those days.

As mentioned above the music on "Ancient God of Evil" is a blackened type of death metal, but also a very melodic type of death metal, featuring strong lead guitar themes (and occasional use of atmospheric keyboards). The atmosphere is dark and the whole thing reeks of the occult, which is in some part due to the snarling raspy vocal delivery by Micke Jansson, but also because of the lyrics. As far as musical style goes, Unanimated have pretty much stuck to their guns on this album, which feels like the natural successor to "In the Forest of the Dreaming Dead (1993)". The musicianship is a notch tighter and the sound production is slightly better, but songwriting wise they haven´t developed much as far as I can hear. They are less savage on this release and the music is slightly more varied, but that´s about it.

"Ancient God of Evil" is arguably a quality sophomore studio album by Unanimated. It´s pretty much on par with the debut album, but I think the debut is slightly more interesting, or maybe the rawness of that release actually suits the band´s music better than the slightly better production values on this one do. A 3.5 star (70%) is still deserved though.

more than 2 years ago
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Report #342002

UNANIMATED In the Forest of the Dreaming Dead

Album · 1993 · Death Metal

UMUR

"In the Forest of the Dreaming Dead" is the debut full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act Unanimated. The album was released through No Fashion Records in February 1993. "In the Forest of the Dreaming Dead" has a pretty interesting release history as there exist three versions with three different cover artworks. Unanimated are usually counted among the elite Swedish blackened/melodic death metal acts from the early- to mid nineties along with artists like Dissection, early Marduk, and Necrophobic. They didn´t receive much recognition (only from a cult audience) or achieved commercial success while they were initially active though and they disbanded after releasing their second full-length studio album "Ancient God of Evil (1995)". They´ve since reformed and released their third full-length studio album "In the Light of Darkness (2009)".

Stylistically the music on "In the Forest of the Dreaming Dead" reminds me a lot of early Necrophobic. Occult lyrical themes, a singer that delivers both raspy black metal styled vocals and death metal growling in a very convincing and commanding fashion, melodic guitar leads and a generally dark and epic atmosphere. Keyboards are used occasionally, but always as an atmosphere enhancer, seldom as a lead instrument. The riffing style varies from brutal death metal riffs, tremolo picked blackened riffing and occasionally rythmic thrashy riffing. The band are well playing and the performances on this album are generally pretty strong.

Some tracks stand out a bit more than others though and if I have to mention a minor issue with "In the Forest of the Dreaming Dead", it´s the inconsistency of quality of the material. The best tracks like "Blackness of the Fallen Star", "Whispering Shadows", and "Through the Gates" are absolutely brilliant blackened death metal tracks, but there are a couple of more unremarkable tracks on the album too. Especially the ones which employ more thrash tinged riffing, stand out as the least interesting tracks on the album. I think it has a lot to do with the band using demo material for the album, and maybe not being critical enough of that material. To their defence it should be mentioned though that quite a few of their demo tracks (which are among the best tracks on the album) are of a very high quality.

The sound production is raw and powerful and has the right darkness to it, to suit the music. Overall it´s not the most well produced album in the genre, but still an enjoyable listen and of course a mandatory listen for fans of early- to mid 90s blackened melodic death metal. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.