Country of origin: Sweden Location: Kungsängen, Stockholm Status: Active Formed in: 1989 Genre: Death Metal Themes: Death, Darkness, Anti-religion, Norse mythology Current label: Napalm Records Years active: 1989-present Unleashed is a Swedish death metal band that was formed in 1989 by Johnny Hedlund in Stockholm. Common lyrical themes found in the band's music include Viking culture, recollection of a pre-Christian world, and Norse folklore. A number of their recent songs also contain references to J. R. R. Tolkien. Unleashed (along with Dismember, Entombed and Grave) is considered one of the "big four" of Swedish death metal. Formed after Johnny Hedlund was kicked out of Nihilist (who split up and reformed as Entombed to avoid firing him directly). Unleashed are credited to be one of the first death metal groups to write songs about Viking/Scandinavian history and heritage instead of more typical subjects like death and gore. In late 1991, Unleashed toured Europe with Morbid Angel. While in the UK, their drummer Anders Schultz was detained at the border and subsequently deported. This led to the band performing as a trio on subsequent UK and Irish dates, with Johnny Hedlund taking over drums (and singing) at the Belfast and Dublin shows. Later, still without Anders, Pete Sandoval offered to help out the band, playing 2 shows at the Marquee Club in London. Members also involved in Bajen Death Cult.