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The sophomore release from the drunken Deicide devoted Danes of Thorium starts off pretty strong with a heavy dose of…well, heaviness (for lack of a better word) in the title track Unleashing the Demons, but from there this death metal album becomes a sluggish and confused speed bump for ADD ridden thrashers expecting something large and in charge from this foursome who dedicate the album to Death Metal itself.

Prior to giving this release a spin, I had heard Thorium described as a mix of Deicide and In Flames. I figure that should make for something different, but it turns out that combining the American legends and the now Swedish pop queens turns out to sound something like Amon Amarth on some At the Gates laced speed periodically kick starting this oaf of a record. Heck, the intro screaaaaaaaaaaaam to Altars of Blood couldn't be anymore Lindberg worship than it already is.

Everything about this album is just tiresome really. There's some solid riffs and excellent Swedish style leads, but I think this one turned out too slow for its own good, but even at its fastest Unleashing the Demons is generic death more suited to blaze/beer breaks between sets at a live show.

As stated, the riffs are under heavy Gothenburg influence, which of course throws mud in the face of this band's claim to creating "brutal" music. The vocals are raw and Neanderthal, taking heavy influence from Glen Benton in the heyday, with a solid-to-lacking range in the drum performance, that comes off as little importance in the overall mix on this record.

Of notable coolness is a cover of cult underground death metal band Cancer's Cancer Fucking Cancer. Now if only the rest of Unleashing the Demons could live up to the intensity and decimating fury pummeled forth from this cut, I would have been much more impressed than I am now.

If there is one plus side to this album's existence, it's that the album cover makes one hell of a desktop wallpaper, once you've shopped out the band's logo of course.