United

United is the fourth album, using thick guitar riffs, powerful beats and sing-along choruses to sound classic heavy metal's appeal straight. Released in October 2006. It's the first record with a new lineup: Mark Black replacing Gus G, and Pat Power — a colleague of Nordström's from Studio Fredman — replacing Snowy Shaw, who quit abruptly at the start of the year. The previous year Isfeldt and Stålfors briefly left too, though they returned before recording. It's fair to call it the record born in the band's most turbulent period. Even so, the sound is remarkably assured. The songs are easy to follow, yet the guitar solos and the push and pull of the rhythm show real player-level skill. Both fast numbers and mid-tempos value the hooks that let the listener rise up alongside them. The opener “Fire! Battle! In Metal!” and the title track became live staples, and the drive doesn't drop through “Blind Evil,” “Evilution,” “Kingdom at War,” “Doomlord” and “My Number One.” The band's core never wavered. A record that revives a classic form with pride and playfulness.