by John Kindred
— Publisher —
Swedish Metaller’s Denied return with its latest studio album Freedom of Speech. The new album follows the group’s 2014 release of Let It Burn.
For Denied the core of the line-up is still intact, founder Andreas Carlsson leads the group, which also includes; Chris Vowden (guitar), Fredde Isaksson (bass), and Pete Dolls (drums). Guest vocalist Johan Fahlberg handles a majority of the lead vocals on Freedom of Speech, while Chris Laney of Pretty Maids, former Denied vocalist Andreas Larsson each make an appearance on one song, and Madde Svärd provides the female voice on the album’s title track.
Sliptrick Records is again releasing Freedom of Speech; the band’s working relationship with the label began with its 2012 EP release of Judas Kiss. Fredrik Folkare (Unleashed and Firespawn) co-produced, mixed and mastered the album at Chrome Studio in Stockholm. Alexander Lifbom was the mastermind behind the visualizing striking cover art.
Freedom of Speech features 11 melodic and heavy tracks. The band has stated they were inspired by Folkar’s production work, bringing his knowledge to the table and creating one of the group’s ‘heavier’ sounding albums to date. Folkare’s influence on the band’s sound can not only be heard in the production, mixing and mastering, he also can be heard contributing keyboards as well as the outro guitar solo on the song “The Devil In Me.”
The opening track “Alive” gets the juices pumping early, your ears will be assaulted with the blatantly heavy guitars and thunderous drums as Fahlberg leads the charge attacking your audio sensory system. Chris Laney appearance arrives on track two, another scorcher titled “Don’t Know You Me.” Heavy. Heavy. Heavy.
Andreas Larsson takes his turn at the mic on the “The Ferryman” – his voice offers the same level of grit, bit of harshness and melody as Fahlberg and Laney… The album’s title-track is a blistering instrumental number. Heavy, yes. Crushing is another good adjective.
Denied offer up all the elements required of the Metal genre: manic, frenzied guitar solos, thunderous bass and drums, heavy gritty, yet melodic vocals, etc., you get the drift. The intensity is carried from track to track, and there is a plethora of great tunes to listen too.
The 11th song, aka the bonus track, is a cover of the classic Twisted Sister tune “Stay Hungry.” A personal favorite, Denied, amp it up a couple notches … the song features double bass drumming and a variant to the lead solo break, the band really energizes the song … it follows the original composition and is a nice way to close Freedom of Speech.
The main take away from Freedom of Speech is your senses will be assaulted. This album is heavy, offering listeners no respite from beginning to end; it is a true metallic journey.
Genre: Heavy Metal, Power Metal
Band:
Andreas Carlsson – Vocals & Rhythm Guitar.
Chris Vowden – Lead Guitar
Fredde Isaksson – Bass
Pete Dolls – Drums
Special guests: Johan Fahlberg, Chris Laney (Pretty Maids), Fredrik Folkare (Unleashed, Firespawn), Andreas Larsson, Madde Svärd
Track Listing:
01. Alive
02. Don´t You Know Me (featuring Chris Laney)
03. Scarred Soul
04. Domestic War
05. The Other Side
06. The Ferryman (featuring Andreas Larsson)
07. The Devil In Me
08. Three Degrees Of Evil
09. False Truth
10. Freedom Of Speech (featuring Madde Svärd)
11. Stay Hungry (bonus track)
Label: Sliptrick Records
Official Websites:
www.deniedworld.com
www.facebook.com/deniedworld
Hardrock Haven rating: 
(8.5 / 10)
