Sound: Some say Death Unlimited is Norther's best album. A lot heavier than Mirror of Madness, almost every song starts with a blast of guitars and drums and synth. It makes for great head banging metal. There's less of an epic feel to DU but I don't think that makes it worse; Norther show themselves as more professional than before; the songs are more focused towards a single sound and you can tell the band knows where it's going. It's darker, but still catchy in most parts, blending death/thrash with melody similar to Mirror of Madness but better. // 9
Lyrics and Singing: Norther's lyrics have always been good but never great. You can't say they're bad because there's nothing wrong with them. My only complaint is that they never change, constantly referencing to angst and loneliness. The upside of angry music is that it's easy to relate to for just about anyone, but it can't score in the depth department. Lindroos, however, does a good job at delivering the lyrics and that's what counts. Ranta also has some good clean vocal sections that add greatly to Norther's quality. // 8
Impression: The whole band contributes to the songwriting and that deserves mentioning. There's something boring and predictable about bands that constantly have this one guy doing everything. If you look at the back of the lyrics pamphlet each band member's name is mentioned more than once for his input in the songs. What if Finntroll loses Trollhorn? What if Iced Earth loses Schaffer? Trouble, my friends. Trouble. Norther shows that each member is worth his weight. It may be because of this division of labour that every track on DU is excellent. There is not one song that is not worth listening to. The guitar and keyboard solos are also impressive, I highly recommend this album. // 9
