The Haunted Albums (6)
What The Critics Say
2009's Warning Shots compiles the first five years of the Haunted's career; a period when the Swedish quintet helped spearhead a mostly European neo-thrash movement that brought a modern perspective to the original '80s template, and effectively preceded the next wave of exceedingly copycat, so called "vintage" thrashing bands of the late '00s. Also, since the Haunted was fleshed out with three members of then-recently defunct At the Gates -- guitarist Anders Björler, bassist Jonas Björler, and drummer Adrian Erlandsson -- after being founded by Seance guitarist Patrik Jensen, it wasn't at all surprising that they then drafted a true character in their singer, ex-Mary Beats Jane member Peter Dolving. Dolving's barking, almost hardcore-based style may have been completely different from the savage howling of ATG frontman Tomas Lindberg, but its fist-to-the-jaw directness was a perfect fit for the pulverizing, no-fuss thrashers driving the group's eponymous debut, including choice representatives here, "Hate Song," "Undead," and "In Vein." Fans and critics largely seemed to agree, but the Haunted experienced serious personnel issues almost immediately. First it was Erlandsson, who rather bewilderingly quit the group the very next year, donned corpse paint, and joined cartoon black metal band Cradle of Filth; but the ensuing departure of the mercurial Dolving to launch a short-lived band of his own was arguably even more challenging for the then still fledgling Haunted to cope with. His replacement was former Face Down vocalist Marco Aro, who certainly lacked Dolving's peculiar personality and lyric-writing quirks, but also helped the Haunted settle down after the potentially disorienting lineup issues, while establishing his presence on the next two albums with a fuller, more death-like, growling attack. And despite these fundamental differences, the way Warning Shots presents its tracks non-chronologically helps to dispel any listener misconception that the Haunted went through some kind of radical musical transformation in the process, when, in fact, both Aro and new drummer Per M. Jensen simply gave their original goals continuity. 2000's sophomore The Haunted Made Me Do It saw only minor deviations from the debut's Spartan bludgeoning, via the Slayer-esque intro "Dark Intentions," and melodically charged moshers like "Trespass" and "Hollow Ground"; while 2003's longer in-the-works One Kill Wonder heightened the brutality and the songwriting focus with the outlandishly frantic title track and "Everlasting," plus the admittedly ATG-like "Shadow World." Not content with sticking to the basics, Warning Shots presents a second disc featuring 12 additional tracks, between live highlights from 2001's Live Rounds in Tokyo and the better demos for and B-sides left over from these three album sessions. Among them, the most compelling are probably the One Kill Wonder Japanese bonus cut "Creed," a wonderfully frenzied cover of Candlemass' "Well of Souls," and the demo for "Undead," which, as the band suggests, easily tops the final album version. This retrospective ends here because, as fans are well aware, Marco Aro decided to leave the Haunted after their third album, having become increasingly disenchanted with their extensive touring habits. Thus the door was opened for Peter Dolving's return -- just in time for the band's move to new label Century Media, where they carried on with great success and a consistent batch of releases that will surely require a summary of their own. Until then, Warning Shots is the place to start. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
In a year that both celebrated the Haunted's ten-year anniversary and the Björler brothers' triumphant reunion tour with legendary former group At the Gates (not to mention the usual distraction of singer Peter Dolving's motor-mouth press-baiting), it was especially important for the Swedish quintet's sixth album -- the provocatively named Versus -- to make a strong proclamation about their internal state of the union. This band unity had been called into question by some critics, in light of the controversial stylistic chances undertaken on 2006's opinion-polarizing The Dead Eye LP, and although Versus' title suggests an embattled mindset, fans would be foolhardy to expect the Haunted to panic, or devolve into their original, one-dimensional neo-thrashing ways anytime soon. Instead, hard-charging onslaughts like opener "Moronic Colossus," the metalcore-tinged "Little Cage," the riff-mongering "Ceremony" (which sounds like a Trouble song at double speed), and the Pantera-influenced "Crusher" always make room for varying tempos and darkly seductive melodies -- even while they ripple and throb with a rekindled sense of urgency. And when the band does decide to push the envelope again, the results are anything but reckless, as though departures like "Pieces" (with its somber, doom-like middle section), "Skuld" (with its muted yet haunting atmospherics), and "Iron Mask" (a foreboding stoner rock groove) were carefully considered in the rehearsal room, long before making it onto tape. Sure, there are also a few misfires within the bunch, including the dated alternative metal of "Rivers Run," the aesthetically detached closing collage "Imperial Death March," and an oddly tectonic plate-themed tandem in "Trenches" and "Faultline" -- which are imminently forgettable. All things considered, though, Versus offers resoundingly positive answers to most of the hot-button questions regarding the Haunted's internal well-being, and at least their immediate future, by giving their fans a balanced selection of the familiar and unfamiliar. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The return of original vocalist Peter Dolving before the Haunted's fourth album, rEVOLVEr, coincided with the respected Swedish metal band's first deliberate effort to break out of their heretofore self-imposed neo-thrash metal boundaries. But for those unadventurous fans who already bristled at that album's tentative forays "out of the box," their 2006 follow-up, The Dead Eye, may sound tantamount to stylistic treason. Here, token samples of the group's once dominant brisk thrashers (instantly recognizable thanks to their fast-picked notes, originating with Anders and Jonas Bjorler's legendary prequel band, At the Gates) like "The Medication," "The Shifter" and "The Stain" are exceptions, not the rule -- mere olive branches extended out of pity to those obstinate fans. The remainder of The Dead Eye (whose every track title stars with a "the" for some reason) finds the band trafficking in a variety of slower tempos (both "The Drowning" and "The Guilt Trip" get seriously doomy), experimenting with novel guitar textures (hear notions of Meshuggah, the Deftones and Isis in "The Cynic" and "The Failure"), and cutting Dolving loose to try all manner of singing approaches. Therefore, as well as his still-prevalent hardcore bark and ragged screams, you'll hear him actually sing over exceptionally memorable, big chorus numbers like "The Reflection" and "The Medusa," testing an uneasy baritone over portions of "The Flood," and delicately lending subdued melodies to "The Fallout," which is only less shocking than the song's accompanying piano and techno-industrial knick-knacks. Back on more familiar ground, the muscular yet fleet-fingered power-riffing of "The Prosecution" sounds like a tribute to Dimebag Darrell (for whose band, Damageplan, the Haunted were opening on that ill-fated final tour), but the song is still only remotely linked to the one-dimensional thrashings of yore. In summary, despite the occasional growing pains inherent in any bold effort to expand one's sound, The Dead Eye successfully extends the Haunted's tradition of quality music, if not their strictly neo-thrash tradition; in the end it's a good trade. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
"Privation of Faith Inc.," One Kill Wonder's opening instrumental track, overbearingly proves one thing: The Haunted worship at the altar of almighty thrash/speed metal kings Slayer. The clean, arpeggiated main riff swipes the sense of melody and tension from Slayer classic "Dead Skin Mask" and eventually merges into "Godpuppet," a two-minute blast furnace of speed riffing and manic drumming that would provide a nice set of curtains to match Reign in Blood's gore-stained furniture. Which isn't to say the Haunted's third chunk of wax is a blatant ripoff; cherry-picking the best aspects of one's influences and integrating them into such an entertaining, vicious, and well-written album such as One Kill Wonder isn't a crime, and it should be welcomed with open arms by any self-respecting fan of the genre. As expected, several songs, including "Downward Spiral" and the title track, possess the frantic, technical guitar riffery that adorned the finest work of At the Gates (whose former guitarist, Anders Bjorler, gets the majority of songwriting credit here); elsewhere, "Bloodletting" boasts the tense, midtempo groove of mid- to late-period Slayer and the conclusion to "D.O.A." nods to "Raining Blood" with a clashing cavalcade of cat-strangler guitar solos. The album also further separates the Haunted from their Swedish brethren, being too straightforward to be lumped in with the more progressive New Wave of Swedish Death Metal acts (i.e., In Flames, Hypocrisy, Dark Tranquillity, etc.). However, one question begs to be answered about One Kill Wonder: Is there a bad riff or a single wasted moment on the album? Not in the least -- it's lean, mean, and nasty. But there's also a ring of familiarity to it -- overall, it's not a drastic departure from its two brutally concise predecessors, The Haunted and The Haunted Made Me Do It. It's just business as usual, and the killing business is good. ~ John Serba, All Music Guide
'The Haunted Made Me Do It'
Release Date 10/23/2000
Tracks 6
Label Earache
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
With the group's second effort on Earache and after enlisting a new vocalist and drummer, the Haunted rise in status to a role on par with important metal groups such as Entombed, Carcass, and mid-'80s Metallica, carefully balancing the fine line between raw extremity and accessibility. The majority of the 11 songs on The Haunted Made Me Do It never venture too far into complex progressive territory and never take their extremity to excessive abandon while still keeping their music far more innovative and intense than any metal band recording for a major label in 2000. Staying true to the complex and intense tendencies of underground metal without being too inaccessible isn't an easy task (only a small handful of metal bands have ever done it, and even fewer for more than one album). The Haunted seem to understand this balance well: their songs average around three to four minutes in length, their vocals are nearly intelligible, their sparingly placed guitar solos never become masturbatory, and their songwriting never breaks too far away from traditional song structuring. Furthermore, the band's new vocalist, Marco Aro, gleams with charisma and possesses a unique style that can't be classified as growling, screaming, yelling, or singing, often fluctuating from one style to the other with ease. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the Haunted manage to bring a sense of melody to their songs that creeps into their choruses and bridges, bringing back memories of the mid-'80s when Metallica was an important group for similar reasons. Though time will ultimately tell whether or not this album proves to be as fresh as it tries to be, it seems to belong on the same pedestal as Entombed's Wolverine Blues, Carcass' Heartwork, and Metallica's Master of Puppets -- albums that crossed over from the underground without compromising their integrity. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
While sacrificing none of the ear-splitting intensity of the band members' past work in At the Gates, Haunted's self-titled debut further hones the melodic approach of records like Slaughter of the Soul; for all of the ferocity of cuts like "Chasm," "Blood Rust," and "Forensick," there's no denying their complexity and craftsmanship. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
