Rough Edge: The Haunted CD Reviews

THE HAUNTED

"The Haunted Made Me Do It (Earache)

The Haunted features three ex-members of At The Gates so right off the bat you know you're in for very explosive and very aggressive metal. The Haunted benefit from their previous experience and their poised approach blends the Gothenburg sound with the finest strains of metal's classic riffs.

So what does The Haunted's sophomore effort have to offer? For starters, "The Haunted Made Me Do It" starts off with a killer intro instrumental called "Dark Intentions" and continues through another ten songs as though it was the perfect blend of In Flames and Soilwork. Also, "The Haunted Made Me Do It" is slightly more aggressive and brutal than The Haunted's debut which in this case isn't any better or worse - just different.

There are plenty of songs that fit the melodic death metal description: "Victim Iced" and "Bury Your Dead" are a couple off the top of my head that fit that description aptly. However, it's songs like "Under The Surface" and "The World Burns" that really begin to stretch the melodic death metal sound into something palatable for the larger populace of heavy music fans. The new vocalist has a more up-to-date melodic death growling style than the previous singer.

Fans of Soilwork would find something to like in The Haunted. And don't just take my word for it: given the fact that I'm seeing a lot of The Haunted t-shirts lately when I go to concerts means that metal fanatics are liking what they hear as well.

"The Haunted Made Me Do It" was produced by The Haunted. The cover artwork features photos of serial killers Ed Gein and Jeffrey Dahmer among other assorted psychotic sickos - nice!

The Haunted are Mark Aro on vocals, Anders Bjorler on guitars, Patrik Jensen on guitars, Jonas Bjorler on bass, and Per Moller Jensen on drums.

For more information visit http://www.earache.com.

Rating Guide:

A classic. This record will kick your ass.

Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.

So-so. You've heard better.

Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.

Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.

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