Haunted

Being rooted in the ashes of seminal, enormously influential Swedish death metal/melodeath band At The Gates, The Haunted have a lot to live up to. (The Bjorler brothers, guitarist Anders and bassist Jonah, and drummer Adrian Erlandsson were all members of ATG.) That aside, however, The Haunted are first-and-foremost a true thrash band. Their guitar duo (comprised of Patrik Jensen and the above-mentioned Anders Bjorler) always make it all sound so easy as they throw-out gobs of inventive and excellent, modern thrash riffage, intricate leads, and occasional solos. Erlandsson and bassist Jonah (Bjorler) comprise the rhythm section, and consistently come up with steady grooves for the rest of the band to shatter into little pieces. Vocalist Peter Dolving tops it all off with his vehement, hardcore-inflected vocals that frequently sound quite reminiscent of Pantera's Phil Anselmo. So, overall, The Haunted (and The Haunted's self-titled, 1998 debut) are part Slayer, part Pantera, and part At The Gates.The record opens in strong-enough fashion, with a killer one-two punch in the form of the vicious adrenaline surge that is the opener, "Hate Song" (which features a catchy, hardcore-ish shout of "hate!" that is sure to get the mosh pit going), and the ripping "Chasm," which is reportedly a staple in The Haunted's live show, and features irresistibly rhythmic, chug and churn riffs, a memorable chorus, and a couple of guitar solos. And although not quite as irresistible as the above, the rest of the album does not disappoint, either. "In Vein" is a crushing deluge of crunching guitars, and is offset by some more melodic choruses. (But this is far from being a metalcore song.) "Undead" continues the blistering onslaught, with dynamic yet excellent riffage, and blazing solos. Another stirring chorus is included, here, too, as are some chunky, groove-oriented breakdowns."Choke Hold" has a great, contagious groove that is easy to latch onto and headbang along with, thus evoking Pantera's halcyon days. And the song ends in true Phil Anselmo fashion, too, with some ominous, spoken-word vocals. "Three Times" is another onslaught of crushing riffage played at barreling speeds; and its successor, "Bullet Hole," is a steady beating that is equally as heavy, with its crunchy, chunked-up guitar chops. "Now You Know," however, is a manic and face-ripping speedster powered by excellent, machine gun drumming, and while the guitarists effortlessly trade-off ferocious, buzzsaw riff collages.The Haunted continue tearing through subsequent onslaughts such as the inexorable "Shattered" (which is a breakneck tornado of guitar noise), the scorching, rip-roaring, and rocket-propelled "Soul Fracture"; and "Blood Rust," which is a groove metal anthem with muscular bass work that compliments the tune's crunchy licks well (and ends by letting rip a guitar solo). The set closes in surprising fashion, though, as "Forensick" is an absolutely bone-chilling closing soundscape with creepy whispers and spoken-word passages and minimalistic noise. The song eventually evolves into catchy, aggressive, headbangable territory, though.Overall, "The Haunted" (the album) is very exhilarating, blistering, promising, potential-filled, and most importantly entertaining -- all of which are traits that make this a very strong debut from these Swedish thrash metal revivalists.

I like their riffs. Thrashy and melodic

Pure rage, and just that..no dungeons and dragons or Satanic theatrics..nothing wrong with those either when done right.. but this is plain angry to the point speed/thrash metal done right. Heavy Slayer and Pantera influence.

angry and great!

Excellent!!!

Overall, a decent album. But, my recommendation would be to buy their latest album first, "The Haunted Made Me Do It".....The Haunted's self-titled debut is good, yes...... but it does get very oooolllddd..... the songs tend to sound the same... all very fast, very brutal, etc.... an exception is the masterpiece "in vain".... that song is almost worth the price of the album, and were it not for the inclusion of this song, i would've rated this 2 stars...

Although the Haunted are from Sweden, you shouldn't let that fact fool you. The metal world may associate that country with death metal (be it melodic or otherwise), but the Haunted's self-titled debut is pure thrash. The album does contain catchy, melodic guitar work resembling that of Gothenburg bands like In Flames and Dark Tranquility, but the Haunted seem to find their inspiration elsewhere. With its lightning-fast riffs, hardcore vocals, and punkish energy, the Haunted's debut reminds me a great deal of American thrash classics like Metallica's "Kill 'Em All" and Anthrax's "Among the Living." Indeed, listening to this album can lead to the head banging, fast driving, and devil-sign making that it seems only good thrash metal can produce.Musically, the Haunted have one of the tightest sounds around. This is far from the heaviest music I've heard, but what the Haunted lack in heaviness they more than make up for in speed, enthusiasm, and precision. With technical wankery kept to a minimum, the guitar team of Jensen and Anders Bjorler focuses on creating the catchy harmonies characteristic of the "Swedish Sound." From the back, Adrian's frenetic drumming pushes the songs relentlessly forward to near warp speed, while Jonas Bjorler's bass thumps along in the background. Dolving's hardcore vocals have been done better before (see Pantera, "Vulgar Display of Power"), but he still does a commendable of job of ripping his larynx to keep up the intensity level. It's too bad he didn't get at least one more album with the band to show what he could do (not that his replacement isn't good; he is).Admittedly, the song structures on the album are pretty uniform. There are no lengthy progressive epics, no acoustic passages, no experiments with clean vocals (although the final track is spoken-word). The Haunted generally play at three speeds: fast, faster, and fastest. However, it's nice to see that they place their focus firmly on the songs, where it should be. As AC/DC have proven many times over the past quarter-century, music doesn't have to be especially complex to be enjoyable. Much like their colleagues the Crown, the Haunted play a brand of energetic thrash that is just a complete blast to listen to. The Haunted are a testament to how far strong musicianship and tight, focused songwriting can take a band. I highly recommend both their albums, and I hope to hear from them again soon.

If The Haunted were to come from the Bay Area thrash scene during the 80s, they would be heralded in the "Big 5", along with Slayer, Megadeth, Metallica, and Anthrax. Not only does this cd blow away everything Metallica has ever done, this is heavier than pretty much every band to come out in the past few years, without resorting to metalcore wankery. So, if your deciding on getting an All that Remains or Heaven Shall Burn album, hit yourself over the head with a frying pan, and then get this when you wake up.Highly, highly approved.