Up next is another rewind review of one of my favorite bands. The band that I’m putting back on the chopping block is The Haunted and this is one that I’ve been looking forward to for a while so with that let’s take a look………
The Haunted- ah yes it’s been a number of years since I’ve listened to this album. I actually forgot how thrash-y this one is. Now I know people like to say that they’re influenced by Slayer, but if you really listen to this one, it’s less of a Slayer inspired album and more in the vein of say a band like Dark Angel. Either way this is a great start and if it’s been a while since you’ve listened to it go back because this album is awesome.
Previous Score: 9/10
New Score: 9/10
Standouts: Forensick, Bullet Hole, In Vein
The Haunted Made Me Do It- so here, original vocalist Peter Dolving is replaced by Marco Aro and his vocals are more guttural. This one goes back to that Gothenburg sound that you heard on Slaughter Of The Soul. No this isn’t where that album left off but it is a great record. Again it had been awhile since I’ve actually listened to this from start to finish and I must say that I forgot how great this album is plus how cool is the name?? I mean come on!!
Previous Score: 9.5/10
New Score: 10/10
Standouts: Silencer, Under The Surface, Human Debris
Live Rounds In Tokyo- ok so this was included on a Mixed Bag Review but I thought I’d include it here. As the name says, this is a live album during The Haunted Made Me Do It tour and this is hands down one of the best live albums. The mix on it is really good and the band sounds amazing. Now there is also another live album from this era called Live In Malmo and another called Road Kill (released during the Versus era) but out of the three, this is their best one. It really does a good job of capturing their live shows and I very highly recommend this album!!
Previous Score: 10/10
New Score: 10/10
Standouts: Chasm, Choke Hold, Three Times
One Kill Wonder- if you read certain reviews on certain Swedish metal albums, some will say that “this is the album that should’ve come out after Slaughter Of The Soul” or whatever, this right here is the album. This isn’t really a mixture of the first two albums but it’s also not something entirely new. What it does is it takes everything and dials it up to 11. Like this is a top 10 album for me. I freaking love this album!! The best way to describe this album is that it’s a freaking roller coaster. It starts off with some weird noise stuff, goes right into the opening track and doesn’t really let up until the album’s conclusion. Sure it does slow down but for 45 minutes this album just pummels you and honestly I can’t say enough great things about it. It’s dark, brutal, and the lyrics are about serial killers and anti religion all things that I love and want in my metal
Previous Score: 10/10
New Score: 10/10
Standouts: God Puppet, Downward Spiral, Urban Predator
rEVOLVEr- ok so Peter Dolving is back on vocals and this one picks up right where the self titled left off. Now this was my introduction to this band and I wore the hell out of my CD. Going back to this again, it still has the same impact that it had when I first started listening to these guys. It’s definitely back to the thrash sound and less of the death metal sound but what’s cool about this band is that you can listen to this one and the self titled back to back and it flows just like you can with the other two.
Previous Score: 10/10
New Score: 10/10
Standouts: No Compromise, Fire Alive, Nothing Right
The Dead Eye- picture this, you become a new fan of a band and they’ve put out two perfect albums back to back. Now you get the chance to order the newest album (from Sweden no less) and you pop it into your CD player and while it starts off great then goes downhill. Well that’s what this happened here!! I don’t want to be too negative here but this album while darker, just isn’t as strong as the other albums released. Yes there are some great moments and I get it they wanted to try something new and a little different and while this one has its fans, I am not one of them. Listening to it again (haven’t listened since I did the original review) it’s maybe not as bad as I remember but still not as good as their previous albums.
Previous Score: 2/10
New Score: 2.5/10
Standouts: The Drowning, The Reflection
Versus- ok so while the last album was I guess more of them trying to be experimental, this one does go back to the aggressiveness. No it doesn’t pick up where rEVOLVEr left off and in fact it doesn’t have elements of The Dead Eye but I’d say it’s a little better than that album. It seems like they lost some of their edge when they made The Dead Eye because this one just doesn’t have as much of the aggression and brutality.
Previous Score: 2/10
New Score: 4/10
Standouts: Moronic Colossus, Trenches, Crusher
Warning Shots- ok so this is a compilation album from the Earache Records era. It’s songs from the first 3 albums and Live Rounds In Tokyo as well as bonus tracks from those albums and some demos from I guess when they were called Death & 1/2 (so glad they didn’t go with that name). It’s cool if you want to hear some demos and production rehearsal songs you can but it’s also kind of a nice get away if you aren’t a fan of the last two albums. If you’re a hardcore fan of this band, check it out of you’re curious. I’ll give it a 8/10
Standouts: Creed, Well Of Souls, Eclipse
Unseen- I don’t know what the hell they were thinking when they made this. They have this alternative metal sound going on here and it really isn’t that good. I think I said in my original review of this album but you’ve got members of At The Gates and Witchery and this is what you come up with???!!! I feel the same about this one as I did when I first heard it. This one and the last two albums aren’t unlistenable by any stretch but they don’t work as Haunted albums. I don’t know who had creative control of this album but even the single isn’t a Haunted song.
Previous Score: 0/10
New Score: 0/10
Exit Wounds- ok talk about a comeback album!! This one has Marco back on vocals and after the last three albums, he is definitely welcome back with open arms and then they release this monster of an album!!! It’s combines One Kill Wonder and Revolver beautifully and from start to finish this album kicks ass!! I remember being over in the UK when this came out and I could not stop listening to this album!! It’s so damn good that I remember thinking “yes this band is back!!!”
Previous Score: 10/10
New Score: 10/10
Standouts: Cutting Teeth, Infiltrator, Time (Will Not Heal)
Strength In Numbers- I would say that this one is probably a little slower than the previous album, but I’ve always said that I would take Marco doing a slow Haunted album any day over Peter doing a slow Haunted album. That’s not to say that I don’t like how Peter sings or that I think he’s a terrible vocalist. That’s not it at all. All I’m simply saying is that it there just seems to be more of a brutality and an aggression when Marco does the slower albums. It does have some faster songs but overall it’s just slower and I guess more crushing. Definitely a very worthy follow up.
Previous Score: 8/10
New Score: 9/10
Standouts: Means To An End, Spark, Tighten The Noose
Songs Of The Last Resort- At the time of writing this review, today is the day that this album drops and I must say that (while it seemed like forever) this was ABSOLUTELY worth the wait!!! If you’re a fan of the last two records, then you will absolutely love this record. You can clearly tell that this band had a great time writing this record and it definitely mixes old with new. I’ve probably listened to it about four maybe five times and it has not gotten old and this will definitely be on rotation for a long time. I honestly think that this is a contender for being my favorite release of 2025!! I’m definitely giving it a very solid 8/10
Standouts: Death To The Crown, Unbound, Letters Of Last Resort
This was absolutely one of my favorite rewind reviews to do because in spite of some albums that aren’t as good as others, this is a badass band and not all of their albums sound the same. I will say that in 2025, it’s a great time to be a fan of this band!! What makes this band special is that you can choose to listen to either vocalists albums and they kinda pickup where they left off. It’s really cool. I would also like to add that I’ve seen them both with Peter Dolving and Marco Aro live and they’ve always been great. Now hopefully they can make their way back to North America to do some damn touring!! All that aside, definitely check these albums out especially the new one!!
Final Grade: A/A+
Previous Album Rankings:
1. One Kill Wonder
2. Revolver
3. Self titled
4. Made Me Do It
5. Exit Wounds
6. Strength in Numbers
7. The Dead Eye
8. Versus
9. Unseen
New Album Rankings:
- One Kill Wonder
- The Haunted Made Me Do It
- Exit Wounds
- rEVOLVEr
- Strength In Numbers
- Live Rounds In Tokyo
- Songs Of The Last Resort
- The Haunted
- Warning Shots
- Versus
- The Dead Eye
- Unseen
Sinister Reviews 