This band has a very interesting history and that band is The Haunted. To say that this band is inconsistent would be an understatement. These guys have had so many ups and downs that this one will be an interesting review. The lineup has members of At the Gates and Witchery so what could possibly go wrong. Well let’s take a look.
The Haunted: their first album is definitely a thrash metal album. In fact you can tell these guys were influenced by bands like Slayer and a Dark Angel. This lineup consisted of 3 members of At the Gates and one of the guitar players from the band Witchery. Very raw sounding but very thrashy and Peter Dolving’s vocals are badass. I give it a solid 9/10
Standouts: Bullet Hole, Hate Song, Forensick
The Haunted Made Me Do It- for their second album, we already get a major lineup change. Gone is vocalist Peter Dolving and replaced with Marco Aro and drummer Adrian Erlandsson is gone only to be replaced by Per Möller Jensen. Marco is a very different vocalist than Peter because Peter sang and Marco’s voice is that of a death metal vocalist. Regardless, this is an absolute classic album and the songs are more refined and focused. The opening is awesome however, this album does have a good amount of filler. I give this one 9.5/10
Standouts: Dark Intentions/Bury Your Dead, Human Debris, Trespass
One Kill Wonder- now this is a Haunted album. This is one of those albums where every song is just badass. It’s what a proper death/thrash metal should be and another absolute classic. For this album these guys really were at the top of their game. This even has a guest solo from Michael Amott (Arch Enemy) on the closing track and the expanded edition has a badass cover from Candlemass too. Sadly, this would be the last album with Marco on vocals for awhile. For awhile, Anders Björler left the band and was briefly replaced by Marcus Sunnesson of The Crown. Hands down my personal favorite from them I give it a perfect 10/10.
Standouts: Godpuppet, Urban Predator, Shithead
Revolver- Peter Dolving is back on vocals on this one having replaced Marco this album is badass from start to finish. It definitely has more thrash to it and less death metal but this one and the one before it are two of the best albums from these guys. Plus having a slot on Ozzfest 2005 helped get these guys more exposure which is how I heard of them. Overall a great record and a good place to start if you’re just getting into these guys. Another perfect 10/10
Standouts: 99, Smut King, Fire Alive
The Dead Eye- well the last two albums were killer so it would make sense that their next album should be a slam dunk right? Wrong. The opening track starts off really strong but then disappoints. The vocals from Peter are terrible and as Casey Murphy puts it best borderline emo. I remember I preordered this album and popped it in the CD player and so let down. I fact they should’ve called this album The because every song title has the word the in it. What a shame. Im struggling to give this one a 2/10 and I’m being generous.
Standouts: The Drowning (that’s it)
Versus- the next album is only slightly better than the one before it. It seems as if Dolving is taking control of the band and causing them to going a softer/weirder direction much like his solo band. Here we are starting to see a decline in consistency. This one gets 2/10
Standouts: Trenches (that’s it)
Unseen- well the last two albums weren’t very good but hey that doesn’t mean that the next one can’t be good right? Wrong. This is the only album by these guys that I didn’t go out and purchase. At this point they were starting to lose me as a fan. It’s hard to believe that this is the same band who wrote alb7ms like One Kill Wonder and the same singer who sang on Revolver. Seriously what the hell was even going on here? This is such a departure that it doesn’t even feel like a Haunted album. It’s more of a Peter Dolving solo effort. If I could give this negative points I would but I definitely give this one 0/10
Standouts: about 20 seconds of the first song Never Better but that’s it
Fast forward to 2013 and founding guitar player Anders Björler, Per Möller Jensen (drummer), and vocalist Peter Dolving all leave the band which leaves Patrik Jensen (guitar) and Jonas Björler (bass) left. So instead of breaking up, they reform the band bringing Adrian Erlandsson back on drums, Marco Aro back on vocals, and new guy Ola Englund (Six Feet Under) on guitar. The new lineup gave us….
Exit Wounds- now this is a comeback album. After the dismal album that was Unseen, they give us this awesome, badass album. It’s hard, fast, angry, and brutal. I know for me personally, this came out when I was in England and I listened to this non stop. This is a prime example of a comeback album. A perfect 10/10.
Standouts: Cutting Teeth, Time (Will Not Heal), Infiltrator
Strength in Numbers- the follow up to a great album is always hard but The Haunted pulled it off. While not as strong as the last album this is still a damn good album. My only hope is that they tour the states with this record. I’ll give it 8/10
Standouts: Brute Force, Spark, Preachers of Death
Overall, this is a band with more good albums than bad ones and one of the few I almost gave up on. Seeing them live even with Dolving was always fun because they’d play their hits. Now this isn’t to say that Peter Dolving is a bad vocalist. In fact he is a very good vocalist my only hope is that he doesn’t return back to the band because I feel,like they have two great albums with Marco back in the band and have made 3 not very good albums with Peter. Some may like those albums but I don’t and I think that if you want to check this band out, those albums are easily skip able.
Final Grade: A
Rankings for The Haunted :
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
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