The Haunted – Versus
When vocalist Peter Dolving returned to Swedish melodic death metal band The Haunted in 2003, the band switched gears on future albums, utilizing more clean vocals and slower melodies. It worked well with 2004’s rEVOLVEr, but the band’s last album, The Dead Eye, took much of the thrash elements away from their sound. The emphasis on experimenting with their core sound was a courageous, if at times flawed, design choice. With Versus, their sixth studio album, The Haunted has returned to their post-thrash roots, mixed with the melodic sections from The Dead Eye, to mixed results.
The first half of the album is an aggressive slab of metal, with tracks “Pieces” and “Little Cage” sounding like B-Sides from The Haunted. Opener “Moronic Colossus” is quite the catchy number, even though the chorus is idiotic in principle. Once the album hits “Skuld,” Versus pulls a 180 and becomes a slow and lumbering beast, with Dolving’s clean vocals taking the spotlight. The ferocity is still under the surface, with “Crusher” being one of the fastest songs in the band’s career, but The Haunted backs off on the speed and focuses on creating an intense listening experience. It works well for the band, but the track listing could have better separated the melodic and heavy tracks, as to not put all of the latter in the front end of the album.
Dolving’s vocals are good, with the same solid range he had on display in The Dead Eye, but guitarists Jensen and Björler disappoint with a lack of variety and creativity, especially in the lead department. Only a few riffs really stood out for me; really a shame, considering Björler seemed to be filled with them when he was a part of At The Gates and the earlier Haunted albums. The rhythm section is barely noticeable, sticking with basic patterns, not deviating too far from the formula.
Versus starts out strong, but putters along during the second half for a lackluster conclusion (”Imperial Death March”). There are some strong tracks throughout the album and even the second half has a few winners scattered about (”Crusher,” “Rivers Run), but Versus just feels like a retreat to the glory days, something The Haunted didn’t need to do after the progression of The Dead Eye.
Rating: 6.5
Label: Century Media
Website: http://www.myspace.com/thehaunted
(+15 rating, 3 votes)
Peter Dolving is shit. There, I said it.
The Haunted used to be amazing, with their last good record being Made Me Do It.
Oh well, least we can catch a glimpse of their old stuff when we go see them for funsies!
These guys got the skills but lack the balls to make quality Metal music, instead they would prefer to get MTV2 and Hot Topic interest. The Haunted is like a son whom doesn’t slap his bitches.. They’re dead to me.
Fuck the haunted bring back at the gates