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The Haunted: Versus

25/09/08 || Euthanatos

Ah, The Haunted. They had it all, didn’t they? Former members of At the Gates, a killer debut and a follow-up that would become a classic. While “One Kill Wonder” disappointed some, it still had some great material, mainly one of my Haunted faves, “Shithead”. Then came “rEVOLVEr”. Peter Dolving came back into the fold, to the delight of many, but surprisingly, people would be missing Marco Aro really fast. It seems Dolving brought with him a lot of different influences, making The Haunted sound melodic and, well, gay. Still, it wasn’t a total loss (to me it was, but I mean for everyone else). “The Dead Eye” was when everything truly went to shit, and what had begun in “One Kill Wonder” as a simply mishap, we then realized was just the first step into total degradation and bullshit. I don’t think I’ve ever been so disappointed by an album. Ever.

So what makes me want to review “Versus”? I don’t really know. Maybe it’s just like when you’re watching a reality tv show. I just want to see what happens next. Mankind is twisted and obscene, and hey, I’m no different. In my sick little mind, I’m curious enough to know just how much suck can the Haunted pull off. Apparently, not even the sky is the limit.

I’ll be completely fucking honest here, just to get it out of the way; “Versus” is actually better than “The Dead Eye”. Is that saying much? No, it’s just like saying “Death Magnetic” is better than “St. Anger”. Whoop-tee-do, crap is better than shit, can I have my cookie now?

Do not expect the The Haunted riffs of the past, or their lightning fast thrash riffs or anything that remotely resembles the band from “The Haunted Made Me Do It”. What you get here is a progression started in “The Dead Eye” of mezzo-industrial-melodic-we’re-trying-real-hard-to-be-hip-but-just-sounding-like-faggots type of rock. Because this isn’t metal. Rock is as far as I’ll go. If this is metal, then Slipknot also is. What do you think? To each his own, but Slipknot is a good comparison, actually. A lot of moments, like on the opener “Moronic Colossus” and on “Little Cage”, the Swedes really do resembles the Iowans. Iowites. Iowaoioans. Fuck. The masked maggots, you know.

But, like I said, this is actually a little bit better than their previous release. It seems there’s less experimenting, they’ve found what they’ve wanted to do and capitalize on that. There are solid hooks, Dolving’s vocals are truly varied and sound and the production pulls no punches.

What it all comes down to is the logo on the album cover. It’s the everlasting curse of changing your style mid-career. You can make divine albums, like The Gathering and Anathema went on to do, or you can become total horse shit, like Metallica and The Kovenant. Does it take away from your legacy or make you less of an artist? Will fans forgive an embrace you or do you have to build a completely different following? Again, you tell me. I think opinions are mixed on this.

So I’ll tell you this much; as an album from a random band, hell, suppose this is their sophomore after an atrocious first album, I’d rate this something like a 6, or even a 7 out of 10. As a The Haunted album? Fuck me sideways, it sucks balls.

The cover: Blood. I hope it’s from Peter Dolving’s nose.

4 once great acts, now gay fags out of 10.

Information
Released: 2008
Label: Century Media
Website: www.the-haunted.com
Band
Peter Dolving: vocals
Anders Björler: lead guitars
Patrik Jensen: rhythm guitars
Jonas Björler: bass
Per Möller Jensen: drums, percussion

Tracklist
01. Moronic Colossus
02. Pieces
03. Little Cage
04. Trenches
05. Ceremony
06. Skuld
07. Crusher
08. Rivers Run
09. Iron Mask
10. Faultline
11. Imperial Death March

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