Ice Vajal :: Music Land :: Metal World
 
editorial :: feedback :: newsletter ::  
   Bands :: A-Z / T / The Haunted /

On disc: The Haunted



- rEVOLVEr - Claudia Ehrhardt - 8 stars


www.the-haunted.com







Revolver

rEVOLVEr
(Century Media - 2004)


The Swedish start with No Compromise and there is no way to compromise for them! They play modern thash. Straight into your face. Fast drumming, heavy guitar riffing and some hardcore-influenced vocals by Peter Dolving. Yes, he's back. And ready to trash the place. Relentlessly they present their thrash metal. A simple neckbreaker is 99, only during the refrain they slow down an inch to give space for some guitar solo. Slowly Abysmal is beginning and surprisingly with clean vocals and guitar picking... But that's just kind of an intro. When the band joins in and they present a heavy, grooving mid-tempo rocker Dolving is screaming and shouting as if his life is depending on this. A very intense tune which offers some variety. Musically a bit closer to power metal, but the hateful vocals make it thrashy. The guitar soli would fit to one or the other power metal song... It's almost catchy. A real neckbreaker is Sabotage. This is more what you expect from the Swedish! More complex this time. They show that thrash not necessarily have to be fast... Well, they use breaks and mid-tempo parts to make it more interesting. Most obvious with All Against All which has some catchiness - almost commercial in a way - and will live be a killer! While Burnt To A Shell has in the beginning a certain vibe which remind me of some 80's metal track... Here they mix up slower parts with clean vocals - close to whispering - and thrashy parts with shouts. Mainly mid-tempo and really heavy, perhaps because they stay med-tempo.... The guitars are also 80's influenced and build an interesting counterpart to the screams. More technical then the more simple neckbreakers. But this rocks! Last, but not least My Shadow - a more then 7 minutes long up-tempo track with some kind of melody and catchiness. The slowest songs on the album... Dark and epic.... The atmosphere is almost frightning... Atypical for The Haunted. But as it's the last track, just switch off, if it's too soft for you. This is a quite relaxing, laid back tune... Even if the riffing is heavy, but also doomy. A real surprise! This one I wouldn't have expected from The Haunted! It shows that they aren't limited by genre boundries and that they have to guts to do what they want. Congratulations!
If the fans will love it... Well, not all fans of the Swedish thrashers, coz for some they will be too soft and too versatile. Others will arguement that this is what makes it interesting... Not an album just of wild guitar riffing and merciless vocals. A good album, but I can't recommend it to every modern thrash fan, listen to e.g. No compromise and to Burnt To A Shell and find out, if this is of your taste.


8 stars

Claudia Ehrhardt
 

up

           ©2008-2010 by Claudia Ehrhardt • E-Mail: contact@ice-vajal.com


Bands T