Haunted [Original recording reissued]

The Haunted | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 6, 1998)
• Original Release Date: August 11, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued
• Label: Earache Records
• ASIN: B000007OZM
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #150,296 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A strong debut from the thrash revivalists, October 9, 2002

By 

Wheelchair Assassin (The Great Concavity) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Haunted (Audio CD)

Although the Haunted are from Sweden, you shouldn't let that fact fool you. The metal world may associate that country with death metal (be it melodic or otherwise), but the Haunted's self-titled debut is pure thrash. The album does contain catchy, melodic guitar work resembling that of Gothenburg bands like In Flames and Dark Tranquility, but the Haunted seem to find their inspiration elsewhere. With its lightning-fast riffs, hardcore vocals, and punkish energy, the Haunted's debut reminds me a great deal of American thrash classics like Metallica's "Kill 'Em All" and Anthrax's "Among the Living." Indeed, listening to this album can lead to the head banging, fast driving, and devil-sign making that it seems only good thrash metal can produce.

Musically, the Haunted have one of the tightest sounds around. This is far from the heaviest music I've heard, but what the Haunted lack in heaviness they more than make up for in speed, enthusiasm, and precision. With technical wankery kept to a minimum, the guitar team of Jensen and Anders Bjorler focuses on creating the catchy harmonies characteristic of the "Swedish Sound." From the back, Adrian's frenetic drumming pushes the songs relentlessly forward to near warp speed, while Jonas Bjorler's bass thumps along in the background. Dolving's hardcore vocals have been done better before (see Pantera, "Vulgar Display of Power"), but he still does a commendable of job of ripping his larynx to keep up the intensity level. It's too bad he didn't get at least one more album with the band to show what he could do (not that his replacement isn't good; he is).

Admittedly, the song structures on the album are pretty uniform. There are no lengthy progressive epics, no acoustic passages, no experiments with clean vocals (although the final track is spoken-word). The Haunted generally play at three speeds: fast, faster, and fastest. However, it's nice to see that they place their focus firmly on the songs, where it should be. As AC/DC have proven many times over the past quarter-century, music doesn't have to be especially complex to be enjoyable. Much like their colleagues the Crown, the Haunted play a brand of energetic thrash that is just a complete blast to listen to. The Haunted are a testament to how far strong musicianship and tight, focused songwriting can take a band. I highly recommend both their albums, and I hope to hear from them again soon.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An instant thrash metal classic, July 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Haunted (Audio CD)

"the haunted" won't score many points in the originality department, but with metal in the state it's in now, we don't need another Korn or modern Metallica clone. What we need is back to the basics in your face and ram it straight down your throat heavy friggin metal...And The Haunted delivers. Contained in the twelve tracks on this release is some of the most ferocious riffage the metal community has had to endure since the good old days of the late eighties. I'm talkin' from the rip roaring speeeeed of classic Slayer to the upper mid-paced gallop along moshing not heard since the last really good Exodus record. The Haunted has it all. You can hear different aspects of all the great bands we know and still love, and the music is delivered with such intensity and downright bombast that if you weren't a fan of the old school, you'd swear that this was a brand new craze destined for legendary status. Vocal delivery is very Phil Anselmo like (fine by me, since Pantera helped put really heavy music back on the charts, no matter what you may think about them) in it's downright spiteful, "i'll beat your face" vernacular. And the riffing... Heaven's to betsy... fast and crushing with a great production that brings every bone breaking note home with clarity and cleanness. These guys are so tight when they play fast. Unlike predecessors At the Gates, who had more of an Entombed like guitar sound, The Haunted abandon that distinctive Swedish tone for more of the classic Bay Area brawling made famous by Testament and Exodus. There is literally no time to rest while listening to this. At a time when metal has been highlighted by the extremes of hip hop rap at one end and inarticulate cookie monster growling at the other, the metal spectrum has been torched alight by The Haunted. This CD is the stuff, ranking right up there with all the classics in your collection. Originality does not always mean quality, and The Haunted are not ripping anybody off anyway; what they have done is simply crank out a modern day sonic blast of the metal I began to love many years ago, and they have done it with a style and ruthlessness that will not be matched any time soon, except maybe by the masters whom the Haunted obviously adore as well.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Out of the gate(s), May 11, 2005

By 

cosmokane31 (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Haunted (Audio CD)

This debut album from At the Gates alumni should have been called "Out of the Gate." Opener "Hate Song" explodes out of the speakers with minimal fuss and maximal fury, and the rest of the album never looks back. Peter Dolving's vocals are hardcore-influenced and somewhat monochromatic, but they fuel the astonishing energy here. A strong Slayer influence pervades; at times, the band's roots peek through with trademark Swedish melodies. The band's later releases with Marco Aro are more polished, with better songwriting. But for sheer impact, it's hard to top this.