Customer Reviews

Versus

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Haunted - Versus = Ah, if you loved The Haunted for their first few in your face thrash metal releases, then you won't like this cd much. However, I think this cd has the potential to be a really commercially big release for them (especially amongst the Hot Topic crowd). The material is recorded really well. The guitar sound is awesome, and Peter Dolving (Vocals) is really confident and great in his delivery. However, for me, the stuff is way too mid-paced, and the songs are more akin to heavy rock like that of Tool and not the all out thrash assault that was The Haunted. So, if you're into heavy rock that's recorded really well, with great vocal delivery, and catchy, hooky riffs, then this cd is perfect for you. If you love the thrash assault of the first few Haunted cd's, then you'll dislike this.

I have finally taken The Haunted's new album for a few spins and I'm glad I did. Now I can forget that they released The Dead Eye. The Dead Eye was one of those albums that I wanted to like... I really did want to like it, mostly because rEVOLVEr was so damn good. I kept listening to The Dead Eye, over and over and I could never get into it. Versus however is a different story. From first listen I could tell this was a different album. I think what makes this album better is the tempo. I expect The Haunted to come out and punch you in the gut from the first note to the last, which is exactly what they do here. They kept the tempo on this one up to a headbanging pace. My faith in The Haunted has been mostly restored.

This has really been an incredibly potent last couple of years for metal,with outstanding releases by numerous bands from Machine Head to Megadeth,and a bunch in between. After listening repeatedly to the new Metallica,feeling satisfied but not quite full, I searched for something to grab me by the onions from track one and refuse to let go. The Haunteds newest disc does just that,in an unrelenting, pounding and brutal sort of way,but also injecting some melody as well and not sounding like a hundred other bands,but fresh,potent,and exciting. This record is head and shoulders above Dead Eye,and right now is according to my most recent listening experience,better than revolver. The production is pretty crisp,not muddled like another reviewer put it,Peter Dolvings vocals have evolved tremendously over 2 albums,but the riffs...man the riffs! Its like these guys evoked guitar god spirits and just went nuts on the chords but man the riffs and hooks are just tasty,one right after the other. Where the Dead Eye suffered from few songs that failed to differentiate themselves from the others,there is a wide variety of different depths,grooves,and pummeling machine gun riffs to satisfy the most hungry metal madman. The disc starts off powerfully with the first track,and keeps building crescendo as it goes on,only letting up around track eight but just a little...then bam it hooks you in carrying you screaming until the brutal end. In simple terms,this is an excellent disc,and only one of a few that I can say I have listened to more than once,from beginning to end,and didnt even think about the FF button. Other discs of that ilk would be the new Soulfly,Gojira,and yes friends,the new Metallica. Past gems are Dry Kill Logic,of Vengeance and Violence,Arch Enemy,Rise of the Tyrant, Machine Heads the Blackening, Mastodon's Blood Mountain...someone shoot me I forgot the new Slipknot! So you see my friends its turning out to be a glorious time for metal,and there are a plethora of extremely talented bands to whet your appetite, Versus just happens to be one kicka@# band whose new release is quite simply,EXCELLENT. Give it a listen and you will be glad you did.

i've always been a big fan of the haunted. but not when mark was singing. i got to say i love peter's singing and screaming so much and the band is just so sic. when i got revolver i couldn't stop listening to it, and the same with the dead eye, i liked every song and it never really left the cd player. and now with versus i'm back in the same mood again, but this time the cd is only 40mins long so i find myself starting it right over again as soon as its over.
p.s. i also love the very first the haunted to, HATE SONG!!!!

I am the kind of person who liked the style of their last album "The Dead Eye".
This album continues the same format, however it is more heavy and bad ass than the last.
From the first track Moronic Colossus, to the last, this CD kicks you in the face and leaves you wanting more.
This is album is a must have in your collection.

To best describe Versus, it's like the ugly triplet to rEVOLVEr and The Dead Eye. rEVOLVEr was thrashy, but with pretty of room for slower tempos, and Dead Eye was more experimental to say the least. Versus kind of goes back to the style of the first two albums: short & sweet, edgy, in your face, rabid, and energetic. It was also the first album The Haunted recorded live since their debut, so it has some of the same feel of that album, but with better production. Basically, there's three kinds of Haunted fans: ones that like Peter Dolving's vocals, but can't stand Marco Aro's, ones that like Marco, but not Peter, and ones that like both vocalists. If you're a fan that has heard all of the band's albums and it doesn't matter to you whose vocals were on them, or if you prefer Pete's, then you may obviously like this one.

I give this offering a solid 4 stars, but it is not rated down for the band or playing...it is for the production. In my opinion it sounds very muddled with no real definition between the instruments. It is definitely better than their last CD but not quite on par with "rEVOLVEr". Peter Dolvings voacals are VERY brutal and the anger is very much back. It is a no brainer....this NEEDS to be in your collection!!!

First off I can't believe no one has written a review yet. As a fan of The Haunted this album is another success in progress. Even though my rating shows 5 stars I feel that this album is a solid 4 1/2 stars. Amazon doesn't allow the half star rating and "Versus" is above a 4 star rating. The production is better, the guitar work is catchy and the range of Peter Dolving vocals is phenomenal. If you like the style of "Revolver" you will enjoy this listen. Go out and buy. I'm not sure why but as of this morning itunes still does not offer this album. I picked my up at Bestbuy.

I read somewhere that this new album was going to be more like "Old Haunted," due to the At The Gates tour, and this may have had an influence on everyone. Really???? Then what happened? As far as I'm concerned, this is a 5 song EP. The first 5 songs are ok, not great Haunted.....just ok. The rest can be forgotten. I'm a bigger fan of Marco's vocals, but I still like their self-titled album, Revolver and even Dead Eye looks great compared to this. I wanted to blame it on the return of Dolving, but the music doesn't even have the old Haunted style I love. I still bought it, and I've been trying, but it just isn't doing it for me. I love The Haunted.....I just wish they would produce something like Made Me Do It, or One Kill Wonder again.