 THE
HAUNTED >> ONE KILL WONDER. 2003.As
far as metal goes, Slayer was left carrying the torch by themselves
for far too long. That's just too much weight to put on the band's
shoulders; after all, even the gods need relief. And how do you
spell relief? T-H-E H-A-U-N-T-E-D.
Five guys from Gothenberg, Sweden, coalesce with Earache Records to bring us One Kill Wonder, where The Haunted antes up with such powerful newcomers as In Flames and At The Gates to claim a stronghold on the resurgence of new school metal. I'm not talking about that face paint, costume, and theatric bullshit. I'm talking about grit-your-teeth-and-bang-your-balls-with-a-spiked-bat metal. And The Haunted wields that very bat. While their dark lyrical content stays close to the prototype set forth by that little band we call Black Sabbath, The Haunted's guitar riffs and vocals put them center stage. Anders Bjorler and Jensen perfectly split up the axe duties, exemplified by songs like "Everlasting." Halfway through that number, listeners will no doubt have to remind themselves to breathe again. As for the vocals--imagine the sweet sound of a weeping Fred Durst getting repeatedly bottlecapped (I mean that in the nicest way). One Kill Wonder is not all fast, though. The second half of "D.O.A." pays homage to modern hardcore before bringing us right into the seductive, instrumental "Demon Eyes," which best proves The Haunted's namesake. You
should be sold on The Haunted by now. But for the rest of
you who graduated from the academy of "Sounds Like Evil, Must Be
Evil," let me leave you with the eloquent words of lead vocalist
Marco Aro: "All you judgmental fucks, you'll never get it, will
you?" Couldn't have screamed it better myself. By
Pratt The Terrible
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