The Haunted: No Ghost – new video

 

 

In case you’ve forgotten about THE HAUNTED's latest album ‘Unseen’, here comes reminder in form of new video clip for the song ‘No Ghost’, filmed at Germany's Wacken Open Air Festival 2011 by Marcel Schleiff (Record Film) and edited by Anders Björler (At The Gates Production). The live sound recording was engineered by Jacky Lehmann (Audiosound Lehmann) and then mixed by no other than the band's longtime producer Tue Madsen at Antfarm Studio in Denmark. ‘Unseen’, was released in March 2011 on Century Media Records.

“The group is on fire,” [exclaimed Revolver's Jeremy Borjon] “delivering a dirty, eclectic mix of jams that defy simple categorization, but suggest a loose blend of STRAPPING YOUNG LAD and IN FLAMES. The album is daring and varied in its scope and execution, each track markedly different in genre and approach from the last, but never losing the distinctive HAUNTED touch. … Along with the Björler brothers' diverse work, vocalist Peter Dolving's performance is one of the highlights of this album, as he gives each song its own unique sense of maniacal energy and showcases his unique range of tones, styles, and delivery. ‘Unseen’ is not your typical metal album; but then, as they’ve proven again here, THE HAUNTED is not your typical band,” [he wrote about the album THE HAUNTED's singer Peter Dolving described as “epic, danceable, groovy and very very arty farty metal album”]

Arising from the ashes of Swedish death metal band AT THE GATES (mid-1990's), and featuring former members of WITCHERY and FACE DOWN, the band went through countless lineup changes before releasing its self-titled debut via Earache Records in 1998 with second effort, ‘Made Me Do It’, and second singer, Marco Aro, following in 2000:

“Staying true to the complex and intense tendencies of underground metal without being too inaccessible isn’t an easy task (only a small handful of metal bands have ever done it, and even fewer for more than one album). THE HAUNTED seem to understand this balance well: their songs average around three to four minutes in length, their vocals are nearly intelligible, their sparingly placed guitar solos never become masturbatory, and their songwriting never breaks too far away from traditional song structuring. … THE HAUNTED manage to bring a sense of melody to their songs that creeps into their choruses and bridges, bringing back memories of the mid-'80s when METALLICA was an important group for similar reasons,” [was of opinion Jason Birchmeier, AllMusic – more here]

THE HAUNTED won their second Swedish Grammy in “Best Hard Rock Album” category for the 2003's ‘One Kill Wonder’:

“Is there a bad riff or a single wasted moment on the album? Not in the least – it’s lean, mean, and nasty. But there’s also a ring of familiarity to it - overall, it’s not a drastic departure from its two brutally concise predecessors. It’s just business as usual, and the killing business is good,” [seemed inspired John Serba, AllMusic, more here]

The fourth full-length, 2004's ‘rEVOLVEr’ , their debut on Century Media Records, had some music critics wondering if the Swedish neo-thrash favorites felt they had something to prove to their new record company. ‘rEVOLVEr’ was also the album to welcome back the group's original singer Peter Dolving. Its 2006 follow-up, ‘The Dead Eye’, seems to be AllMusic's Eduardo Rivadavia favorite:

“As well as his [Peter Dovling's] still-prevalent hardcore bark and ragged screams, you’ll hear him actually sing over exceptionally memorable, big chorus numbers like ‘The Reflection’ and ‘The Medusa’, testing an uneasy baritone over portions of ‘The Flood’, and delicately lending subdued melodies to ‘The Fallout’, which is only less shocking than the song's accompanying piano and techno-industrial knick-knacks,” [he mused – more here]

After this issue, the band's unity had been called into question by some, as THE HAUNTED went on an extended break. The group returned with their tenth anniversary album 2008's ‘Versus’, with it marking a brief return to aggressive sound. A greatest-hits package entitled ‘Warning Shots’ came out in 2009, followed by live CD, ‘Road Kill’ in 2010.

THE HAUNTED features: Anders Björler (AT THE GATES) – guitar, Jonas Björler (AT THE GATES) – bass, Peter Dolving – vocals, Patrik Jensen (ex-SATANIC SLAUGHTER) – guitar and Per Möller Jensen (ex-INVOCATOR) – drums