aaamusic | On 20, Mar 2011

There’s something about German metal, perhaps a certain Teutonic seriousness that has lent itself well to the sombre fury of the genre’s darker recesses. Whereas the US often breeds angsty teenager metal, Germany, for all its posturing silliness, has brewed the heady black passion of The Haunted, whose latest release, ‘Unseen’, is a culmination of fifteen years’ hard graft paying off in full.

Opener ‘Never Better’ is a seething, searing blast, riff after riff avalanching upon the listener courtesy of the band’s twin guitar assault. Although the verse borders on Rage Against The Machine nu-metal spitting in staccato vocals, the rest of the song is an ominous, malevolent creature that brings the fury of thrash with sludgy distortion and European atmospheric leanings. Following this beast is the heavy, sleazy stomp of ‘No Ghost’. A surreal yet addictive blend of the finest rock n roll swagger and doomy downtuned guitar, the bass groove grinds against razorblade cymbals and sneering snarled vocals with seductive heat, the stellar central riff sounding like the lovechild of Slash and a cement mixer, leading into a solo and bridge that fascinate in their blurring of rock boundaries.

The Haunted have a functional brain beyond the rocking out, exemplified by socio-political maelstrom ‘Catch 22’, a caustic Nine Inch Nails/Slayer hybrid with a relentless bass drum beat underpinning a shadowy bass groove and biting lyrics carried by a multi-faceted vocal performance, and if that wasn’t enough, the cavernous melodies of ‘Disappear’ showcase The Haunted’s ability to write some simple yet fascinating instrumental arrangements. The serpentine guitars weave and race each other, but the band are never trying to outdo one another, instead collaborating to create some great riffs and solos. Ditto on ‘The Skull’, which manages to effortlessly segue from an atmospheric, reverb-heavy intro that is heavy on poetry and sparing yet effective melody/harmony interplay into a full-on thrash metal march with malevolent chugging and thundering momentum.

Hooky and snotty, the visceral new-school punk metal of ‘Motionless’ feels a little weak in comparison with its pseudo My Chemical Romance attitude and quavering vocals, but the band’s sheer urgency and skill carry us through, and the acidic lyricism is still in possession of its moments. Chased by the vicious mindset and anguished vocals of title track ‘Unseen’, with its glacial, chilling guitar hook that runs through the thick bass/drums like ice in blood, angst rarely sounds this good.

It has to be said, the production on this album is truly masterful, with the chilling quiet of ‘The Skull’ handled with just as much aplomb as the savagely dense thrash metal howl of ‘The City’, another dystopian outcry, spilling out dark metallic fury through distorted guitar that its razor-sharp in its precision, and mixed with preternatural ear into the booming drums and roaring vocals. ‘Them’ flows on with little in the way of a seam to separate the tracks, brutality running close to its granite-hard surface, yet The Haunted aren’t simply played loud and fast for the hell of it; once again the lyrics are straight to the point, and the instrumentation is arranged with graceful precision, cut into sections of slow chug and seething thrash. Once again, the vocals show a pushing of the singer’s style, going from scream to whisper and back again with real expression in each breath. And on the grungey ‘All Ends Well’, we get an impassioned, harmonised drawl that recalls the late, great Layne Stanley.

The closing track, ‘Done’, is a slow, desolate buildup that encompasses all the band have shown in a phenomenal three minutes. Angry, intelligent, artistic, aggressive yet measured, the band let fly with clashing cymbals and distorted guitars, but keep the eerie Alice In Chains harmonies and moments of sonic sparseness to captivate the listener.

‘Unseen’ is, without a doubt, a glorious release, blending all the best from heavy metal across the ages and bringing in a real sense of musicianship and artistry alongside an ability to blend the poetic and the blunt in their songwriting. Relentlessly creative yet never pretentious, this deserves to be a gem in every rocker and metalhead’s collection.

Author: Katie H-Halinski