The Haunted – "Songs of Last Resort"

"Unless you're a complete fucking poser who wouldn't know real metal if it gave you lead poisoning..."

Man, I remember being a metal-hungry teenager in lil' ol' Denmark and tripping on The Haunted back in the day. Not giving a shit about originality or staying power, but riding those puberty hormones, hella digging on ferocious energy, smoking cheap weed and drinking cheap beer, catching them live whenever I could. And they had my fellow Dane Per M. Jensen (ex-Invocator) on drums; that was a huge deal back then. I remember this band of local kindred death thrash heroes warming up for them, and joking around before the show: "Hey, did you see that HateSphere are supporting themselves?"

Good times; thanks to everyone involved.

Then, of course, we all got older. Upon their arguably superior album, 2003's "One Kill Wonder", The Haunted didn't seem fully capable of keeping up with themselves. I remember follow-ups "Revolver" ('04) and "The Dead Eye" ('06) being decent, but largely void of the creative sparkle that made its predecessors stand out. I might have heard "Versus" ('08), but if that's the case I remember nothing thereof.

I mean, I got older too, slowly building an awareness of what makes aforementioned originality and staying power. And it's not like The Haunted never had those qualities – shit, having arisen from the ashes of At the Gates, it'd be weird if they didn't. But it wasn't in terms of writing downright classics rather than in terms of putting a certain set of tweaks on death thrash, being just that tad more tight; that tad more catchy; that tad more aggressive than their peers.

And then, of course, they did that whole thing where they became an outright groovy hard rock kinda deal. An interesting development for what it was worth, I thought, but too late; I'd come unhooked.

Perhaps, then, the very passing of time has been favorable towards my revisiting The Haunted on this newest platter of theirs. Either way, opener "Warhead" sees me surging with almost that same ecstatic joy as back then. And not just for nostalgic reasons; the fiery force burns as bright as always, the fierce riffing and aggressively tight pace combined with equally tight and almost fucking catchy metrical feet amount to death thrash almost as bitchslappingly blinding as back in aforementioned day.

Like many another album from the group, regardless of its line-up, this is, by and large, "just" death thrash with melodic and groovy features. Not a whole lot more, but nothing less, either.

It's all very Slayer, but all the more so irresistible in its entirely furious attitude. "Death to the Crown", possibly the fastest and fiercest tune on this helping, would, on its own, justify the existence of any band in this subgenre, its tangible wrath being simultaneously interminable and – again – almost fucking catchy. Yes, we're dealing with a group who know what they're doing, not sucking up to anyone or anything, but who still pen an efficient banger – if not hitlist-efficient, then sure as shit metal-efficient. In fact, a bit too efficient, the songs ending abruptly more often than not, eventually leaving you wondering whether that whole thing about writing codas or outros – or just plain fucking fading down – somehow passed the band by entirely.

The undeniable standout is the melodic triplet-feel mid-tempo of "To Bleed Out". Easily one of the group's all-time most memorable tracks, not the least of all due to the underplayed semi-brilliance of its chorus lyrics: "To give in / To bleed out / To breathe in / And breathe out". The decrescendo after the solo is just as (semi-) brilliant. And speaking of the solo, I have to emphasize the melodic flair of axe-wielders Ola Englund and Patrik Jensen, both showing a penchant for details that's not a given in the harder end of metal, both playing impressively legato, and often shamelessly going into dual harmony leads, not rarely utilizing long, sustained notes, keeping the promise that their Gothenburg townsbuddies In Flames suddenly had such a hard time keeping.

Listening to "Songs of Last Resort" the first coupla times, riding that aforementioned ecstatic joy, I thought I'd have more to say about the album than is the case. But like many another album from the group, regardless of its line-up, this is, by and large, "just" death thrash with melodic and groovy features. Not a whole lot more, but nothing less, either. Around "Collateral Damage", I'm missing some variation, which, then, the song provides in the form of a heavy, laid-back groove that somehow gives me the urge to drive an 18-wheeler from sea to shining sea. Also the 2-chord hardcore of "Unbound" is a minor standout, and just like its hardcore element is true to its roots rather than sucking up to trends, the same thing can be said for its just slightly melodic chorus tint and its half-time section, purely heavy rather than calculated against those contemporary metalcore moves that The Haunted, albeit unwillingly, have played their part in creating.

If and when you look up the group's similar artists on Metal Archives, you will find aforementioned Slayer surprisingly far down the list. But "Songs of Last Resort" is likely their most Slayer-like album since those first two ones. And if you're an actual metalhead, you'll consider that a good thing. Again, though, it also means you're in for a stretch of homogenous aggression, in a nutshell. Towards the end, however, "Labyrinth of Lies" harnesses that exact Slayer-like (undisputed) attitude and delivers yet another much-needed standout with a creepy, mysterious intro riff á la "Dead Skin Mask" segueing into a surprisingly memorable main riff, laid back in a slow, shifty fashion, like a contract killer on a dirty job.

Any fan of the band's essential releases will be pleased with this one. We're nowhere near the furious quality of their initial albums that was so mind-blowing for a hormonal teen back in that aforementioned day, but unless you're a complete fucking poser who wouldn't know real metal if it gave you lead poisoning, you will dig this one.

Thank you, The Haunted, for sticking to it. And still making me do it.

Rating: 4.5 out of 6

Genre: Death thrash
Release date: 30/05/2025
Label: Century Media
Producer: Jens Bogren + Oscar Nilsson