Artist: The Haunted
Label: Earache
Release Date: 10/23/00
Average Rating: 4.2
Go to Judgment Committee Reviews of this Album
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Title: The Haunted Made Me Do It Artist: The Haunted Label: Earache Release Date: 10/23/00 |
There are currently 5 Reader Reviews of this album.
Average Rating: 4.2 Go to Judgment Committee Reviews of this Album |
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Submitted by Night (6/6/01):
F**K Machine Head, K(P)orn and bands with hip hop influences! This record gives thrash metal a new fresh injection that it has been waiting for since Slayer made Reign in Blood or when Metallica did Master of Puppets. There aren't any 'weak' songs on this record, the melodies and the harmonies blend with perfect intense thrash riffs that will keep banging my head-- and yours too, I hope!
Submitted by Eric Thompson (4/24/01):
Having been a fan of the Haunted's debut album, I was in agreement with many other reviewers that it contained some moments of fresh, thrash-metal brilliance; a real eye-opener, definitely. Nevertheless, I just couldn't agree that the album was brilliant all the way through. With the release of their newest album, however, that has certainly changed. With new additions, Marco Aro on vocals and Per Moller Jensen on drums, the Haunted have created an album which takes the very best elements of their debut, strains away all the dross, adds more tempo-variances between songs, and produces a dark thrash metal masterpiece that is song-intensive, catchy and memorable to the point of addiction! They haven't been called the "new Slayer" for nothing. Indeed, Made Me Do It blends the brutality of early-Slayer with the twisted melodicism of Slaughter-era At The Gates, yielding an album that is less death-influenced, yet is as dark and thrashy as ever. In fact, the hardcore-edge which was ever present on the debut has been toned down a good bit, but certainly not to less effect. The album also possesses more mid-paced songs, like the powerful "Leech," as well as a larger dose of contagious melodicism than the debut, as evidenced in songs like the memorable "Hollow Ground" and "Under the Surface." But again, this really seems to work to the band's advantage. Whereas I had been disappointed with Swedish countrymen Soilwork's newest release, because it seemed to have lost that special edge their last album possessed, this just isn't the case with the Haunted. On the contrary, the Haunted have truly found their sound, without fear of compromise. And since they recently won the Swedish Grammy for "Best Swedish Hard Rock Band," it seems many fans are in agreement. Who said heavy metal was dead?
Submitted by jp (3/29/01):
The Haunted, contrary to popular belief, is NOT At the Gates revisited. Yes, the Bjorler boys are here, but as far as this metalhead is concerned, that's where the comparison ends. The Haunted are straight ahead thrash. Well, they used to be. Don't get me wrong, I love this album. But Marco Aro ain't Peter Dolving. Dolving's incredible power and emotion, gone now from the line-up, leaves The Haunted... well, mediocre? OK, not quite that bad. But compared to the self-titled release by these boys, this album is just another Swedish metal act. Good stuff, but it's not a truly great album. Oh Dolving, where art thou?
Submitted by Anand Thaker (11/20/00):
This is one heck of an album! For all thrash fans out there, I recommend this as one of the very good thrash albums of all time. And may I also add that, with this album, the Haunted becomes one of my favorite currently playing bands.
Submitted by Chris Ayers (10/15/00):
Though the rest of the world frothed all over The Haunted’s 1998 debut, I didn’t think it even came close to the brilliance of At The Gates, in which the Bjorler brothers (guitarist Anders and bassist Jonas) cut their ever-pointed incisors. But with the new additions of throat Marco Aro and drummer Per Moller Jensen, The Haunted will definitely give their initial naysayers more bang for their bucks. “Dark Intentions” and “Bury Your Dead” immediately get down to business with the Slayer-esque kickdrums of Lombardo disciple Jensen and the Bjorlers’ jagged riffings. “Trespass” looks toward the melodic ATG/Gothenburg sound, and the denser sections of “Leech” are reminiscent of The Bleeding-era Cannibal Corpse. The bulk of the album has distinct underpinnings of Odium-era Morgoth — in “Hollow Ground,” for example, Aro’s howling growls instantly recall Morgoth’s Marc Grewe — while still moshing about with an insatiable appetite for obliteration. The speedy “Revelation” is hands down the most Slayer-intended, while “The World Burns” has an unexpected acoustic interlude. The band’s hit-and-run technique works well, as the disc clocks in at just over 36 minutes — shorter than a Hypocrisy record, but longer than Deicide’s latest. Don’t know what the band is doing with all the serial killer imagery (Dahmer, Gacy, et al.) as cover art, but they should leave such banalities to Church Of Misery and get on with the thrashing. Scandinavia has never looked so... metal.
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