• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

Slow yet steady are Sweden’s The Haunted movements towards the breakthrough everyone is predicting. One Kill Wonder takes a few steps in the right direction, but to me at least, doesn’t live up to the hype of this being the record that will take the so-called leaders of this neo-thrash revolution to the next level.

A complaint that has dogged this band from the beginning has been the vocals. The clean, obnoxious almost-hardcore screams have always been a key complaint among fans. It appears that vocalist Marco Aro has gotten the point, delivering a much-needed alteration in his approach. Adding to the overall rough edge that One Kill Wonder has over the band’s previous efforts, the vocals come now as semi-growls and barks that are never too harsh and are most certainly a welcome change of pace. Oh, and don’t expect any of those kinda cool but ultimately awkward distortion effects heard in songs like Hollow Ground and In Vein this time around either. The Haunted has pretty much done away with the lighter sounds of their yesteryears, extracting the rage into a grittier, more suitable realm.

The number of memorable songs versus the speedy riff, solo, then speedy riff then done ones rises to about half on this album. Like everyone, I enjoy the mindless fun that comes with simple songs like Godpuppet and Urban Predator, despite the fact that once they’re done they’re done, no after thoughts about it. No matter how generic it can get, the leads on this album are the strongest I have heard from The Haunted. The hooks are just so damn catchy you can’t help but have high expectations for what follows. It’s a matter of flipping the coin in determining your odds of hearing something that’ll keep you interested or end up with another full speed ahead shredfest.

My inability to stick to an opinion on The Haunted hasn’t changed with One Kill Wonder. Like the other two albums, I find that when listening to them as a critic I manage to erect serious beefs with one element or another, but to simply sit back and enjoy for the sake of hearing well played heavy metal, these boys do the job pretty damn well.

This isn’t the album that will “blow” anyone away beyond what they’ve already heard. Maybe next time The Haunted will have their Reign in Blood…or maybe not.