UMUR "Songs of Last Resort" is the tenth full-length studio album by Swedish thrash metal act The Haunted. The album was released through Century Media Records in May 2025. It´s the successor to "Strength in Numbers" from 2017 and there have been no lineup changes since the predecessor, making "Songs of Last Resort" the third The Haunted album in a row with a steady lineup.

Compared to the two preceding releases which featured relatively similar music styles combining thrash metal, groove metal, and melodic death metal elements, "Songs of Last Resort" leans a bit more heavily on the thrash metal side of the band´s sound, although the album still features elements from both groove metal and melodic death metal. Album opener "Warhead" is a crushingly heavy and fast-paced thrash metal song and it sets the tone and the standard for the remaining part of the album. The Haunted have audibly changed towards a more sharp and aggressive music style, which is a real treat if you´re fans of the band´s late 90s/early 00s releases like "Made Me Do It" (2000) and "One Kill Wonder" (2003). "Songs of Last Resort" is of course the work of a more mature band and Ola Englund´s (who joined The Haunted in 2013) guitar solos add the occasional more melodic touch to the otherwise relentlessly aggressive thrash metal assault.

The generally faster pace, fierce energy, and increased aggression of The Haunted´s music are welcome after two albums which were maybe a bit too mature and safe in sound and style. "Songs of Last Resort" is The Haunted letting loose and returning to their more savage and gnarly past and it suits them well. In a stream of consciousness it slipped my tongue in my review of "Strength in Numbers" that The Haunted were past their prime, and while that may still be true to some extent, it´s not heard on "Songs of Last Resort" which is through and through a high quality release featuring a powerful, detailed, and heavy sounding production job, high level performances from all involved (it´s probably the best vocal performance I´ve yet heard from Marco Aro), and some effective and powerful songwriting. I appreciate it when artists tell me to shut my music critic mouth with a brilliant return to form, and that´s exactly what The Haunted have done here. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Strength in Numbers" is the ninth full-length studio album by Swedish thrash metal act The Haunted. The album was released through Century Media Records in August 2017. It´s the successor to "Exit Wounds" from 2014 and the lineup who recorded the predecessor is intact. "Exit Wounds" was an album which marked a new beginning for The Haunted after a major lineup shuffle happened after the release of "Unseen" (2011). But it´s interesting to note that four out of the five members of the current lineup were members of The Haunted at various times in the 1990s/2000s, so there´s no issues with the credibility of calling the band The Haunted.

Stylistically the material on "Strength in Numbers" is a continuation of the aggressive thrash metal style also found on "Exit Wounds". The occasional excursion into groove thrash and melodic death metal territories are also heard here and there, but "Strength in Numbers" is first and foremost an aggressive thrash metal release featuring a powerful, sharp, and detailed sound production. Lead vocalist Marco Aro has a commanding raw voice and vocal delivery (somewhere between raw hardcore shouting and semi-growling), and The Haunted are as always a very well playing band. The rhythm section is tight, the riffs are delivered with precision but also an organic groove, and Ola Englund´s solos add a slight bit of melody to the otwerwise relentless thrashy brutality.

Upon conclusion "Strength in Numbers" sounds exactly how I expected it to sound, when being familiar with "Exit Wounds" (and the rest of The Haunted´s discography). It´s a solid good quality release from a seasoned band, which is an entertaining listen but not exactly a standout release in the band´s discography. It´s a bit harsh to state that their prime is behind them, but it´s what my ears tell me. When that is said I´ll maintain that "Strength in Numbers" is a good quality release and fans of aggressive thrash metal could definitely do worse than give this album a listen. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "rEVOLVEr" is the fourth full-length studio album by Swedish thrash metal act The Haunted. The album was released through Century Media Records in October 2004. It´s the successor to "One Kill Wonder" from 2003 and there´s been one lineup change since the predecessor as lead vocalist Marco Aro left to concentrate on his family. He is replaced here by Peter Dolving, who also performed on the band´s 1998 debut album, so it´s a return to the fold for him.

The change on the lead vocalist spot is rather significant for the sound on "rEVOLVEr". While Aro is a raw semi-growling type vocalist, Dolving has evolved quite a bit since his performance on The Haunted´s debut album, and now possesses a highly aggressive and raw thrash/hardcore vocal style. He also performs a few clean vocal parts to great effect (his clean vocal intro to "Abysmal" is for example very effectful). The clean vocal parts are few and far between though, and the raw vocals are Dolving´s primary vocal style on "rEVOLVEr". The instrumental part of the music is still energetic and fast-paced thrash metal and occasionally mid-paced, groove laden, and heavy thrash metal too. I hear a few melodic elements (for example the main riff on "All Against All") which wasn´t something you heard often on "One Kill Wonder (2003)", but "rEVOLVEr" is not a melodic thrash metal album by any means. Raw aggression and high energy compositions are predominantly the order of the day.

The album is loaded with killer riffs, catchy sing/scream along vocal parts, and powerful organic drumming, which drive the music forward in an irresistable fashion. The Slayer influence which was always strong on the preceding releases is less apparent here, although it´s definitely still there. Just take a listen to the riffs on the middle section of "99" or the tapped part of the guitar solo on the same track, which must almost be a homage to the tapped part of the guitar solo on the title track from Slayer´s 1990 "Seasons in the Abyss" album.

There´s not a single sub par track on the album, but if highlights have to be mentioned I´ll mention the opening trio of tracks "No Compromise", "99", and "Abysmal", as absolutely crushing material but at the same time fully displaying the variation of the band´s music. Closing track "My Shadow" deserves a special mention too for its use of non-distorted guitars and strong clean singing/spoken word sections from Dolving. It´s not always it sounds pretty when extreme metal singers decide to perform clean vocals, but damn Dolving is as great singing clean vocals as he is performing his caustic raw vocals. There is some real personality on display here and you believe him when he describes himself (It could be another person, but I interpret the lyrics to be personal) in a self-loathing way on the chorus of "Abysmal", singing the lines: "This one is abysmal, This is a oneway ticket down, Some say there ain't nothing to lose, but I lost that too, So what am I gonna do now?". There´s just something incredibly convincing about his commanding delivery which has great impact on the listener.

"rEVOLVEr" features a sharp, raw, and heavy sound production, which suits the rawness and energy of the material perfectly. While "One Kill Wonder (2003)" is certainly a great album in its own right, "rEVOLVEr" is a step up in songwriting quality and especially in performances. Not that the band weren´t energetic and aggressive in the past, but Dolving´s return seems to have given them an extra energy boost, and you´ll be hard pressed to mention another contemporary thrash metal release as vibrant, sharp, and hard edged as "rEVOLVEr". To my ears it´s a seminal post-2000 thrash metal release and of course a mandatory listen for fans of the genre. A 4.5 star (90%) rating is fully deserved.

UMUR "One Kill Wonder" is the 3rd full-length studio album by Swedish thrash metal act The Haunted. The album was released through Earache Records in February 2003. It´s the successor to "Made Me Do It" from 2000 and features the same five-piece lineup who recorded the predecessor although guitarist Anders Björler brieftly left the band in 2001. He however returned in time to participate in the writing and recording of the material for "One Kill Wonder". A lineup change would happen in October 2003 though as lead vocalist Marco Aro would leave to concentrate on his family. He would be replaced by returning original singer Peter Dolving (who sang on the band´s self-titled debut album from 1998).

It´s still Aro who performs on "One Kill Wonder" though and his raw screaming (and occasionally semi-growling) vocal delivery is pretty savage. The material on the 11 track, 38:16 minutes long album are in the brutal and raw end of the thrash metal spectrum, and especially Slayer is an obvious influence (to the point of being close to ripp-off on the clean guitar break section of opening track "Privation of Faith Inc."). The Haunted deliver both scorching thrashers like "Godpuppet" and the ferocious closing title track, and more mid-paced heavy thrash metal tracks like "D.O.A." and "Bloodletting", with the same amount of passion and conviction. Aro is not the most versatile vocalist, and his vocals are a bit grating on the ears throughout a full album, and if there is to be a minor complaint, that would be it. There´s not a finger to put on the instrumental part of the album, which is reasonably varied, powerful, and impactful.

The Haunted are a well playing band and the music is not only delivered with great technical skill, but also with the right amount of raw organic power. This is not one of those digital clean produced thrash metal albums from post-2000, which often come across a bit sterile and lacking rawness and thrash metal authenticity. "One Kill Wonder" reeks of both and it´s a high quality thrash metal release through and through. A 4 - 4.5 star (85%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Made Me Do It" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Swedish thrash metal act The Haunted. The album was released through Earache Records in October 2000. There´s been a couple of lineup changes since the self-titled debut as lead vocalist Peter Dolving has been replaced by Marco Aro, and Adrian Erlandsson has been replaced by Danish drummer Per M. Jensen (Invocator, Artillery).

Stylistically the music on "Made Me Do It" more or less continues down the same path as on the self-titled debut. That means aggressive thrash metal with occasional melodic death metal traits. Slayer is the most obvious influence, but there are naturally also some traces in the music of the Björler brother´s former act At The Gates. The change on the lead vocalist spot isn´t that obvious as Peter Dolving and Marco Aro at that point had a relatively similar vocal style. Distorted and aggressive raw singing that occasionally touches semi-growling territory. Aro also experiements with clean (well...effect laden) vocals on "Hollow Ground" and succeeds in doing so.

"Hollow Ground" is as a result one of the standout tracks on the album, but tracks like "Bury Your Dead" and "Leech" could also be mentioned among the highlights. All material on the 11 track (the Japanese version features a bonus track), 36:09 minutes long album are of a high quality though and "Made Me Do It" is overall a consistent quality release. It´s relatively varied too with both fast-paced thrashers, and more mid-paced heavy tracks. A few tracks even feature some atmospheric moments.

Another great asset is the skillful delivery of the music. While everything is delivered with militant precision there´s also a great organic touch to the playing, which provides the material with an important human touch. That is further enhanced by a raw, powerful, and organic sounding production, which suits the music perfectly. So upon conclusion "Made Me Do It" is a quality sophomore studio album by The Haunted, that isn´t terribly different in sound and style to their debut album, but which still comes off as more developed and catchy. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.