Album: Exit Wounds
Year: 2014
Rating: 54/100
The Haunted as they stand are a band in transition at the moment. For one band member to quit at an inopportune moment is unfortunate, but for three of the five to quit within a short space of time is nothing short of a travesty, especially when these musicians are of the calibre of Peter Dolving, Anders Björler and Per Möller Jensen. They're three very formidable musicians to lose. However, Jonas Björler brought two very familiar faces back in the form of Adrian Erlandsson and Marco Aro, along with new guitarist Ola Englund, and the end result has appeared here in the form of the band's eighth effort, "Exit Wounds".
Unfortunately, with the departures of Dolving, Anders Björler and Per Möller Jensen looming large, the other thing that has disappeared from the Haunted's arsenal is the ability to write truly killer songs, despite the best efforts of Aro and Erlandsson. The songs, for the most part, lack cohesion, and conviction, and Aro and Erlandsson frequently find that their bandmates are trailing in their wake with Gothenburg metal by numbers riffs that serve the sole purpose of taking up album space.
"Eye of the Storm", while hardly in the same class as older Haunted cuts such as "Hollow Ground" or "Bury Your Dead", is the album's sole exception, and provides a timely reminder of what the Haunted are truly capable of. But on the whole, this is a largely forgettable collection of songs that is nowhere near in the same class as "Made Me Do It", or even "One Kill Wonder". Save yourself the trouble and take a look at At The Gates' newest effort instead.
Track list:
1. 317
2. Cutting Teeth
3. My Salvation
4. Psychonaut
5. Eye of the Storm
6. Trend Killer
7. Time (Will Not Heal)
8. All I Have
9. Temptation
10. My Enemy
11. Kill The Light
12. This War
13. Infiltration
14. Ghost In the Machine
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