Having toured with everyone from Slayer to Funeral for a Friend, if The Haunted are finally getting noticed, they have their dedicated selves to thank. The band's fourth effort, rEVOLVEr (musicians really shouldn't try to be too clever!) is a more polished and tighter sounding package, The likeness to In Flames is certainly more than a passing one, but to my ears it's much more audible in the production elements than in the musical style.

Opener No Compromise acts as a mission statement for the Scandinavian metallers - instant migraine provision can be found thanks to some raging battery on the drums while vocalist Peter Dolving puts in a capital hardcore ear-splitting effort.

In fact, Mr Dolving is a master of his vocal chords, frequently demonstrating his abilty to pull off very convincing singing as well as disturbingly brutal screams. Check out Abysmal and Burnt To A Shell for his softer side - the latter has by far the best chorus of the album and is a true sing-along number that is sure too kick off live, with the soft:heavy ratio pulled off to perfection.

Elsewhere, 99 contains enough time changes to convince the most ardent of listeners that their CD is skipping, when in fact The Haunted are playing with your mind! More screaming atop ultra-fast chords mean that there are no surprises here until the chorus, which is equally relentless but significantly stronger.

The epic My Shadow is as close to a ballad as The Haunted venture but never fear, Nickelback it most defiantly ain't. With kick-ass distorted open chords fading into clean yet brooding verses, Peter's vocals are very Psycore (for anyone who remembers them!) in nature, and the emotion that transcends through the mix in the agonisingly dark chorus is jaw-dropping.

Sabotage is a grinding assault on the senses that sees guitar and drums lock into each other tighter than a nut and bolt, while Nothing Right once again puts the drummer on overtime as the double kick and four-to-the-floor beats hit your ears like a pneumatic drill. Who Will Decide sees old school hardcore flavours being mixed beautifully into The Haunted's metal sound with Lou from Sick Of It All lending his barking presence to beef (and consequently speed) things up a bit.

All in all, this ought to be The Haunted's breakthrough album. It contains strong songs that avoid being generic for the most part, and even when they are, as in Liquid Burns, they still have kicking guitar solos. rEVOLVEr sure makes for some damn good party music.

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