Review by Adam M on August 29, 2017.

This new The Haunted material is purely vicious in nature. It goes for the throat and doesn’t let off the accelerator. The material is heavy, but has enough melody to shine through as a varied platter of metal excitement. Though they aren’t doing anything original, The Haunted have perfected their style and made it something of beauty. The pure power of the outfit is demonstrated nicely in the track Spark, which has riffs that are wonderful and almost heavenly in nature. This track is so catchy you’ll be humming it for a while.

The Haunted puts the aggressiveness ahead of the melody, however, and much of this disc occupies a purely visceral style. This makes for a heavy disc and one that bludgeons at every opportunity possible. In fact, it starts to get heavier as it progresses which nicely reflects the style the band is going for. Singer Marco Aro is perfect for the style and barks out with venomous intent. The guitar work is similarly like a battering ram and takes over the feeling of the disc completely. Nice drumming finishes off the elements of the musicianship and it provides an appropriate backdrop for the music.

The overall strength of the music is brought down slightly by a lack of originality. This has been done before by the band and the likes of At the Gates and there’s a certain feeling that the band has overstayed it’s welcome that wasn’t present on The Haunted Made Me Do It, for example. This is still the very best foot put forward by the band, however and they are able to work well within their style confines.   Fans of the band from previous outings should without a doubt look into this release and give it it’s proper chance. The Haunted have forged their fury in a fine fashion on Strength in Numbers.

Rating: 7.6 out of 10