Review by Felix on July 28, 2019.

The Haunted is one of these bands that have lost their integrity completely during their career. In Flames say hello, but let's stay at The Haunted. How can a combo call the opener of its debut "Hate Song" - and believe me, this is a fitting title - and release afterwards albums like The Dead Eye or Versus? Of course, almost a decade lies between these works and the here reviewed debut. Nevertheless, don't speak of "natural evolution". Let's call it self-denial or musical treason.

Anyway, the first album of The Haunted scores with almost virginal innocence. Tracks like the opener or "Undead" do not need groovy sections. They destroy everything that stands in their way with Slayer-like riffing, straight patterns, an overdose of velocity and a pinch of punk vibrations. "Choke Hold" is cut from the same cloth, staccato riffing is combined with freely flowing leads and the drummer tortures his kit with uttermost precision and power. These tracks show the young The Haunted at its best and sound like an eruption of hatred, brutality and mercilessness. Great tunes that have never lost their fascination throughout the last twenty years.

On the other hand, the more groove-oriented "In Vein" reflects the less murderous facet of the debutants. This track is pretty ambivalent, because it reveals a somewhat whiny touch. I am pretty sure that I have found a homeopathic dose of grunge and commercialism in this song. But okay, one representative of mediocrity does not hurt the quality of the full-length in a significant manner. More important is that the dudes shred their guitars as thoroughly as possible. The sound of the six strings is a key factor for the rude appearance of the well-produced album. Moreover, the voice of Dolving must be mentioned in this context. I like his rampant performance up to a certain point, but his voice also expresses a missionary zeal which is typical for some hardcore or punk combos that are able to see through the hype, to save the whales and to condemn material values of all kind (until they inherit the house of their once hard working parents).

Tunes like "Bullet Hole" are located between the speedy eruptions and "In Vein". The slicing riffing is combined with a less vehement drum approach, while the occasionally knocking double bass drum increases both the heaviness and the dynamic. Indeed, some songs of the album's second half do not reach the level of fury that shapes the highlights of the first six tracks. But there are also velocity-fueled injections like "Shattered". It lies in close proximity to the angry assaults at the beginning without being representative for the second half. The Swedes drift into their own form of thrash that unites many traditional elements with some modern ingredients. Be that as it may, one thing is out of question: The Haunted's eponymous debut offers only more or less repulsive and nasty sounds. The final highlight ("Blood Rust" with its very coherent riffing and a pretty triumphant chorus) and the last number, introduced by an atmospheric beginning with spoken vocals, close a good and technically competent work, forged by a band that did not lack integrity until then.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Felix on June 27, 2024.

Black metal has many faces and it is beyond doubt that it can be raw and primitive. It is also correct that the genre does not need an objectively good sound. On the other hand it is not true that every raw and primitive album with a non-perfect (read: more or less shitty) production hits the mark per se. All those who say something different are invited to listen to “Darkness Times”, the debut of Portugal’s Armnatt from the year 2014.

The album consists of ten pieces. Two of them are shorter than 12 seconds, but – just to avoid misunderstandings – this is no black metal version of “Speak English or Die”. Okay, this album also showed a very simple form of metal, but it had this funny and cynical component that “Darkness Times” does not have. These guys want to be taken seriously and honestly speaking this is not easy, because their riffs, their song structures and, to cut a long story short, everything else is a triumph of uninspired song-writing. The vocals are stupid and expressionless, the typical one tone nagging and screaming, but they would probably work in a better surrounding. Yet the surrounding is always the same here, from the first real song “Destroying Divinity” to the last number we can call a song (“Forest of Shadows”). The final piece “Dark Cleansing Winds” is only a (surprise, surprise) windy outro. Its sole purpose is obviously not to let the album end before it reaches the 24-minute mark. Yes, it is no typo here, I said 24 minutes. Other bands would call this release an EP, but for our friends from Portugal it seems to be a full-length. So do not expect a lot of substance in the uniform songs. Armnatt are always happy whenever they bring a song over the finishing line. At least the abrupt ending of some songs indicates this.

The rumbling low-fi production is pure nonsense, but exactly because of this, it goes hand in hand with the song material. Of course, the bass guitar does not exist, the guitars sound lumpier than on Bathory’s second work and the drums fail to develop a massive power. Thus, we can only focus on the attitude of these guys who do not know keyboards, acoustic guitars or other useless gimmicks. I am sure they do not lack passion and authenticity, but this alone does not lead to good songs. Okay, they do not deliver total bullshit and they are, a dubious compliment, coherent in their self-limitation. High speed here and high speed there, creaking guitars all the time and constantly rumbling drums – if this is what one expects from a black metal work, “Darkness Times”, a kind of anti-thesis to intelligently performed (Swedish) black metal, is a great album. Especially for those of you who do not have much time, because, as mentioned before, you need only 24 minutes. Everybody else is well advised to put the focus on other works. Perhaps “Darkness Times” can work after five or ten beers, but forgive me, I have not tried this in a self-test.

Rating: 3.7 out of 10

Review by Felix on June 27, 2024.

Black metal has many faces and it is beyond doubt that it can be raw and primitive. It is also correct that the genre does not need an objectively good sound. On the other hand it is not true that every raw and primitive album with a non-perfect (read: more or less shitty) production hits the mark per se. All those who say something different are invited to listen to “Darkness Times”, the debut of Portugal’s Armnatt from the year 2014.

The album consists of ten pieces. Two of them are shorter than 12 seconds, but – just to avoid misunderstandings – this is no black metal version of “Speak English or Die”. Okay, this album also showed a very simple form of metal, but it had this funny and cynical component that “Darkness Times” does not have. These guys want to be taken seriously and honestly speaking this is not easy, because their riffs, their song structures and, to cut a long story short, everything else is a triumph of uninspired song-writing. The vocals are stupid and expressionless, the typical one tone nagging and screaming, but they would probably work in a better surrounding. Yet the surrounding is always the same here, from the first real song “Destroying Divinity” to the last number we can call a song (“Forest of Shadows”). The final piece “Dark Cleansing Winds” is only a (surprise, surprise) windy outro. Its sole purpose is obviously not to let the album end before it reaches the 24-minute mark. Yes, it is no typo here, I said 24 minutes. Other bands would call this release an EP, but for our friends from Portugal it seems to be a full-length. So do not expect a lot of substance in the uniform songs. Armnatt are always happy whenever they bring a song over the finishing line. At least the abrupt ending of some songs indicates this.

The rumbling low-fi production is pure nonsense, but exactly because of this, it goes hand in hand with the song material. Of course, the bass guitar does not exist, the guitars sound lumpier than on Bathory’s second work and the drums fail to develop a massive power. Thus, we can only focus on the attitude of these guys who do not know keyboards, acoustic guitars or other useless gimmicks. I am sure they do not lack passion and authenticity, but this alone does not lead to good songs. Okay, they do not deliver total bullshit and they are, a dubious compliment, coherent in their self-limitation. High speed here and high speed there, creaking guitars all the time and constantly rumbling drums – if this is what one expects from a black metal work, “Darkness Times”, a kind of anti-thesis to intelligently performed (Swedish) black metal, is a great album. Especially for those of you who do not have much time, because, as mentioned before, you need only 24 minutes. Everybody else is well advised to put the focus on other works. Perhaps “Darkness Times” can work after five or ten beers, but forgive me, I have not tried this in a self-test.

Rating: 3.7 out of 10