Review by Felix on February 15, 2021.

The first four studio albums of the Swedes are really great, but the here presented work pisses me off. It is the fist in the face of their loyal fans. Just for the benefit of narcissism, the once powerful band betrays its supporters. Anyway, let's fulfil the sad task of writing a fair review for The Dead Eye.

The biggest advantage of the album is its technical implementation. The transparent, powerful and clearly defined sound qualifies the production team for greater tasks. In particular the guitars give you the feeling to listen to a genuine metal album. This is unfortunately just an illusion, because The Haunted are taking pleasure in unfitting experiments. They have integrated a lot of unexpected parts that reduce the power of the songs significantly. Only a very small number of the pieces emits a certain fury. The vast majority of the tunes fail to leave a coherent impression, because the single parts mostly do not blend seamlessly into each other. It seems as if the band wanted to write more "intellectual" songs, but this was no good idea at all. For example, 'The Cynic' has some good leads, but the tranquil verse generates an inadequate atmosphere. Lead vocalist Peter Dolving seems to sit in a sticky bar at midnight instead of entering the stage in a concert hall. Lousy reality. The beginning of 'The Reflection', to mention another example, sounds like a sick version of Oasis and all these components damage the overall impression sustainably.

The worst is yet to come. Dolving's contribution to The Dead Eye is horrifying. He delivers a lot of different approaches and wants to sound lascivious, thoughtful, sensitive, dreamful or, in extremely rare cases, aggressive. What truly irks me is that he behaves like a rockstar who has lost any relation to reality. He thinks he has to entertain a highly sophisticated audience, but any type of academic art lover is not interested in this shitty little band from Sweden. Worse still, true metalheads must realize that Dolving does not take care for their expectations. This is annoying. A band whose only aim is self-realisation at all costs should not go into the studio. Play for yourself in your stinking rehearsal room and don't tempt us to buy your nonsense. Okay, 'The Medication' is a fast track in the vein of their previous speed attacks, but it is far away from destroying the speedometer. This track seems to have an alibi function and its only purpose is the sedation of the old fans. 'The Shifter' points in the same direction at the beginning, but a break kills its fury in a matter of seconds. It's an ironic twist of fate. On the one hand, the band wants to expand its musical horizon for the benefit of its complacency. On the other hand, The Haunted try everything in order to satisfy everyone. The result is that I am totally dissatisfied. The majority of the tracks just sucks due to aimless guitar lines, psychedelic interludes and paltry choruses.

The limited edition comes with four video clips and a making of documentary. Not to mention the two bonus tracks, for example 'The Highwire', a ridiculous instrumental which surprises with the formidable length of 50 seconds. All these additional offerings cannot change the miserable appearance of The Dead Eye. I wish I had two dead ears.

Rating: 3 out of 10

Review by Felix on October 14, 2024.

It sounds promising when a Swordmaster presents a Deathraider. But it is not written in the books that every promise is kept. The “Death Rider 2000” surfaced already in1998 and we know what it is like sometimes with premature births – they have to struggle. “Deathraider” shares this destiny, but unlike real fighters with strong hearts and an iron will, the EP cannot compete with more mature albums.

Generally speaking, Swordmaster did not leave a big impact on the scene. In hindsight, it is surprising that they were supported by Osmose, a label that usually stands for high quality, especially at the end of the nineties – remember “Panzer Divison Marduk”, “Ugra-karma” or “Diabolical Desecration”. In comparison, Swordmaster’s black/thrash/speed bastard falls by the wayside. This is not just because of the stylistic disorientation which is revealed by this EP. The fourth track is an under-average grindcore-affine wannabe shocker, while the closer, a cover version, has a dark pop appeal. Only the raw vocals remind me that I am listening to a metal output. Okay, EPs can be a field of experimentation, but was it really meant this way? If we consider these tracks, it is only logical that the release has been forgotten quickly.

Fortunately, the first songs give the EP some solid musical substance. The rapid “Death Rider 2000” has aggressive, thrashing verses, a blackened coloring and an almost catchy (but not very exciting) chorus. Anyway, the song is a minute too long and it gets obvious that the production meets the standard, no more, no less. The creaky guitar sound does not make my day, but I would not speak of an evident deficiency. “Firefall of the Fireball” shows that the mix is not an insurmountable hurdle. The track shines with some bone-dry, very aggressive parts. Yet short melodic arcs also reveal a preference for Iron Maiden. These two songs are the (pretty little) highlights of the EP. The third “regular” song, “Necronaut Psychout”, lacks intensity – and almost anything else.

Summing up, “Death Rider” has not withstood the test of time. Not because its glamour has quickly faded, but because there was already little luster here at the time of publication. Needless to say, its artwork also does not make much sense. Four creatures, half-skeleton, and half-human, wave their swords around. What does that have to do with a death rider? Or have the horses beneath them simply been burnt to death in the flames? We will never know.

Rating: 4.5 out of 10