| Written by Alex Stojanovic TRACK LISTING Conspire To Deceive Detonate Our Channel To The Darkness Cruel Perception What We Become This Curse Of Silence March Of The Unheard Forever Astray Between Directions A Death That Becomes Us The Burning Point Coda Release Date: January 10, 2025 Label: Nuclear Blast Records Website: thehaloeffect.band |  |
Back in 2021, one of the biggest talking points of the year was the formation of The Halo Effect, a new supergroup featuring all classic former members of In Flames. Given that all the members were from their early melo-death era in the 90s, the sound of The Halo Effect was definitely going to harken back to the early Gothenburg sound, and people were excited. When the formation was announced, it was absolutely no surprise that many idiots were quick to start comparing the two bands and forming the idea of a rivalry existing between them, which has been proven many times by both parties to be untrue, but many still refuse to believe that truth. Well, as they say, you unfortunately can't fix stupid. Anyway, the band's debut album Days Of The Lost was released in 2022 to an ecstatic reception, and it was clear that The Halo Effect was in it for the long haul and be more active than a lot of regular supergroups. That of course all depends on Stanne's schedule with Dark Tranquillity. However, they have already done tours of Europe and North America in support of the album.
Work on a follow-up album began right after the release of Days Of The Lost, and we are here now with album #2, titled March Of The Unheard, which picks up right where Days left off. Jesper Stromblad and Niclas Engelin grab you by the throat with their dual guitar attack that features big riffs with a ton of meat on them, and mesmerizing harmonies. A prime example of this mastery is on "Our Channel To The Darkness", where the main guitar melody that is also the chorus melody has "stadium hook" written all over it and will unite any festival crowd into linking arms and swinging their beers in pure power metal fashion. There's also "Cruel Perception" where the main riff gives a huge nod to Iron Maiden, while "This Curse Of Silence" feels like the lost theme song for Spider-Man or another Marvel superhero movie.
Much like with Days Of The Lost, my only critique is that I wish Stanne incorporated more of his clean vocals into the album. His deep croon is captivating and should have some more time in the spotlight as opposed to just two songs out of 12. Maybe if three or five more songs had them, it would be a smash. That being said, he brings his deep crooning vocals to "Forever Astray" and "Between Directions", which are also two of the best songs the album has to offer. "Between Directions" in particular kind of feels like it would be right at home in the Dark Tranquillity catalog. "A Death That Becomes Us" is a much more straightforward heavy metal tune with a chugging riff that grooves so hard, my neck just can't resist but start banging, while bearing a big stank face. This is a song that belongs on all our workout playlists.
While there is a healthy number of strong tracks, the issue with the album, which shouldn't be too much of a surprise with the Gothenburg sound, is that many of the tracks tend to mirror each other. and make you wonder if you had just heard a certain song a few minutes ago. The other slight flaw that's also not a big deal is that the bonus track "Become Surrender" should've been included on the main album. I get that because it carries a slightly different vibe compared to the album tracks, this track would've been a nice interlude between all of traditional melodic death metal goodness. Despite these minor flaws, March Of The Unheard is a beast of an album with just about everything that made the Gothenburg sound one of the most loved metal styles of all time. The Halo Effect is a band that knows its strengths, and they're making music that they enjoy making.
Work on a follow-up album began right after the release of Days Of The Lost, and we are here now with album #2, titled March Of The Unheard, which picks up right where Days left off. Jesper Stromblad and Niclas Engelin grab you by the throat with their dual guitar attack that features big riffs with a ton of meat on them, and mesmerizing harmonies. A prime example of this mastery is on "Our Channel To The Darkness", where the main guitar melody that is also the chorus melody has "stadium hook" written all over it and will unite any festival crowd into linking arms and swinging their beers in pure power metal fashion. There's also "Cruel Perception" where the main riff gives a huge nod to Iron Maiden, while "This Curse Of Silence" feels like the lost theme song for Spider-Man or another Marvel superhero movie.
Much like with Days Of The Lost, my only critique is that I wish Stanne incorporated more of his clean vocals into the album. His deep croon is captivating and should have some more time in the spotlight as opposed to just two songs out of 12. Maybe if three or five more songs had them, it would be a smash. That being said, he brings his deep crooning vocals to "Forever Astray" and "Between Directions", which are also two of the best songs the album has to offer. "Between Directions" in particular kind of feels like it would be right at home in the Dark Tranquillity catalog. "A Death That Becomes Us" is a much more straightforward heavy metal tune with a chugging riff that grooves so hard, my neck just can't resist but start banging, while bearing a big stank face. This is a song that belongs on all our workout playlists.
While there is a healthy number of strong tracks, the issue with the album, which shouldn't be too much of a surprise with the Gothenburg sound, is that many of the tracks tend to mirror each other. and make you wonder if you had just heard a certain song a few minutes ago. The other slight flaw that's also not a big deal is that the bonus track "Become Surrender" should've been included on the main album. I get that because it carries a slightly different vibe compared to the album tracks, this track would've been a nice interlude between all of traditional melodic death metal goodness. Despite these minor flaws, March Of The Unheard is a beast of an album with just about everything that made the Gothenburg sound one of the most loved metal styles of all time. The Halo Effect is a band that knows its strengths, and they're making music that they enjoy making.
FINAL RATING
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