The Haunted – Songs Of Last Resort

Written by on 07-06-2025 at 16:23.

Damn, Warhead, the opening track of the new album by The Haunted, really hits hard. Fast, full of fire, with terse riffs, pissed off vocals and Lombardian hammering in a nice full sound. If this intensity will be maintained for the full forty minutes, this will already be the thrash album of the year, Dark Angel or not. We have high hopes, because the promo sheet tells us that Songs Of The Last Resort is “utterly viscious” and “uncompromising”.

Strangely enough In Fire Reborn, still with stubbornly chopping percussion and footwork, the tempo sometimes drops a bit and the hopes for an modern Reign In Blood can be put away. Here the trump card of groove is played. In the bridge to the chorus, a solid pinch of melody is added. Nothing wrong with that – it also provides some variation – but for the thoroughbred thrasher who mainly goes for speed, it will feel a bit like a mandatory cold shower, despite the very excellent thrashing acceleration in the climax.

Oh well, the guys are getting older of course: the last album was released eight years ago. Somewhat atypical for The Haunted – in the past, singers Marco and Peter sometimes alternated – not much has changed in those eight years. In fact, the line-up has remained unchanged since 2013. To say that the band members know what they are doing and are attuned to each other is an understatement. Technical quality is therefore guaranteed.

Death To The Crown sounds more venomous – “As the truth erupts there’s no place to hide!” – and also has, after a very short experimental piece, a nice breakdown. Good compact, blazing guitar solos too! The intro of To Bleed Out is  just heavy metal of the very melodic kind. It doesn’t take long because further on this song is (just about) carried by groovy guitars. With a lack of intensity and it’s easy to sing along vocals at the end, this song is the least convincing. Although I don’t rule out that entire crowds on a festival field will roar it back. The latter will also apply to the very melodic and somewhat airy Labyrinth Of Lies, of which you can even sing along to the riff. No, I really don’t hear that uncompromising from the promo talk everywhere.

And so Songs Of Last Resort is a bit hit (often) and miss (not so often) for me. For example, sometimes a nice sharp riff like that from Hell Is Wasted On The Dead is missing. In any case, on that track the tempo increases to level ‘vicious’. It is in a song like this that the driving drumming of Adrian Erlandsson (also At The Gates) and the furious vocals of Marco Aro come into their own. And suddenly the guitar solos sound a lot more inspired. What a great track! And we continue nicely with the again fast Through The Fire with those characteristic biting riffs. I conclude that The Haunted works best for me when they – as announced by the band themselves – really go all out without compromise. It doesn’t matter whether that is with fast guitar and drumming or with really heavy sticky riffs like in Collateral Carnage (no more Kukident needed!): “The warmachine stays on track!”.

The closing title track is a bit more cinematic with calm bass-driven passages of spoken word alternating with seething passages of roaring vocals and hauling guitar and drumming that announce the end of the world. Perhaps not the heaviest track on the record, but an urgent and inspired one.

And so Songs Of Last Resort is full of variety, with even an occasional small dip. But we will hold the hardhitting tracks such as Warhead and Hell Is Wasted On The Dead as undisputed pinnacles of thrash!

 

Score:

82/100

Label:

Century Media Records, 2025

Tracklisting:

  1. Warhead
  2. In Fire Reborn
  3. Death To The Crown
  4. To Bleed Out
  5. Unbound
  6. Hell Is Wasted On The Dead
  7. Through The Fire
  8. Collateral Damage
  9. Blood Clots
  10. Salvation Recalled
  11. Labyrinth Of Lies
  12. Letters Of Last Resort

Line-up:

  • Ola Englund – Guitar
  • Jonas Björler – Bass guitar, vocals
  • Marco Aro – Vocals
  • Adrian Erlandsson – Drums
  • Jensen – Guitar

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