The Haunted - rEVOLVEr

"No Compromise," "99," and "All against all" are the best,with "No compromise," easily in the top 20 of my favorite songs songs of all time-- which actually led to this review: I figured, "If this song is on this album, the whole thing must be worth investigating, right?" And you know what? It is.

rEVOLVEr is the perfect marriage of singer Peter Dolving's manic lyrical brilliance coupled with an unusual/off-kilter delivery and his hardcore punk-ish-but-not-somehow sounds, and the Björler twins' thrash-death tastic riffing and soloing; both were balanced here-- after this record, Dolving jumped the shark (he's the hardcore punk who was too off-med/weird to front a band in 1988); but time had not yet finally caught up with him here.

Dolving was, essentially, the Agnostic Front/ Cro-Mags' unmedicated frontman with, essentially, At The Gates. Nice production, too: ultra-clear, like Arch Enemy's on Khaos Legions: must be a Swedish thing.

Dolving doesn't do as well --nearly as well-- while being slower, or softer, or singing over acoustic pieces; his pompous overstatement --not unlike Danzig's, one suddenly forefront-- overshadows his fury. It's rare on this album, however, and quickly forgotten. It does become a problem on later releases, but that's beyond the scope of this review.

"All against all," and the bonus tracks "Fire Alive," and "Smut King" reflect the very-distant but still-present Pantera image; the spirit of Vulgar Display of Power, but without the somehow-complete prostration thereto:

"Abysmal,"  at about 3:45, fades out, with regret, like Trouble's "All is Forgiven," and just as hauntingly....

"99": the best of the reverse-gallop thrash tunes, and/or an even tighter Sepultura-- tight solos, though however rare, and ones suggesting restraint-- sounds like, almost, a Sepultura/ Vio-lence covers album: the best of the fury of youth, coupled with the best songwriters that they love.

--Horn

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