The Haunted :"Songs of Last Resort"

This dude, who fancies himself a music journalist and holds comparisons of bands on his Facebook as content, tried to not only compare Vader to Slayer, but also tried to say it was a tie, to which I felt compelled to comment that Vader would not exist if it were not for Slayer. This band might have come about after At the Gates ' 90s breakup, but clearly, their existence is reliant on Slayer as well. They bring the more melodic Swedish guitar solos to the party, but that really feels like the only thing that sets them apart from being a Slayer clone themselves. Some riffs are more Slayer influenced than others, but the death metal intensity is tempered with the fun-loving thrashing. 

This is the band's 10th album. The very fact that they keep pumping these out means there is a market for this sort of thing. It's less melodic harmony-driven than some of their peers from the region, and I can take these guys more seriously than Dark Tranquility, whose album I just gave up on altogether. "To Bleed Out " has more of a triumphant gallop and brighter melody that is marginally catchier. "Unbound" also benefits from slowing down to attack the guitar with more intention. Both "Hell is Wasted on the Dead" and "Through the Fire" race along with very similarly charged buzz saw thrash attacks. 

"Collateral Carnage" feels more like an Entombed song. "Blood Clots" is one of the album's best riffs, but it is only a minute and a half, so not counted in this review. "Salvation Recalled" is just business as usual. There is more of a Metallica feel to "Labyrinth of Lies".  While this is not as heavy, it is catchier. The song is more deliberate but not as catchy, though dense and sonically interesting. At the end of the day it's pretty run of the mill, but sounds big and menacing I'll give it an 8. 

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