The Halo Effect – March Of The Unheard
The Halo Effect – March of The Unheard
Nuclear Blast
Release Date: 10/01/2025
Running Time: 45:06
Review by Rory Bentley
8/10
After a very well-received debut record, Melodeath supergroup The Halo Effect are back with a sophomore release chock-full of widdly guitarmonies bolstered by uplifting growling. With this in mind the question must be asked- do we need a band based around the core principle of resurrecting peak-era In Flames when In Flames seem to have righted the ship and became good again?!
Of course, I’m being a little facetious, but the main reason people lost their shit for the debut was that it featured five former In Flames members revitalizing the sound that they pioneered back in the 90s and playing out of their skin at a time when In Flames own records were experimental in a way that turned a lot of people off. Album number 2 does not offer a great deal of departure from the debut, however there are plenty of huge hooks, thrilling lead guitar and generally superb musicianship at work here to stop this being a redundant nostalgia trip.
When ‘Detonate’ chops you in the mouth out of the gate, it is immediately apparent that the production has levelled up. The mix is super slick and there are wonderful synth accents all over the shop that add a modern polish to the classic sound. This approach could have resulted in things sounding too shiny and watered down, however the feral performance of the band and the impassioned growl of Mikael Stanne on the mic ensure things have plenty of bite. They even get away with a key change at the end where even the screams go up in pitch, like a shreddy Celine Dion ballad. Kind of.
Those hankering for that classic “The Jester Race” sound will be delighted by the folky acoustic intro on ‘Our Channel To The Darkness’ and the Iron Maiden for people that fuck melodies. In fact, speaking of melody, the back half of this thing is incredibly mainstream friendly, representing the kind of shift that In Flames and Dark Tranquility made that gained and certainly lost a fair few fans.
When the first clean vocals crept in I’m not going to lie- I was concerned. Like a fat virgin in a Black Metal battle jacket concerned. But I need not have worried, the symphonic splendour of ‘Between Directions’ and rousing ‘A Death That Becomes Us’ are so perfectly arranged and composed that I unfolded those elitist arms and gave in to the skyscraper hooks. Rather than watering down the sound, this more triumphant, lighter waving finale to the album actually gives the band a purpose far beyond rehashing a sound that I really fucking like to a high standard.
I would have happily lapped up more of the same from this capable collection of Swedish Metal Royalty, but it would have been a short lived pleasure. As it stands I am salivating at the thought of a third album!
TRACKLISTING
01 Conspire to Deceive
02 Detonate
03 Our Channel to the Darkness
04 Cruel Perception
05 What We Become
06 This Curse of Silence
07 March of the Unheard
08 Forever Astray
09 Between Directions
10 A Death That Becomes Us
11 The Burning Point
12 Coda
LINE-UP:
Niclas Engelin – guitars (2021–present)
Peter Iwers – bass (2021–present)
Mikael Stanne – vocals (2021–present)
Jesper Strömblad – guitars (2021–present)
Daniel Svensson – drums (2021–present)
LINKS:
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