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BravePicks 2025 – THE HALO EFFECT’s March Of The Unheard #29

https://bravewords.com/black-death/bravepicks-2025-thehaloeffectmarch29/

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THE HALO EFFECT Unleash Cover Of DANZIG Classic “How The Gods Kill”; Visualizer

https://bravewords.com/news/the-halo-effect-unleash-cover-of-danzig-classic-how-the-gods-kill-visualizer/

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THE HALO EFFECT Streams Japan-Only Bonus Track "Not Yet Broken"

https://metalinjection.net/new-music/the-halo-effect-streams-japan-only-bonus-track-not-yet-broken

#TheHaloEffect #NotYetBroken #MarchOfTheUnheard #NiclasEngelin #DaysOfTheLost #RockwaveFestival #TuskaFestival #DongOpenAir #BadenInBlut #LeyendasDelRock

Record(s) o’ the Month – January 2025

By Angry Metal Guy

The tradition at Angry Metal Guy has been the strong start to the year where, like so many people with New Year’s Resolutions, you stick with ’em for a while, and then they taper off, sliding later and later as the year goes on. But this year, even the dopamine kick of listing everything in some kind of ranking order and getting lots of positive feedback from readers didn’t help me shake my funk. Alas, that means that I got way behind, and no one was available to pick up my slack. I apologize. However, since I am breaking the trend this year, maybe that means that 2025 will be significantly different!1 So, here’s your R(s)otM for January. It’s a beautiful time to be alive, my friends.2

Mutagenic Host // The Diseased Machine [January 3rd, 2025 | Gurgling Gore | Dry Cough | Memento Mori | Bandcamp] — The death metal newcomers in Mutagenic Host are already impressing with their brand of old school-inflected, death metal-fueled technological cynicism. With such timely, relevant themes for this nightmare fueled hellscape that we’re living in as the backdrop to the rifftacular and muscular tuneage contained on The Diseased Machine—out January 3rd, 2025, from a melange of labels [buy it here on Bandcamp!]—the whole package dropkicks the listener from the opening strains to the final moments and has entranced the staff of Angry Metal Guy (as well as a-me, Angry Metal Guy). As the recently demoted n00b Tyme opined in his review:3 “Mutagenic Host has released a death metal album that checks all the boxes, a rifferously frenzied affair of epic proportions. It will not be the only thing I recommend in 2025, but it’s undoubtedly the first. I will be intently eyeing Mutagenic Host, anticipating their next evolution, and fans of this style should, too.” Set up those Google alerts, folks!

Runner(s) up

The Halo Effect // March of the Unheard [January 10th, 2025 | Nuclear Blast | LOL, you want to own lossless digital files? No chance of that, loser!] — You can’t imagine that I moved to Gothenburg only to not begin shilling for everything that comes from this beautiful city. Let’s not kid ourselves, it’s actually a requirement of being Swedish that you shill for your home territory.4 Some things—like the In Flames discography following Colony—make the task of shilling hard; March of the Unheard makes it easy.

As a fan of the Gothenburg sound embodied in the conjoining of Dark Tranquillity and In Flames that builds the root of The Halo Effect’s sound, this is a delicious meal loaded with everything you need in a melodeath record. Add to that that Mikael Stanne is one of the best vocalists in metal whose performance raises the level of the record at every turn, and you’ve got yourself a Record o’ the Month. Fellow old Steel Druhm was equally impressed, if in his particularly understated way: “You can appreciate March of the Unheard as a lost Dark Tranquillity album or as a slick homage to a specific moment in metal history, and it works well both ways. This is a superior album to Days of the Lost with a much greater replay potential, and I’ve been surprised by how vital and fresh it is. Not bad for a bunch of olde dawgs retreading their own ancient stomping grounds. Here’s to the olden ways in these confusing modern days.”

Faithxtractor // Loathing and the Noose [January 10th, 2025 | Redefining Darkness Records | Bandcamp] — Faithxtractor—the band with the worst name since Fvneraryy Fvnkk—has returned with Loathing and the Noose, an ambitious evolution of their old-school death metal sound. Building on their 2023 record Contempt for a Failed Dimension, these Ohio death metallers have upped their game by fusing blackened thrash, melodeath, and bedeathened doom into a relentless (yet surprisingly dynamic!) assault. Faithxtractor balances brutality with surprising melody, innovating without losing their edge. And one guy—our very own Maddog, who I was shocked and a little disappointed to learn is both quite sane and human—sees this as the proof that they are carving out a place for themselves in the modern death metal landscape. He proselytized (more or less) pithily: “Faithxtractor makes it work by whole-assing their every move. Loathing and the Noose’s gargantuan death metal riffs, smooth songwriting, and excellence throughout its genre romp won me over.”

#2025 #Faithxtractor #Jan25 #LoathingAndTheNoose #MarchOfTheUnheard #MutagenicHost #RecordSOTheMonth #RecordsOfTheMonth #TheDiseasedMachine #TheHaloEffect

The Halo Effect – March of the Unheard Review

By Steel Druhm

It seems like only yesterday I was writing about a supergroup helmed by Mikael Stanne of Dark Tranquillity fame. That’s because I just covered Cemetery Skyline, his Goth rock project that dropped the very successful Nordic Gothic release late last year. Now in the blink of a Mind’s I, he’s back with the sophomore outing from The Halo Effect. This star-studded collective features various past members of In Flames. It’s essentially a salute to the early days of the Gothenburg sound, with an approach that conjures nostalgia of the glory days of both Dark Tranquillity and In Flames equally. This formula largely worked on 2022s Days of the Lost, and it works again on March of the Unheard. Part of that may be the enduring appeal of the core sound, but a lot of it comes from the sheer talent and charisma of the assembled cast. Aiding in the charm offensive, there’s a greater incorporation of traditional metal ideas and influences this time out, as well as more consistently interesting songsmithing. This makes what could have been a yawner of the throwback album something just a bit more compelling.

If you need an elevator pitch for what to expect here, think Fiction / We Are the Void era Dark Tranquillity meets Whoracle era In Flames. On paper that seems enticing and in practice it works quite well too. Opener “Conspire to Deceive” reminds me why I fell for the Gothenburg sound back in the early 90s. Stanne is his usual badass self, utterly comfortable in his melodeath growls and barks as melodic but crunchy leads and polished, glossy harmonies envelope him. The guitar work by Jesper Strömblad (Ex-Hammerfall, ex-In Flames) and Niclas Engelin (ex-Gardenia, ex-In Flames) is bright and shiny, full of melodic noodling but girded by meaty riffs. It reads more like a DT cut overall and that’s just fine by me. “Detonate” is just a fun, rocking dose of melodeath that belongs on your cardio playlists toot sweet. It’s uncomplicated and catchy and Stanne owns the hooky chorus. “Our Channel to the Darkness” is very much a DT creation at its core, thrashy, punchy, dark and regal. This could appear on any DT album from Damage Done to We Are the Void and be right at home. The riffs have bite and aggression and Stanne sounds extra venomous.

I’ll admit I kept waiting for March of the Unheard to go off the rails and become stale and boring. The strength of the album’s first half surprised me, but what really got my goat was how consistent all the material is. Tracks like “Cruel Perception” and “What We Become” offer melodeath fans all they could want, and later cut “Forever Astray” marries DT’s cold, sterile aesthetic with gleaming and glorious guitar harmonies for a rousing ride as Stanne throws in some effective clean singing for extra oomph. “Between Directions” drills down into DT’s frigid sound and again nails the clean bits for maximum maximumness. Only the inclusion of a relatively bland mid-album interlude and a long and unnecessary symphonic/folksy instrumental closer mar what is a very enjoyable romp through the salad days of Swedish metal. At 48-plus minutes, the album feels a touch too long due to the instrumental padding, but it’s still easy enough to spin. The sound and mix are fine for the material, with enough meat on the guitars and allowing Stanne enough room to shine.

Speaking of which, Stanne continues to be a legend in the melodeath universe and he’s aging like fine wine. He adds +2 to every song he graces and the man is a boon to whatever project he touches. His always expert delivery is enhanced by the solid and polished guitar work from Strömblad and Engelin. They split time mining the main acts of the members for inspiration, but they also bring in bits and pieces of Omnium Gatherum and Insominum and add subtle nods to the NWoBHM as well. It’s melodeath made for those of us who were there at ground zero in the 90s and offers nothing new whatsoever. That’s okay though when the writing and execution is this solid.

You can appreciate March of the Unheard as a lost Dark Tranquillity album or as a slick homage to a specific moment in metal history and it works well both ways. This is a superior album to Days of the Lost with a much greater replay potential and I’ve been surprised by how vital and fresh much of it is. Remove the instrumental flab and this clicks up to very good. Not bad for a bunch of olde dawgs retreading their own ancient stomping grounds. Here’s to the olden ways in these confusing modern days.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 192 kbps mp3
Label: Nuclear Blast
Websites: thehaloeffect.band | instagram.com/thehaloeffectse
Releases Worldwide: January 10th, 2025

#2025 #30 #DarkTranquillity #Gardenian #Hammerfall #InFlames #Jan25 #MarchOfTheUnheard #MelodicDeathMetal #NuclearBlastRecords #Review #Reviews #SwedishMetal #TheHaloEffect

NEW #ALBUMREVIEW

#TheHaloEffect has made a significant impact in recent years, not only because they are industry veterans but also due to their relentless drive to improve and offer their fans fresh and engaging content with each release. I highly recommend checking out my review of their latest album, #MarchofTheUnheard, which represents a complete refinement of their style and a much-needed progression forward.

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https://mickbirchallreview.blogspot.com/2025/01/httpsmickbirchallreview.blogspot.com202501album-review-halo-effect-march-of-the-unheard.html

The Halo Effect lanza single y video: ‘March Of The Unheard’ | vía #iRock

https://www.irock.cl/the-halo-effect-lanza-single-y-video-march-of-the-unheard/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-halo-effect-lanza-single-y-video-march-of-the-unheard

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