The Haunted – One Kill Wonder (Earache)
Some people call these guys thrash revivalists. I laugh at those people. Make no mistake about it; this is a Slayer tribute band. Which is to say, this is great stuff! However, as far as Slayer albums go, this is along the lines of “Divine Intervention” more than say, “Seasons...” or “Reign in Blood”. In other words, this band is starting to get a little boring. Nothing new and original here, all of it has been done before, first by Slayer, and then by these guys on their first two albums. The only change comes in the form of the vocals, which I like more because they are more and more in the vein of NWOSDM style growled, dry-lung vocals. Nonetheless, this kind of material is still good enough, even for what seems like the 20th time. The production is excellent, the guitar tone is powerful and mighty crunchy (albeit a tad generic), and the drumming gets better with every song on the album.

Tracks:
1) Instrumental opening track that takes the “Dead Skin Mask” idea of arpeggiated chords backed with a crushing rhythm and drives it to the ground with some excellent drumming. Unfortunately, it’s only 2 minutes long.
2) Excellent, mega-thrasher, very tight and heavy, but FCCs.
3) The riff sounds like a continuation of the previous song, but eventually develops into its own 30-note progression that has become the trademark of good NWOSDM. Great song, with a really neat solo, and it’s probably the most original, un-Slayer-like song. FCC at –3:00.
4) Cool intro, more Slayer worship, and FCC.
5) Haunting main riff, cool bass backing it up, and a very cool chorus. Don’t worry, the Slayer worship kicks in with the dual-guitar solos towards the end, a-la “Reign in Blood” or “Angel of Death”.
6) Instrumental. Damn. This is fucking excellent. Think “Seasons in the Abyss” intro that picks up in intensity with some whispered samples, and then launches into a total drum and riff madness via some guitar feedback, before going melodic arpeggio again and repeating the cycle. This actually sounds a little like At The Gates, which makes sense since Anders Bjorler wrote it.
7) Awesome song, with scathing lyrics, and some cool guitar solos and very powerful riffing. FCC (shit, easily bleeped out) at –2:00.
8) Not very memorable, but an ok song, especially since it’s got a short mellow bridge and a breakdown that sounds a lot like At The Gates.
9) Well, he says “shithead” a lot, so that’s all you need to know. In case that wasn’t clear, FCCs. By the way, so-so song.
10) Holy brutal “greatest Slayer riffs compilation” Batman TM! This is a vicious, heavy song, with dual guitar solos courtesy of guest guitarist Michael Amott of Arch Enemy. Easily the best song here. I’m suddenly feeling the urge to hurt my roommates...
11) The title track kinda leaves me wanting more. FCCs.

Verdict: Not a bad album, although not as good as its predecessor. By the way, when I say these guys sound like Slayer, I mean they steal...errr, borrow the best ideas Slayer ever had and then morph them into melodic death metal with that Gothenburg sound. Worth adding just for the brutality and heaviness/power.