The Halo Effect - New Album 2023/2024

[eochaid]

But there's a high chance that it is. It's not strange to have an instrumental break in the middle of an album. Specially if it's related to the previous or the following song.

 

[DE4life]

It was quite common in the old school MDM albums from the era, so it'd be cool if it is. I guess we'll know if/when the song lengths are released.

 

[Blast_The_Virginborn]

That intro IS actually song called This curse of silence, 2 minutes long song that is followed by the title song on the record. You can check the lenght of the songs on Metal Archives..Even on the title song you can hear Mikael scream This curse of silence in the middle of song. Anyhow, my wishes came true, hoped for it to be released one day.

 

[DE4life]

Nice! Weird for them to release it like this, but THE can be unconventional in this way so it's all good.

 

[Moonshield_]

Wow, I was coming here to say how basic, simplistic, repetitive and undevelopped this song sounds to me but after watching the video and witnessing this fabulous intro I'm way more enthusiast!

It felt absolutely magical, juste like on Conditional

Moreover, I love the production on this one. Very poppy but I've accepted THE is not about agression anyway.

 

[Meheva]

Okay that intro made me very happy. Made the song a lot better. Some nice Whoracle-era gothenburg-sound in there. Only wish the production was a bit more brutal. Im starting to get hyped for the new album.

 

[The Grayfox]

Love that intro and it really helps the song feel more complete in some way. I wonder why it doesn't open the album, but I'm sure they had their reasons. Definitely looking forward to the album. And another six singles.

 

[Cronopio]

I really like this one. After hearing the two singles I have no worries about the next album, it's already shaping up to be another killer release.

MotU is short, sweet and to the point. Absolutely top notch MDM, as we've come to expect from THE. The instrumental starting at around 1:43 gives me major mid-to-late 90s MDM vibes, just with much cleaner production. It's hard to describe, but almost an epic melancholy. You hear it so infrequently these days, but Niclas and Jesper just get it. The two of them are a fantastic combo, and they're arguably producing stuff at the moment which is up there with the music Jesper and Bjorn created in the glory days. Stanne meanwhile just fits into the music like a glove, enhacing every song without trying to make himself the centrepiece.

I'm just so thankful these guys were able to get together and give those of us left from the old guard a fitting final act to the Swedish MDM golden era. Stanne never disgraced himself with DT, never even came close, but DT have gone in a very different direction since the mid-2000s. With THE, Niclas has really placed himself amongst the pantheon of MDM musicians who should be acknowledged as being masters of their craft. Jesper may not be able to do much live anymore, but it's so pleasing that he's finally able to put his name to a project that fully realises his talent in a way that hasn't been seen since the mid-2000s. Considering everything he's been through, this revival with THE has been more than I ever thought would be possible for him. Daniel and Peter meanwhile also solidify themselves as some of the very best at what they do within the MDM genre.

Fanboying a little, maybe, but I ain't embarrassed to do so for these guys. They're legends in my eyes and I can't wait to add another incredible MDM album to my collection when March of the Unknown (album) finally drops.

Very nice write-up!

 

[DE4life]

I don't fanboy very much these days, but these guys still manage to bring back that feeling I had as a mid-to-late teen, where stuff like In Flames, DT, Soilwork, ATG, Arch Enemy, etc just blew me away. There isn't much MDM that does that for me these days - I would put it down to genre fatigue but I've been listening to Power Metal since the early 2000s as well and I still hear new stuff that gets me majorly pumped up, so I don't think it's that. THE just has that sound which I'll always love, and that you just don't hear anymore. Not properly, anyway. ATG still does a good job instrumentally, but I can't stand Lindberg's vocals these days. Stanne, on the other hand, sounds pretty much perfect to me in THE.

 

[Xpyro125]

Modern MDM generally goes for the modern core-styled downtuned chugging, so I don’t feel it whatsoever either. THE actually feels like melodeath, since it’s actually, you know, melodic. I won’t go on a tirade right now since I’m at work, but I really think that modern metalcore and its stylistic pitfalls have been completely fucking over so many newer bands and works in all different subgenres— Obviously it’s not everyone, bands like Boston Manor and HFTS (Very different styles) are going surprisingly strong by avoiding modern core, but bands I once found interesting like Erra and Spiritbox are simply lackluster these days with how their creativity’s nearly-completely run dry. Of course, this has led so many bands to just do what they do.

In any case, God bless THE for being real melodeath.

 

[DE4life]

There have been a handful of MDM albums I've really enjoyed over the past few years. Nightrage's Wolf To Man was something I really liked, and even though most didn't agree, I also got a lot of mileage out of Arch Enemy's Will to Power as well. Soilwork's Verkligheten and DT's Atoma both had some solid rotation for me as well.

But yeah, even the modern MDM albums I've enjoyed haven't embodied that older spirit as such. I've just enjoyed them for what they are. THE's stuff is the closest I've come to feeling that classic Gothenburg vibe again, and I doubt anybody else could really come close to doing what these guys do.

Of course we have to mention Foregone as that's basically a lost In Flames about straight out of 1996. So back to the roots it basically is the roots. However it seems unfair to bring it into the conversation as it's basically The Jester Race but even better.

 

[Moonshield_]

Of course we have to mention Foregone as that's basically a lost In Flames about straight out of 1996. So back to the roots it basically is the roots. However it seems unfair to bring it into the conversation as it's basically The Jester Race but even better.

Finally you admit it. In Flames tried hard to produce good melodic death metal between their 93-2011 era but they've always failed until 2014 and I think we all know that.

In fact, true Gothenburg sound = Siren Charms/Battles/Foregone

 

[Xpyro125]

There have been a handful of MDM albums I've really enjoyed over the past few years. Nightrage's Wolf To Man was something I really liked, and even though most didn't agree, I also got a lot of mileage out of Arch Enemy's Will to Power as well. Soilwork's Verkligheten and DT's Atoma both had some solid rotation for me as well.

But yeah, even the modern MDM albums I've enjoyed haven't embodied that older spirit as such. I've just enjoyed them for what they are. THE's stuff is the closest I've come to feeling that classic Gothenburg vibe again, and I doubt anybody else could really come close to doing what these guys do.

I think there’s a couple classics on all those albums (I wouldn’t really class Verk as MDM at this point, but maybe I’m wrong), but I think newer “melodeath” bands in particular are massive letdowns. Maybe I just haven’t been looking in the right places for underrated/overlooked hidden gems of bands, but so much of what I’ve found is just deathcore with 2% more melody (And considering shit like Where Owls Know My Name, that’s more MDM than some of the “MDM” shit I’ve found), and it’s just not for me. There are a few newer melodeath bands that harken back to the Finnish style of melodeath, and that is cool, but I really want the Gothenburg sound in full force— Creative and progressive or classic and “safe”. THE is the closest there is, and it kind of sucks to see that that’s it. Arch Enemy does little for me— Deceivers just isn’t a good album to me— and Overgivenheten was a total borefest. It’s the same shit with that kind of “second-wave” metalcore (as I refer to it anyways) where it was more MDM-inspired back in the early to mid 2000s— Modern metalcore is just everything that I find to be the death of melody and creativity within metal, and that’s spread to other subgenres I love. Sure, there are a few good bands and good moments, but something like Oscillator from Make Them Suffer (Which I don’t hate) just doesn’t scratch the itch as something like Next Life by In This Moment.

It just makes me worried that when the classic bands retire, there just won’t be much in the way of new classic melodeath. I really hope I’m wrong about that, lots of love for 90s alt rock and shoegaze has reinvigorated those genres, but I’m not so sure it’ll be the same with modern metalcore dominating the style a ton of metal bands seem to go with these days. It’s just what people like, I guess— Lord knows that’s what you’ll see from Nik Nocturnal’s comment section.

I hope I’m wrong in the future.