_ _______ _ ...:... _ _______ _ ___ / .:::::::::::. \ ___ | / .. (:::::::::::::) .. \ | | . .:::::.`:::::::::::'.:::::. . | | .::.. `:::.::':::`::.:::' ..::. | _ _______ | .::' ::::':::::`:::: `::. | _______ _ \\ | | :: `' ::':`:: `' :: | | // \ | | `:. .::' . `::. .:' | | / . | | .::::::..::::' ... `::::..::::::. | | . | | `:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::' | | .... | | `:' `::::: :: :: :::::' `:' | | .... | ' | : `. ': :: :: :: :: :` .' : | ` | |.....: . .......: :: :: :: :: : ...... . : ....| . ...................: : :: :: :: :: : : ................. . _____________:_____________ _____________:_____________ _ ___\` __ /_\` _______/_\` __ _/_\` /___ _ // __ / (/ ___/ (/ _ (/ /_______/\ _ _ /_________ ___________ ______/\ _ ______________/\__/_ _ \\\\\_________\__/\_________\__/\_____/\_____/\____________/ /// - -\-\-----------\__/----------\__/-------\_____/---------------/-/- - - -------------------: : :. ..:: :: . :------------------ - : : :......: :: :` ': :: : .....: : : ___ _ | | : ` ' : | | _ ___ _\---------- : | -------- : B E R C : -------- | : ----------/_ /_\ . : . ..:.. ..:.. . : . /_\ /// . . : : . . \\\ /: :\ /:: Artist :: The Halo Effect ::\ :: Album :: March of the Unheard :: :: Year :: 2025 :: :: __ _ _ __ :: -:--\\-----------------------------------------------------------------//--:- :: \ / :: :: . Genre :: Death Metal Source :: CD . :: :: Label :: Shinigami Records R.date :: 2025-01-27 :: _::__ Cat.nr. :: NBSR414 S.date :: 2025-01-10 __::_ ::// \\:: ::/---------------------------------------------------------------------\:: :: :: /: Encoder :: LAME 3.100 -V0 :\ ..: Bitrate :: avg. 276kbps :.. . Quality :: 44.1 kHz/Joint Stereo . . Size :: 113.52MB . . . __ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __ .\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////. +/ -\------- | | ----\ tracklist /---- | | -------/- \+ /: . : : . :\ /:: ::\ :: 1. Conspire to Deceive 3:57 :: :: 2. Detonate 3:58 :: :: 3. Our Channel to the Darkness 3:28 :: :: 4. Cruel Perception 4:04 :: :: 5. What We Become 3:46 :: :: 6. This Curse of Silence 2:00 :: :: 7. March of the Unheard 2:59 :: :: 8. Forever Astray 3:40 :: :: 9. Between Directions 4:28 :: :: 10. A Death That Becomes Us 4:07 :: :: 11. The Burning Point 3:47 :: :: 12. Coda 3:53 :: :: 13. Path of Fierce Resistance 3:39 :: :: 14. The Defiant One 3:11 :: :: 15. Become Surrender 3:34 :: :: :: :: :: :: ------- :: .. >> 54:31 .. __ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __ .\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////. +/ -\------- | | ----\ release notes /---- | | -------/- \+ /: . : : . :\ /:: ::\ :: :: :: "March Of The Unheard" is a great showcase of a band trying to :: :: come up with new ideas whilst still sticking to the old :: :: "Gothenburg" sound as we knew it years ago. It's so brave and :: :: open-minded, as if it wouldn't have a problem showing a middle :: :: finger to specifically one era of In Flames, yet they are not :: :: so arrogant as to try to reduce it to their level. One part of :: :: the band is In Flames, and the other part of the band is Dark :: :: Tranquillity. I donÆt wonder if people are calling the band :: :: names like "Dark Flames" or "In Tranquillity," because while we :: :: have some melodic, old-school In Flames riffs and drumming, on :: :: the other hand, we have MikaelÆs empowering vocals and :: :: synthesizers or electronics, which are very common for Dark :: :: Tranquillity. :: :: :: :: Guitar riffs are awesome. We have here the founding member of :: :: this band, Niclas Engelin, and the legend named Jesper :: :: Stromblad. They're creating more and more close "guitar" :: :: relationships between them, and they are not as close-minded as :: :: on THE's "Days Of The Lost," but they play everything as safely :: :: as they can. The riffs are In Flames-like, melodic, sometimes :: :: even progressive, and in some songs the certain parts are very :: :: well consistently presented. "Days Of The Lost" had a very :: :: progressive direction; however, even though you can feel the :: :: progressiveness, there's much less of it than on the debut. I :: :: like it; everything is melodic, played as it should be, yet :: :: it's very safe and vigilant. Great guitar compositions can be :: :: heard in "Cruel Perception" or "Detonate." :: :: :: :: Mikael Stanne is for me the vocalist of the year, and he should :: :: be the one awarded. How can one sing in 4 bands in a row while :: :: still remaining as good as he never ever was? I don't know; you :: :: tell me! I love his vocals; he always sounds fresh, and with :: :: his pretty wide vocal range, he never disappoints fans. Yes, I :: :: do agree he doesnÆt use as much of his clean vocals as he used :: :: to on their debut, but guess what? There's more room for his :: :: crazy-good harsh vocals, which means more "old-school" fans of :: :: melodic death metal will like this album (hopefully)! Lyrics :: :: (composed also by him) are much more leading the Dark :: :: Tranquillity, yet after they posted certain videos about the :: :: background of the title of the album "March Of The Unheard," I :: :: changed my mind a bit about that. I think Jesper was the one :: :: who was talking about it, especially about his view on it, and :: :: he took an example of him growing up in high school and being :: :: bullied because of his "satanic" looks; it is because he was :: :: the only metalhead at that time in that school. Lyrics are far :: :: more interesting because of this; there are more varieties of :: :: them. :: :: :: :: And finally, we have drums here played by the most unique :: :: drummer in melodic death metalùDaniel Svensson. This guy's a :: :: beast; I always liked his drumming in IF, yet he does not :: :: disappoint in The Halo Effect also; more like, he's just :: :: getting better and more consistent. Unfortunately for fans of :: :: fast-paced drumming (blast beats, etc.), it can be a bit :: :: disappointing, but in the end, it's a "Gothenburg death metal" :: :: band, so this should be already known. :: :: :: :: Many of the haters of this band also do dislike that this is :: :: just once again a "sequel" to the "Clayman" release, but that's :: :: not particularly true. Yes, some songs lead that way, but on :: :: example: "What We Become," which is leading the more "Reroute :: :: to Remain"/"Soundtrack To Your Escape" era where there were :: :: also electronics and this stuff. We also have certain songs :: :: that lead to the older era of In Flames ("The Jester Race," :: :: "Whoracle"), but for those who didnÆt listen to this release :: :: yet, theyÆre not absent, and reading this review, I wonÆt spoil :: :: more things; experience it on your own! :: :: :: :: Sadly, we somehow got to the end of this review, and sharing :: :: with you a few words on summing up this whole album would be :: :: great. If you awaited something more progressive than "Days Of :: :: The Lost," then you're wrong. It's less progressive, focuses :: :: more on the things it already knows, and also, the album tries :: :: (and certainly doesn't fail) and expands the melodic :: :: "Gothenburg" sound and shows you newly opened branches of :: :: sounds, riffs, and atmospheres. StanneÆs vocals proceed to not :: :: fail once again, and harsh vocals are mainly pointed out on :: :: this whole album also. Prepare for a variety of Svensson's drum :: :: performances, and be sure that this album will, once in a time, :: :: be named "the legend." "This is the fire and there is no end, :: :: we turn to our anger to burn out the pain"... :: :: :: :: . _ _ . :: \: :. \\ ___________ . ___________ // .: :/ __\____ :: ____ ___\ _ / BERC : 2025 \ _ /___ ____ :: ____/__ \\\f3! :: \\\ __ _/_________i_________\ /___/ /// :: cRO/// \ :: :\-\___________\_ ___ / _ _/___________/-/: :: / :: | . . _ _ _/ __/ . \_ _ _ . . | :: : :::::::: | | \\\\\/ _______\____|\ \///// | | :::::::: : :: | | -\-\/____/-------------\____\/-/- | | :: :: | | \ :|: / | | :: : : | . ` ::: ' . | : : . . | : ::: : | . . | :::....:::....::: | : ::::::::::::::::: : . :::''``:::''``::: . : ::: : . ::: . .:. :