Maybe “bad” is a bit misleading. “A Huge Ass Disappointment” is much more accurate. After all, this is the band that drew much deserved comparisons with metal gods Slayer when its self-titled debut was unleashed upon an unsuspecting world two short years ago. It was crowned by the metal masses as the next of kin to the hallowed Reign in Blood, a feat many a metalhead – including me – believed he would never live to see. Yet we did – although now it appears that the honeymoon has been a short-lived one.

Simply put, the characteristics that made the debut so goddamned special are conspicuously blurred or absent in the case of The Haunted Made Me Do It. The raging intensity. The unrestrained immediacy. An overabundance of wailing riffs infectious enough to induce the most conservative of metalheads to play air guitar. All gone or diluted to the point of being a lackluster imitation of its former self. At the root of the problem appears to be an almost fatal compromise – focusing more than a fraction of its energies on penning songs in a more commercial vein. Granted, only two tunes could be dubbed “singles” in a traditional sense – “Hollow Ground” and “Under the Surface.” The melodic emphasis of these two songs, however, seems to have seeped into the majority of the mix, painting The Haunted as just another melodic death metal band to be lumped in with the likes of the In Flames, Arch Enemies and Dark Tranquilities of the Swedish scene. In other words, a de-individualization has occurred, and the result of this sacrifice is a band that is now a pale reflection of its former self.

Not that the album is a total waste – the band is much too talented to be relegated to the ever growing scrap heap of heavy metal outcasts. Opening instrumental “Dark Intentions” and the tune into which it bleeds, “Bury Your Dead,” do offer a promising start to the proceedings. “Revelation” rips through at a bullet’s pace, highlighting the abrasive aggression of new vocalist Marco Aro’s throat. And closer “Victim Iced” provides a fitting final nail in the coffin, so to speak. But I have trouble perceiving these efforts as nothing more than the band trying to save face. Mere filler to space out the “singles” that pollute the album.

Surely criticism will rear its ugly head calling my motivations into question. After all, I have so much as admitted that a great deal of my frustration stems from shattered expectations. So be it. But The Haunted Made Me Do It can best be described as the output of a band projecting its growing pains onto the metal masses. A painful evolution. To me, anyway. .

For an album to be recorded that defines its respective genre, establishing itself as the litmus test for all subsequent releases, is a rarity.  Less rare, but still rather infrequent, is that musical opus that would have been that defining moment if not for its predecessor.  Take, for example, The Haunted's self-titled debut.  Its critical acceptance is undeniable - both Kerrang! and Terrorizer magazines, among numerous others, place it atop the heap of 1998 releases.  And fans who were in a frenzy with the release of merely one song, "Undead," on the Earache Record's Earplugged 2 compilation, are dubbing it the crowning achievement of thrash metal in the 90s.

Yet the band is unable to elude the inevitible comparisons to Slayer in the height of all its glory, the 1986 release of Reign in Blood.  "The Haunted, the metal masses seem to be saying, "is the best thrash metal album in nearly a decade . . . but it's not as good as Reign in Blood."  The Haunted should not be ashamed of some sort of ascribed second-place status, however.  They have reached a plateau that Slayer has been unable to reach since the release of its masterpiece.  Yet the question remains:  will the Haunted be plagued forever by the same lofty and unfulfilled expectations as Slayer?  Constantly forced to live with the criticism that "it's good, but nowhere near its debut?"  With the recent departure of vocalist Peter Dolving - whose hardcore style vocal delivery some have dubbed the band's sole weak spot - only time will tell, I suppose.  But why should that be a concern at this point?  If you are too busy pondering the future of metal's new blood while ignoring the present, then you are doing yourself a musical disservice, for the mountains of praise attributed to this razor-sharp debut are well deserved.  Quite simply, The Haunted is the "cock of the walk" in 1998, and metalheads, old school and new school alike, should bow down and pay homage to these Swedish metal godheads.

One of the first descriptions of the band that I read shortly after the release of "Undead" on the Earache's Earplugged 2 was that the band was a hybrid of Slayer's speed and intensity with AC/DC's song structure - brief, uncomplicated  and catchy as hell.  That description works, if only in a nutshell, but I would hesitate to attempt to pin down the Haunted sound with so simplistic a definition, despite what seems to be a fairly cut-and-dry approach to song writing.  Yet words are so ineffectual in this case, especially since I wholeheartedly believe that a more solid, better heavy metal album has not been released in the past 10 years, maybe more.  Yes, it truly is that good, every song uncomplicated without being simple, brutal without being excessive, angst-ridden without sounding silly and overly existential.  In short, I do not believe that a better album than this could be made at this time.

I could talk about individual songs, but I would more than likely end up gushing and gushing some more, and the last thing I would like to do is to appear to have fallen into a state of blind idolatry.  So I will close on this note:  I know good metal when I hear it - and I hear quite a lot - and it does not get much better than this.  Obtain a copy of this CD immediately and finally hear a band certainly worth its hype.