With the release of Swedish metal group The Haunted's fourth full-length record, original vocalist Peter Dolving was welcomed back around this time after being absent for the past two albums, which featured Marco Aro in the man's place; Marco himself would eventually reunite with The Haunted at some point after Unseen. rEVOLVEr is more or less enshrouded by the same predictably hard-hitting, unsympathetic musical style these Swedes are known for, but as the title indicates, they also made an attempt to differentiate themselves from their contemporaries; tracks like "Abysmal," "All Against All," and "Burnt to All Shell" exemplify these slight changes in direction. If I'm being honest, though, this could've been far more salvageable than it is without Dolving's singing techniques and the hit-and-miss experimentalism. On top of that, The Haunted's original frontman just doesn't hold a candle to Marco, and there are moments where his vocals don't gel properly with the viciously acceptable musicianship. Sure, there's a minority out there who can definitely appreciate this type of tonal shift - even to the point of arguing that it's relatively mature and interesting - but Haunted are one of those bands who are better off preferring consistency and relentlessly gifted (if generic) instrumentation over feeble-minded experimentation.
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