The ex’s do it better than the current. This was clear in 2022’s excellent “Days Of The Lost” and of course I didn’t expect anything less from the Swedes’ second full-length, which continues on the same high level as the first one. And for those who don’t know the band, all members of The Halo Effect have a background in In Flames and were formed in 2019 by guitarist Niclas Engelin and not by the other guitarist, the titan Jesper Strömblad, as I had erroneously mentioned in the presentation for their debut album.
The line-up is completed by Peter Iwers on bass, Daniel Svensson on drums and Dark Tranquillity’s mighty Mikael Stanne on vocals. The style couldn’t be anything other than melodic death metal of the Swedish school, as the band features musicians who contributed greatly to building this sound. The tracks are direct and short in duration, between three and four minutes most of them, filled with awesome riffs and melodies as well as Stanne’s as always unique growls.
As for the inevitable comparisons, I insist that The Halo Effect don’t copy themselves and want to create their own identity. It goes without saying that there are similarities with the aforementioned bands, for example in the break of the title track which is as if it came out of a long-lost session of “Whoracle”, but such a thing is perfectly normal to happen. And after all, if In Flames instead of trying to play melodic death metal are trying our patience and have become a bad joke, why shouldn’t the old members do it?
In “March Of The Unheard” there are amazing compositions, such as “Detonate”, the epic “Our Channel To The Darkness” and of course the title track that clearly show the Swedes’ dynamics. An interesting case is “Between Directions” with cello, violin and Stanne’s clean vocals as well as the acoustic instrumental “Coda” that closes the album, giving the listener a moment of calm after all that preceded it. In conclusion, a quality and highly enjoyable record which is addressed to every fan of the melodic death metal sound.
