The Halo Effect: March of the Unheard

The Halo Effect is a melodic death metal super-group, consisting of members who have played in seminal bands like In Flames and Dark Tranquility. In fact all of the members are In Flames alumni. Clearly they're a band with strong roots to the early 90s Gothenburg scene, and are very much focused on recreating music that harks back to that seminal time and sound. March Of The Unheard is their second album to date.

Melodeath was a key gateway subgenre for me as I was finding my way from Thrash metal to much heavier styles in my formative years. Given the soft spot that I have for this style I find March of the Unheard to be an enjoyable album. It's not reinventing the wheel by any means however the riffs and melodies are strong and catchy and the overall production is punchy and crisp, as you would expect to find on a label like Nuclear Blast. Overall it's a quality product.

In Flames is a band that has strayed into the 'metal core' realm, until a very recent return to form. However The Halo Effect plays music that is arguably more reminiscent of In Flames' golden era than the current version of In Flames themselves...think the style captured on Colony, Whoracle, etc. If these Halo Effect albums were being released by In Flames, melodeath fans would be going into meltdown such is the quality.

Mikael Stanne's work on the album is the highlight for me, lending his full range of vocal styles to this release with great effect. A track like "Forever Astray" is a good example. Despite name dropping that track for particular mention it must be said that the tracklisting is strong from top to bottom. There is a catchy guitar melody, killer vocal hook or satisfying riff to be found on each and every track.

Whilst there is a nostalgic element to the sound and style of this release it's very hard to fault the album. It's a great release and while 2025 is very young (which makes this statement rather mundane) it's probably my favourite new release of the year to date.

Tracklist:
1. Conspire To Deceive
2. Detonate
3. Our Channel To The Darkness
4. Cruel Perception
5. What We Become
6. This Curse Of Silence
7. March Of The Unheard
8. Forever Astray
9. Between Directions
10. A Death That Become Us
11. The Burning Point
12. Coda

Added: January 11th 2025
Reviewer: Chris Reid
Score:
Related Link: Band @ Bandcamp
Hits: 232
Language: english

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