Label: Shadow Kingdom Records
Release date: 10-01-2020
Haunt is the brainchild of Trevor William Church of Beastmaker fame. When Trevor wasn’t busy writing Sabbath-inspired doom riffs with Beastmaker, he delved into the depths of 80s traditional heavy metal and in that manner, Haunt was born. What started off as a solo-project, Haunt has now blossomed into a full-time band with an active touring schedule. They have two critically acclaimed albums under their belt and in certain circles, they’ve become poster boys of heavy metal. It would be unsurprising to see their albums listed in the ‘best of’ lists of 2018 and 2019. In that sense, I was a bit surprised to hear that Mind Freeze was being released this year! I had a lot of questions – A third album in three years? How is the band churning out songs so quickly? Is the quality going to take a dip? Are these rejected ideas from the first two albums? That’s what I’m hopefully going to tackle with this review.
If you’re unfamiliar with Haunt’s musical style, they play heavy metal characterized by melodic riffs, catchy singalong choruses and twin guitar solos. Some tracks may border along hard rock territory but in essence, they play heavy metal. Their previous album, If Icarus Could Fly, was just that – no frills heavy metal and thoroughly enjoyable. With the context of my aforementioned questions, I started to listen to Mind Freeze. A minute into the album, my mouth was agape with a pleasant surprise. I had to let the entire album sink in a couple of times before I could form a strong opinion. My first impression was – “What the synth?!” The album’s first track Light the Beacon opens with a synthy-organ intro. It creates a somber atmosphere and sets the tone for the rest of the album. The lyrics are instantly catchy and memorable, making you sing along – “To all the loved ones that have fallen, light the beacon of remembrance”. This is the Haunt alright; they’re continuing from where they left off.
As you progress forward with the album, you’ll hear that the synth sound becomes a larger part of the song structures. They are by no means overpowering. In a way, they form a layer which complements the bass and rhythm guitar parts. They also come up during some of the slower interludes. I wholeheartedly support this band’s direction primarily because I’m personally a big fan of 80s retro synth and organ sounds tastefully done in the context of heavy music. The pacey tracks of Hearts on Fire and Fight or Flight will keep older fans satiated as they pack a relatively harder punch. They’re possibly the two most hard-hitting tracks on Mind Freeze. The verse in Have No Fear sounds like a soft rock ballad but when the chorus kicks in, it turns into a galloping heavy metal extravaganza. The guitar solos on the album are probably the highlight for me. They elevate the songs to new levels. For example, I would rate Voyager to be a “decent” song but the section from the interlude where the song builds up to a guitar solo crescendo-ing, makes for an excellent album closer. The twin guitar solos on Saviors of Man, ups the tempo on an otherwise fairly mid-tempo paced song and it’ll get you air-guitaring in no time. My favorite track on the album is the album title track, Mind Freeze. The combination of the riffs and the mournful synths in the verse make it delightfully brooding. The song has also has the most singalong-worthy chorus – “It is freezing in my mind. The winters kiss has made me blind.” Mind Freeze is the longest track on this 38 minute long album.
While I’ve gushed eloquently on why Mind Freeze is indeed an album worth listening to, I’ll try to play devil’s advocate now. If you’re looking for heavy metal that’s gritty, raw and balls to the wall, then Haunt is not for you. I feel that the band is veering off into more radio-friendly territory. They are an easy listening band and Mind Freeze is more easy listening than their previous two efforts. It’s neither a bad nor a good trait to be honest. But I will commend the band for experimenting and expanding their sound with synths. It shows progression and the willingness to try something new without being overtly risky. Overall, I’d have to say that 2020 has started off quite promisingly with Haunt’s latest album. Go take a gander, it’s out now!
Line up:
- Trevor William Church – Vocals, Guitar
- Daniel Wilson – Drums
- Taylor Hollman – Bass
- John Tucker – Guitars
- Light the Beacon
- Hearts on Fire
- Mind Freeze
- Divide and Conquer
- Saviours of Man
- Fight or Flight
- Have No Fear
- On The Stage
- Voyager
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