ALBUM REVIEW: March Of The Unheard – The Halo Effect

It’s been two-and-a-half years since THE HALO EFFECT administered a resuscitating electric shock to the classic Gothenburg sound. A supergroup made up entirely of IN FLAMES alumni, their debut album, Days Of The Lost, sounded more like a follow-up to their classic albums of the late 90s and early 00s than the output of the aforementioned band. The return of old favourites we grew up with playing a familiar sound brought upon a lot of goodwill, but album two is bound to pose the question of whether there is anything new left to say with this vocabulary. March Of The Unheard is here to answer it.

The opening double salvo of Conspire To Deceive and Detonate enter in an expected, but not unwelcome way. High-energy metal underpinned by a thick rhythm section, over which the intricate twin (as well as occasionally triplet or quadruplet) guitar melodies of Jesper Strömblad and main songwriter Niclas Engelin unfold in every direction.

Towering above the whirlwind of guitars are the familiar growls of Mikael Stanne – the hardest-working vocalist in metal, with his third album release in five months (the others with fellow Gothenburg legislators DARK TRANQUILLITY and Scandi all-star goth-rockers CEMETERY SKYLINE). Our Channel To The Darkness flavours the sound with an acoustic intro and keyboards, while Cruel Perception introduces string arrangements to underpin the positive, almost power metal-esque mood. 

While album number one had a triumphant “remember this sound? We invented it” bravado to it, with March Of The Unheard the supergroup try to step beyond their legacy bands and establish their own identity. This has somewhat succeeded, but what lies beyond IN FLAMES and DARK TRANQUILLITY is still recognisable as established tropes from European metal – a pinch of AMORPHIS, sprinkles of INSOMNIUM, little melodies from modern-day KREATOR. In this sense, the band is less about bringing about another evolution in metal and more about showcasing craftsmanship in songwriting and arrangements. Yet, with such fine craftsmen at the helm, THE HALO EFFECT remains a mouth-watering proposition.

The mood changes suddenly with the major highlight of the album What We Become – a true epic that reveals the full scale of drama THE HALO EFFECT are capable of creating, going through movements and building like a four minute symphony. Following in its footsteps is Forever Astray where a chorus with clean vocals from Stanne stuns all the more due to their prior absence. His rich baritone remains a magnificent instrument and would be welcome to increase their presence to add some more variety in the vocal department. Between Directions is a cinematic piece, with a neo-classical violin arrangement that puts you on edge in the verse and sets your heart soaring in the chorus – another high point, reminiscent of the harrowing beauty that DARK TRANQUILLITY are sometimes capable of. 

March Of The Unheard loses some steam towards the end, but its 45 minutes are an easy and pleasant listen that will soon find you reaching to give it another spin. Given the names involved in THE HALO EFFECT, one does root for their success. Whilst not reinventing the wheel, they do deliver a very good album that will satisfy nostalgic and modern sensibilities alike.

Rating: 7/10

March Of The Unheard is out now via Nuclear Blast Records.