The Haunted
Anders Björler Issues An Update On His Solo Album
Anders Björler (ex-The Haunted/At The Gates) has issued an update on his upcoming solo project dubbed Antikythera. According to him, additional guitars and bass tracks were recorded at Dark Tranquillity keyboardist Martin Brändström’s Rogue Music Studio. Björler also issued a lineup for the band, which you can see below.
The last thing Björler mentioned was that some special guests might be present on the album. While no particular names were mentioned, the possibilities are very exciting! Let the guesses fly! READ MORE
The Haunted’s “No Ghost” Coming To Rock Band Network
Fans of The Haunted might be excited to hear that their track “No Ghost” is coming to the Rock Band Network. The song comes from the band’s 2011 Century Media Records release Unseen, which I feel like I’m the only person on this planet to genuinely enjoy. Audition Mode performance of the track can be seen below.
2012 was a harsh year for The Haunted as singer Peter Dolving, guitarist Anders Björler, and drummer Per Möller Jensen all left the band due to various reasons. Only bassist Jonas Björler and rhythm guitarist Patrik Jensen remain. While the two maintain that the band will continue, it is unclear what the future holds. READ MORE
Ex-The Haunted Guitarist Anders Björler Renames Solo Project
Guitarist Anders Björler (ex-The Haunted, At The Gates) has updated the cover page to his upcoming solo project, which he says is, “…100% instrumental, and kind of resembles film soundtrack music in the structure.” In doing so, he has also shown that the name of the project has been changed from The Antikythera Mechanism to simply Antikythera. The full banner can be seen below along with studio footage of drums being recorded.
In a very brief chat with Björler, he told me that currently the drums are being recorded while bass and additional guitars will be laid out in March. The album will then be mixed in April at which point it will be shopped to record labels.
Said to be inspired by Italian composers such as Goblin and Fabbio Frizzi as well as UK artists King Crimson and Brian Eno, the project will be released sometime in 2013. READ MORE
Ex-The Haunted Guitarist Issues Update On Solo Project
Anders Björler (ex-The Haunted) has issued an update about his upcoming solo project The Antikythera Mechanism, where he announced the first session musician of the album, Morgan Ågren (Mats & Morgan Band, Kaipa, Fredrik Thordendal’s Special Defects). Björler also posted a video of Ågren laying down drum tracks, which you can see below.
The solo project is said to be highly influenced by Björler’s love of 60′s and 70′s prog rock as well as his passion for classic cinema scores, especially the Italian horror films.
The line-up features Björler on guitars, mellotron, and moog synths, Morgan Ågren on drums, Peter Wiberg on piano, and an as-of-yet unannounced bassist.
Personally, I’m a huge fan of Björler and I can’t wait to hear this album, which is slated for a 2013 release. READ MORE
Interview
At The Gates Guitarist Anders Björler Discusses The Haunted, Solo Project, And More
In an interview with MetalSucks, At The Gates and ex-The Haunted guitarist Anders Björler discussed the split between The Haunted and Peter Dolving as well as his own departure from the band as well as an upcoming solo project that, from his description, sounds pretty incredible.
In regards to the harsh words from Peter Dolving, Björler says, “I was pretty sad he had to blame me and Jonas for everything. There’s no need going into details or to throw shit at Peter. I am just not that kind of person. I just hope people are smart enough to make up their own minds and think for themselves. There’s not just one side to this story. There are five.”
Talking about his upcoming solo album: “I am completing my first solo album which will be released soon. I finally decided to do something that I wanted to do for years. It’s 100% instrumental, and kind of resembles film soundtrack music in the structure. The album will reflect my love for Italian soundtrack music like Goblin, Bruno Nicolai, Fabio Frizzi, Walter Rizzati, etc., mixed with influences from progressive UK bands (King Crimson, Camel, UK, Alan Holdsworth), Post Rock (Explosions In The Sky, MONO), ambient (Harold Budd, Brian Eno) and Jazz/Swedish Folk Music (Jan Johansson, Esbjorn Svenssons Trio, Lars Gullin, etc.). That’s maybe a lot of different influences you might say, but I hope this will help explain the style somehow.”
That description makes me super excited to hear his album. King Crimson with Goblin and sprinkle in a dash of Explosions In The Sky? Yeah, I’m all for it. Make sure to click the link above to read the entire interview. READ MORE
Anders Björler And Per Möller Jensen Quit The Haunted
Well, talk about a great way to put me in a state of shock. Guitarist Anders Björler and drummer Per Möller Jensen have both left Swedish metal band The Haunted. This follows singer Peter Dolving’s exit earlier this year, although both state that his departure had not impact on their respective decisions.
Anders’ official statement (via The Haunted’s Facebook) says, “I feel that I have come to the end of the line regarding THE HAUNTED. This is not a sudden or hasty decision. I have been contemplating it for the last couple of years. Peter’s departure earlier this year made me more certain than ever that I had reached my personal goal with THE HAUNTED, and that the time was right to call it quits.
“I have enjoyed every bit of the ride. It’s been an overwhelming journey. I would like to thank the other band members especially, our crew through the years, and our fans worldwide for the experience and opportunity. Thank you so much! The memories will be with me forever.
“I will of course continue writing music, but where that leads me? Simply too early to say”
Read on for Per’s statement. READ MORE
Could There Be A New At The Gates Record In The Future?
While vocalist Tomas Lindberg doesn’t say one way or another, he has stated in an interview with Kill Your Stereo that when it comes to a new studio album from the Swedish melodic death metal band At The Gates, “…I’ve learnt never to say never.” Lindberg continued, stating, “We said we’d never do any more shows whatsoever and now we’re doing shows [again]. 2008 was the last tour we were going to do and now we are doing more [shows]. I learned not to say never you know.”
Now, there are a few things to consider here. First of all, the Bjorler brothers’, Anders and Jonas (who were the guitarist and bassist of At The Gates respectively), other band The Haunted are currently in a hiatus due to singer Peter Dolving quitting the band. Also, ATG has been doing a lot of touring, so the possibility of creative ideas flowing out naturally while on the road is pretty high.
All I can say is that I would be VERY interested to hear a new ATG album. I’m a huge fan of 95′s Slaughter Of The Soul (review) and I feel that hearing what this band could do after 17 years of growth and maturation would be pretty damn awesome. Who agrees? READ MORE
Peter Dolving Quits The Haunted?
Update: The band has confirmed Peter’s departure. It looks like it’s official.
Peter Dolving, singer of The Haunted, has posted on his Facebook page that he is officially leaving the band. Since I’m so shocked to see this (the combination of his voice and the band’s music still blows me away), I’m going to have wait until I see an official press release before I believe it.
Dolving, “I am officially quitting The Haunted. After years of working with the band, I am out. I have had it. I will NOT answer questions to why. It’s no one elses[sic] business. Thank you very much. I am looking forward to seeing you people at other shows with other projects.”
Like I say, pure shock on my end. As much as I want to wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors, I’m beyond sad to see him go.
The Haunted’s Peter Dolving Shares His Words Of Wisdom
I’m apparently one of the few people who actually enjoyed the new The Haunted album, Unseen. Even though it wasn’t as heavy as rEVOLVEr or as brooding as The Dead Eye, I thought it represented a musical chapter that fits just fine in the bands history. As any listener of The Haunted will know, vocalist Peter Dolving can come up with some very deep and powerful lyrics that can be quite difficult to decipher sometimes. So, after the jump, you can check out a video where Peter discusses the meaning of each track. I have to say, the man is quite eloquent. Do you agree with a lot of what he says? READ MORE
Album Review: The Haunted ‘Unseen’
The Haunted are an incredibly consistent band in many regards. Up to now, they’ve released a new album every two to three years. They have also grown and evolved with each new release. If someone tells you that ‘Versus’ sounds just like ‘The Dead Eye’, you can pretty much be sure that they have no idea what they’re talking about. And so it is with ‘Unseen’. It comes out two and a half years after ‘Versus’ and the sound has definitely evolved. But has it evolved for the better? Check after the jump to find out!
The Haunted Release ‘Unseen’ Album Teaser
As you know from my previous The Haunted article, I love this band. Their mixture of heaviness and melody along with an ever present groove just gets my blood boiling. So, in the hopes that I can share that joy with you readers, I’ve got an album trailer below from The Haunted for their upcoming album, ‘Unseen’. I know you purists want another ‘rEVOLVEr’, but I suggest you give this album a shot, you might end up loving it!
The Haunted Stream ‘Unseen’
One of my favorite metal bands out these days is The Haunted. When you’ve got the Björler twins in a band, it’s pure metal awesomeness as far as I’m concerned. Their album ‘The Dead Eye’ is still something I blast out and ‘Versus’, though it took a few spins for me to appreciate, is now among one of my favorites. So, when news of them comes my way, I wanna share it with you readers because I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Today, The Haunted posted the title track off their upcoming album, ‘Unseen’, on Facebook. Give it a listen and let me know what you think!
BD Music Best Of 2010: Jonny B’s Picks
So, we’re at the end of another year and we here at Bloody-Disgusting love sharing our favorites (and our most hated) of the past year with you. So, I decided to put together a list of some of my favorite releases of the past year. Here’s the catch: I only used albums or songs from albums I reviewed in 2010. So, check after the jump for my “Best of 2010″!
Earache Records Release ‘Extreme Stage Diving’ For iPhone/iPod Touch
Earache records have announced the release of ‘Extreme Stage Diving’, a FREE game for iPhone and iPod Touch that features ten full-length blistering metal tracks for you to beat the ever living crap out of those damn stage divers. The object is to throw the stage diver off the stage as far as you can while avoiding bottles, merch stands and portable toilets. Want your FREE copy? Just click HERE! Also, check after the jump for the full track listing of the game.
Soundtrack For Upcoming Video Game Splatterhouse Revealed
Coming out on November 26th for the XBOX 360 and the Sony Playstation 3, Splatterhouse is a reboot of the 1988 game of the same name for the TurboGrafx-16 (when was the last time you saw THAT system?). Apart from looking completely badass and very atmospheric, the developers have just released the track list for the licensed songs that will be making an appearance in the game. Let me tell you that it’s definitely meant for all you metalheads. Check after the jump for the full list!
Check out the Official Website! Make sure to check out some screen shots HERE on Bloody-Disgusting!
Insomnium Sign With Century Media Records
Century Media Records is proud to announce the signing of INSOMNIUM who recently won the Finnish Metal Awards earlier this year for Best Band and Best Album (for the 2009 album “Across The Dark”). The band comments: “We are very happy to announce that we have signed a deal with the mighty Century Media Records. Throughout the spring and summer we negotiated with several attractive labels but in the end it was clear that Century Media would be our home for the years to come. Their enthusiasm, professionalism and genuine love for music made an instant impact on us. We are convinced that this alliance will lead to even greater achievements in the future and also avails us to tour outside Europe more often. And naturally it is a great honor for us to stand in the same team with the likes of Dark Tranquillity, Arch Enemy, Paradise Lost, The Haunted, Finntroll and Turisas. A new exciting chapter in the story of Insomnium has begun!
We want to thank Jens Prueter and the whole Century Media crew for putting their trust in us. We thank our manager Jukka Varmo for handling the negotiations very smoothly. We also wish to thank our previous label Candlelight Records for the decade that we spent with them. We salute you all!”
Kataklysm Release Video For ‘Push The Venom’
Iconic Montreal based extreme metallers KATAKLYSM have made the video clip for the song “Push The Venom” available for viewing. The track comes off their new album Heaven’s Venom, which will be released on August 13th in Europe and August 24th in North America. The follow-up to 2008’s Prevail, was recorded by KATAKLYSM guitarist J-F Dagenais (Malevolent Creation, Misery Index) and was mixed by Tue Madsen (The Haunted, Mnemic, Dark Tranquillity).
Commented vocalist Maurizio Iacono: “After the crazy videos we did with EX DEO it was only natural for us to upgrade the KATAKLYSM visuals as well. We decided to try to recreate the underworld fantasy atmosphere depicted in the artwork with some great visual effects. The song is about surviving the judgment that others cast upon you, and that which is important and feels right to you. Spread your venom and not the lies of your
enemies! Ivan did another fantastic job and we are super happy with it
and hopefully you guys dig it too. See you on tour!”
Kataklysm Stream New Album On MySpace
Canadian extreme metallers Kataklysm have made their new album Heaven’s Venom available for streaming in it’s entirety on their Myspace page. Heaven’s Venom will be released on August 13th in Europe and August 24th in North America. The follow-up to 2008’s Prevail, was recorded by KATAKLYSM guitarist J-F Dagenais (Malevolent Creation, Misery Index) and was mixed by Tue Madsen (The Haunted, Mnemic, Dark Tranquillity).
Kataklysm recently shot a video clip for the song “Push The Venom” with director Ivan Colic (Type O Negative, Unleashed, Deathstars, Ex Deo) in Belgrade, Serbia.
Pre-order Heaven’s Venom with or without an exclusive shirt design while supplies last at the following location http://store.nuclearblastusa.com/Search/kataklysm.
News Bit: Therion, Cattle Decaptitaion, Kataklysm
Canadian extreme metallers Kataklysm have uploaded a new track, ‘Determined (Vows of Vengence) onto their Official MySpace page. The track is taken from ‘Heaven’s Venom’, their upcoming album due August 24th in North America.
Recorded by Kataklysm guitarist J-F Dagenais (Malevolent Creation, Misery Index) and mixed by Tue Madsen (The Haunted, Mnemic, Dark Tranquillity), the album promises to be quite the ass kicker!
Therion has announced that they have parted ways with their vocalist, Snowy Shaw. If you check after the jump, you can read the official band statement regarding the situation.
Also, after the jump, you can read all about the new Cattle Decapitation tour!
Album Review: Witchery ‘Witchkrieg’
If you’re at all into Swedish metal, the line-up of Witchery has someone you’ve listened to before. Patrik Jensen from The Haunted? Martin Axenrot from Opeth and Bloodbath? Sharlee D’Angelo from Arch Enemy and Spiritual Beggars? Man, it’s an all-star cast! So with all this talent, the 5th studio album, ‘Witchkrieg’, should be something totally badass and incredible, right? Well, you’ll have to read after the jump to find out.
Kataklysm Shoot Video For ‘Push The Venom’
Canadian extreme metallers KATAKLYSM will commence shooting a video clip for the song “Push The Venom” next July with director Ivan Colic (Type O Negative, Unleashed, Deathstars, Ex Deo) in Belgrade, Serbia. The track comes from their new album Heaven’s Venom, which will be released on August 13th in Europe and August 24th in North America. The follow-up to 2008’s Prevail, was recorded by KATAKLYSM guitarist J-F Dagenais (Malevolent Creation, Misery Index) and was mixed by Tue Madsen (The Haunted, Mnemic, Dark Tranquillity).
“It wasn’t a hard decision for us to choose who will do the next KATAKLYSM video. As some of you know we’ve released some of the craziest videos lately with our other band Ex Deo. So we decided to give KATAKLYSM a visual masterpiece as well and hire Ivan Colic once again to direct and produce the new clip for the song ‘Push The Venom’. It’s a hard hitting track with lots of anger and power and I’m positive Ivan will give it justice. We will shoot the video right after completing the Ex Deo tour in Europe in mid July, so stand by for its premier in August!” READ MORE
Music DVD Review: The Haunted ‘Road Kill’
NOTE: For this review, I’m only reviewing the DVD of The Haunted’s Road Kill, which features a live performance in Amsterdam, a biography of The Haunted whilst out on the road and touring and several official music videos. I am not touching the audio CD that came along with the DVD, even though it has more live tracks as well as some bonus, unreleased studio tracks. I’ll say this though: If the audio on the CD is anything like the audio of the live concert, you have nothing to worry about.
I’d like to take a quick second to acknowledge that this is the first review I’ve done with a friend of mine, Bill, watching and giving his input. He and I started a blog about six months ago and, though it has fallen into disuse, he plans on starting it up again. So, keep an eye out there as I’ll be doing some extra little bits here and there for the blog for stuff that you wouldn’t see me do here. But on to the review.
The Haunted Release Track List For ”Road Kill” DVD
Sweden’s most prolific thrash band, THE HAUNTED, will finally release their long-overdue live Road Kill DVD/CD in North America on June 8th. The DVD features an in-depth, very unique “on the road movie” documentary, an intense recording of THE HAUNTED’s current and up-to-date live set (captured in Amsterdam’s Melkweg on February 13th, 2009) and the band’s recent promotional video clips as bonus. The CD contains the full live show mixed and mastered by long-term band-producer Tue Madsen (Sick Of It All, Dark Tranquillity, Heaven Shall Burn) as well as five rare/unreleased studio bonus songs from the Versus album recording session.
The band has made a live song off Road Kill available online at MySpace now. Check out “Little Cage” here: www.myspace.com/thehaunted. Fans can also check out the killer DVD trailer (below).
THE HAUNTED’s Anders Björler furthermore checked in to comment on the live release and the songwriting status of the next album as follows: “Well, this week started off nicely with the release of the Road Kill DVD/CD, as well as rehearsing new material for the upcoming album. The recordings will commence this fall, so expect something fresh for early 2011. In the meantime we are very much looking forward to the dates with Slayer this summer, as well as festival gigs. Check out ‘Little Cage’ from the Amsterdam live gig. Enjoy!”
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