CoC : The Haunted - Live Rounds in Tokyo : Review

The Haunted - _Live Rounds in Tokyo_
(Earache, 2002)
by: Paul Schwarz (9 out of 10)

Though Earache's release of this fifteen-track, fifty-minute live-album-with-studio-track-tacked-on as a double CD with 2000's _The Haunted Made Me Do It_ [CoC #49] may make it initially seem an expensive, unattractive proposition, think a minute. If you don't have _THMMDI_, this package will give you two class-A thrash releases -- and for less than a tenner each in all likelihood. To be frank though, if you -have- got a copy of _THMMDI_, you'll wanna start looking for places to sell it, 'cause you're gonna be wanting _LRiT_. _LRiT_ is the single release that alone exemplifies The Haunted's important place in the metal scene of today. It was the final catalyst to convincing me of how truly -killer- The Haunted really are. When _The Haunted_ [CoC #34] arrived in 1998, I never "got it" the way others did; all I saw in The Haunted was some ex-At the Gates members, with friends, doing good thrash. I hardly even gave _THMMDI_ a chance until over a year after its release. What turned me 130% on The Haunted was seeing them live at Wacken last year. Six months passed in which I went back to both Haunted albums repeatedly, then _LRiT_ turned up. A few high-volume spins later, everything clicked into place. The Haunted aren't just a great thrash band, they're a metal band of truly exceptional excellence: I'd bet they could support Slayer in Germany and get a pit going. Releasing a live album with only two full-lengths under your belt might seem a cheeky move coming from most bands, but from The Haunted, it just seems -right-: live is where The Haunted come into their element; _LRiT_ is a profoundly powerful live thrash metal album which, figuratively speaking, grabs every band still playing the style by the collar and asks, "WHO'S THE DADDY NOW?!"

[Pedro Azevedo: "If it hadn't been for Marco Aro's pedestrian interaction with the crowd and the omission of my two favourite tracks from The Haunted's eponymous debut ("Soul Fracture" and "Forensick"), this would have been a superb live disc. Nevertheless, it still is an impeccable live rendition of a fine collection of songs (including every highlight from their superior second album), and a very strong extra reason for you to buy _The Haunted Made Me Do It_ if you haven't done so yet."]

(article published 12/4/2002)

CHATS
31/12/2004	J Smit	The Haunted: Evolution Not Compromise

ALBUMS
13/11/2014	A El Naby	6	The Haunted - Exit Wounds
28/3/2011	A El Naby	4	The Haunted - Unseen
5/10/2008	J Smit	8.5	The Haunted - Versus
5/10/2006	J Smit	7.5	The Haunted - The Dead Eye
23/9/2004	J Smit	10	The Haunted - rEVOLVEr
30/6/2003	A Lineker	8.5	The Haunted - One Kill Wonder
25/10/2000	A Bromley	9	The Haunted - The Haunted Made Me Do It
1/10/1998	A Bromley	9	The Haunted - The Haunted

GIGS
2/12/2005	J Smit	The Haunted / God Forbid	Absolution Not a Frozen Room
28/2/2005	J Smit	The Haunted / Martyr AD / Dead to Fall	(So Very) Dead on Arrival
8/6/2003	A Lineker	The Haunted / Stampin' Ground / December	Marco Aro Dances for the Cat People
13/5/2001	D Rocher	Nile / The Haunted / Carnal Forge / The Forsaken	At the Haunted Gates of Vengeance