1 [FROM THE CRATES #25] The Haunted - Made Me Do It (2000)

Words by Death Metal Dr. Gonzo

The Haunted - Made Me Do It
(2000 Earache Records)

Ah, the Gothenburg sound. There really is nothing like it in metal. For those of you playing along at home on your "ultimate metal genre score sheet", you will find Gothenburg immediately above "melodic death metal" but below "death metal", "black metal", and "thrash metal". It just so happened that a lot of the bands rocking this sound came from Sweden (as did In Flames, who I will not say anything about because I need to do a whole separate column on them) and it just so happens there was a city called Gothenburg that a lot of those bands were from. Hence the name. Fuckin' A!

I have to admit I am a fairly recent convert to The Haunted, but I don't think that makes my enthusiasm biased or premature. This is just another example that when you associate with people who know their shit about music you will find out about killer music (which you can then write a column about and pretend you knew all along).

From the second you press play, 'Made Me Do It' is break neck, precise metal at its finest. The Haunted did more than anybody ever has with 35 minutes, so giving the album a spin is possibly the best use of 35 minutes of your day. What sets it apart from the other Gothenburg albums, and from a lot of "extreme" metal albums in general is its accessibility. It's a really fun album without stooping to the level that make bitches want to wear the t-shirt and sing along to. It's music for church-burners and jocks alike. It's like The Haunted are on a mission for metal solidarity.

I love this record cover to cover, but my favorite moments are the chorus vocals on "Hollow Ground" and "Under the Surface". Throwing a hook in the chorus works without overloading the song with pop sensibility. These moments on the record swing as hard as Pantera, which I really never would have considered Euro-metallers capable of. That's not a diss, we're just talking about two very distinct schools of metal here - blues-influenced Southern metal and classical metal from across the pond. These contrasting styles aren't impossible to combine, it just shouldn't be attempted by bands with even minimal suckage in their bloodstream. The Haunted did it subtly and without breaking a sweat. And you know what? I don't even think they were going for it - it just happened. Therein lies true genius.

Now if you'll excuse me, I am going to go listen to this album at the gym while I punish myself for not being from Sweden.