My, what a difference a throat makes! The return THE HAUNTED’s original voice, Peter Dolving, has injected new (old) life into THE HAUNTED who were suffering with former vocalist Marco Aro at the helm. Aro’s one-dimensional screaming abilities unfortunately anchored THE HAUNTED in boring-infested waters. Dolving, on the other hand, is far more than that pissed-off-mutha he defined himself to be on the band’s self-titled debut six long years ago. He’s simply grown to be an exceptionally versatile rock/metal screamer. Just witness his grunge-like snarl on the gritty “Burnt to a Shell” or on the MARILYN MANSON-esque pick-up on “Nothing Right.” Together with the tight-knit Björler brothers, riff-maniac Jensen, and drummer Per Möller Jensen, who’s come into his own, Dolving and THE HAUNTED have a newfound attitude that is one of confidence, clearly displayed by their flawless execution and (relatively) ambitious songwriting for a bunch of thrash-aholics. The band displays a thorough command over the music while sounding loose, free-flowing, and non-calculated. rEVOLVEr kicks ass left and right with pummelling SLAYER-esque bite. But not all is 110% speedy beatdown…THE HAUNTED manage to slow things down on “Abysmal” without going soft nor putting the listener to sleep. Swedish metal seems to be a dying art, but THE HAUNTED are giving it some lift even though it really seems like theyre transcending the genre as a whole. EVOLVE they do. (Century Media Records)