Melodic Death Metal supergroup The Halo Effect returns on January 10, 2025, with their second full-length album entitled March of the Unheard, once again appearing on Nuclear Blast Records. This merry band of ex-members of much bigger acts in the Swedish melodeath scene impressed with their debut, Days of the Lost, in 2022. Now, they look set to further cement their place in the ever-expanding, oftentimes over-saturated underground Metal community.
Mikael Stanne is having himself quite the decade, as the vocalist has enjoyed steadily rising success with his main band Dark Tranquillity, as well as creating a new space to showcase his superb clean vocal prowess with Goth Rock all-star cast Cemetery Skyline. 2025 sees the humble Swede showing no signs of slowing down. A bit closer in style to the aforementioned Dark Tranquillity, March of the Unheard bursts into life on upbeat opener “Conspire to Deceive.” Stanne snarls his sermons to the signature guitar licks of Jesper Stromblad and Niclas Engelin – two monumental guitarists in the Swedish scene, the resumes of whom speak for themselves.
The single “Detonate,” already making the rounds, features the vibrant bloodline of the mid-90s In Flames burner, with some very galloping, NWOBHM twin-guitar interplay. Never ones to rely on a formula, the album can show a gentler yet no less powerful side, such as on the radio-friendly almost-ballad “Between Directions,” giving fans the clean side of Stanne’s vocals, with some keyboard orchestration over the strong bottom end of Drummer Daniel Svensson and Bassist Peter Iwers. Two names that are synonymous with In Flames, the work of these brilliant men should be familiar to all.
Melancholy strains abound on “What We Become,” which also sees one of Stanne’s angriest vocal deliveries on the album. The smooth, velvet-gloved attack never devolves into the Nu Metal histrionics that plagued post-2002 In Flames, yet never became part of the canon of Stanne’s day job, Dark Tranquillity. Quality lies in this stylistic choice, as “What We Become” sails through the listener’s gamut of emotions with a silky guitar lead break. The repeated six-string lead that can be heard throughout the song is not that far of a cry from that heard on Amorphis classic “Black Winter Day.” It is not an imitation in any way but a pleasant synaptic nudge from those who grew up with this music.
After the creative instrumental interlude “The Curse of Silence,” the solid title track will have fists in the air at shows, with its mid-paced conviction and percussive flow. Stanne again shines as his gravelly growl is artfully enhanced by yet another stunning guitar tag-team by Stromblad and Engelin. The Halo Effect possesses an embarrassment of riches at their disposal, and they make smart use of their talents. The chorus that emerges out of these stellar guitar leads will stick in the listener’s head and stay there.
Straight-ahead rockers like “Forever Astray” again call to mind the pinnacle of Stromblad’s career in The Jester Race/Whoracle era In Flames. By whatever twist of fate has allowed these guys to come together again, unfettered by their previous bands’ attempts at re-invention, should leave fans feeling extremely fortunate. Don’t sleep on “The Burning Point” either, one of the strongest, most driving anthems to be heard here. Stunning guitar solo? Check. Memorable chorus to screech in public places when you forget there are other people around, and your air buds are at max volume? Check.
Stanne stands at the mic as the guiding light, as a man who never let trends ruin his own main band. Lo and behold, twin-guitar harmonies and driving melodies are back, and March of the Unheard is yet another exclamation point on this reclamation of a sound that never should have been abandoned. Melodic Death Metal must have these elements, and The Halo Effect simply gets this concept.
No one wants the wheel to be reinvented; they just want to feel the same sweet adrenaline they felt when they first heard “Artifacts of the Black Rain,” “Food for the Gods,” or “Punish My Heaven.” This band and this new album deliver that feeling but with a slew of loveable, solid, well-crafted new songs. Augmented by a gathering of musicians who bleed this music for real, for life, March of the Unheard is a master class. That is why Cryptic Rock gives this album 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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