{"id":71138,"date":"2018-07-24T00:01:16","date_gmt":"2018-07-24T00:01:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=71138"},"modified":"2018-07-25T11:00:42","modified_gmt":"2018-07-25T11:00:42","slug":"album-review-haunt-burst-into-flame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-haunt-burst-into-flame\/","title":{"rendered":"HAUNT – Burst Into Flame (2018) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

HAUNT
Burst Into Flame<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nShadow Kingdom (2018)<\/span>
Rating: 7\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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I\u2019m not sure how many of you were fortunate to have experienced California heavy metal band Haunt\u2019s 2017 debut EP Luminous Eyes<\/em>, but if you didn\u2019t then you missed a fine piece of work.<\/p>\n

Haunt is the creation of Beastmaker vocalist \/ guitarist Trevor William Church, the son of former Montrose and Sammy Hagar solo bassist Bill \u201cThe Electric\u201d Church.<\/p>\n

After causing those initial stirs on the metal underground with that aforementioned EP, many were gagging in anticipation for the release of this full-length outing \u2013 a record that also brings together the talents John Michael Tucker (guitar, Beastmaker), Matthew Wilhoit (bass, Worship Of Keres) and Daniel Wilson (drums). Between them they\u2019ve carved out a hot-bed of New Wave Of British Heavy Metal-inspired music, bridging gaps between early Iron Maiden with occasional flurries into Mercyful Fate\u2019s eerie corners.<\/p>\n

Burst Into Flame<\/em> opens up its smouldering, fog-lapped doors with the title track; a fresh and blistering affair featuring rather nifty axe work and lofty vocal caresses. From the off, Haunt bewitch us with a ghostly air as they effortlessly beguile and intrigue with familiar yet stylish flavours and expressions within a simple metallic framework built upon that speedy rhythm section and infectious leads.<\/p>\n

\u2018Crystal Ball\u2019 only cements the high levels of Gothic lacing, as Haunt flirt with doomy trudges and mystical splurges. This one reminds me of Ghost… maybe it\u2019s the effortless vocal croons that drift steadily like a spooky haze over the churchyard of simplistic drum nods and chord grooves? So have Haunt merely jumped on the Ghost bandwagon? Maybe, but I try to look past that as the combo creates vintage streaks of the late 70s and early 80s.<\/p>\n

\u2018Reflectors\u2019 begins with a nice hook followed by a cool trudge. Lyrically there\u2019s predictability in a sense \u2013 y\u2019know, typical metal poetry \u2013 as we\u2019re suddenly thrown into those contemporary fires stoked by Night Demon and the likes as Haunt cavorts without any real weight or blackness. Instead, the sound feels airy and thin as \u2018My Mirage\u2019 plods coolly, the vocals mere whispers on the wind of night. The guitars barely cause the bedroom curtains to flutter before \u2018Wanderlust\u2019 offers up a slightly more metallic stance. Here, the guitars really do blaze and the drums gallop with intensity, but we\u2019re still brought down a peg or two with those effortless yet harmless vocal wisps. Again, I feel like I\u2019m in Ghost territory, and I\u2019m not sure I want to be there; the rather watery designs suggest a breeziness that fails to hold me.<\/p>\n

However, I\u2019m sticking with the graceful nature of this album now, if only for its charm as \u2018Frozen In Time\u2019 simmers into view and \u2018Heroes\u2019 drives with a touch more passion. Damn, the whole thing is so likable but the lack of bite is just so apparent; Trevor\u2019s yarns are certainly magical and engaging, as are his vocals, but the whole thing really starts to wane due to its rather tepid nature which is only occasionally injected with a pule through those sizzling leads and traces of jagged riffage.<\/p>\n

But as \u2018Can\u2019t Get Back\u2019, with its vintage polish, and \u2018Looking Glass\u2019 flow by I just can\u2019t help but feel that Haunt have missed a trick with this one. Although I\u2019m sure it\u2019s a record that will garner attention due to its NWOBHM strains and those ever-present Ghost-like energies.<\/p>\n

Burst Into Flame<\/em> is a tight record that puffs out many accessible clouds, but it\u2019s not the tour de force I was expecting. Indeed, file this one alongside Spell\u2019s For None And All<\/em> (2016) for similar modulated swirls.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HAUNTBurst Into Flame Shadow Kingdom (2018)Rating: 7\/10 I\u2019m not sure how many of you were fortunate to have experienced California heavy metal band Haunt\u2019s 2017 debut EP Luminous Eyes, but if you didn\u2019t then you missed a fine piece of work. Haunt is the creation of Beastmaker vocalist \/ guitarist Trevor William Church, the son […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4072],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-haunt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71138"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71138\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71156,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71138\/revisions\/71156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}