There comes a time when every band starts changing some aspects of their music, The Haunted is no exception to this rule. Their process started with 2004’s critically acclaimed “Revolver”, and it continues in the bands newest release “The Dead Eye”. “Revolver” was an album that turned off many fans because of its departure from the manic trash metal this band wrote on albums like “The Haunted” and “The Haunted Made Me Do It”. The changes the band applies are only taken further in the new album. There are more melodic vocal interludes from Peter Dolving; the vocals are constantly changing from screaming to grungier vocals. This is evident in songs like “The Reflection”, which starts off very mellow and after 30 seconds Dolving busts out of the door with a gut wrenching scream that is accompanied by a chugging guitar riff.

The best moments of this album come when the band mixes sheer aggression with more mellow parts. “The Flood” is played at mid-tempo and has a clean vocal chorus; it also has congas that can be heard in the background around the 2:30 mark. “The Drowning” and “The Prosecution” also vary between heavy and melodic, with fast beats followed by very melancholic vocals. The band also uses some industrial sampling that can be heard on the “The Fallout”. The slithery guitars on the slow song “The Medusa” are hard to ignore as they get your head bobbing and is somewhat reminiscent of Pantera.

The album does serve some much needed thrashers like “The Medication”, “The Shifter” and “The Stain”, all of which are played at full speed and display the band’s trademark sound. The rest of the album is full of songs that are played at mid-tempo for the most part.

“The Dead Eye” is an album that will surely please fans of “Revolver” as it isn’t much of a musical departure from the latter. The band is clearly in a growing process where they experimenting as much as they can allow themselves. One thing is for sure: The Haunted is not a trendy band because their music has evolved into the sound we hear today and it won’t fade away as easily as trends tend to do.