Relating Music And Lyrics
For those who are unaware The Halo Effect feature several ex-members of In Flames and the singer from Dark Tranquillity. They are named after a Rush song (from the last album they did called Clockwork Angels) and in the press notes they also reference that band again when they state they discussed going more “prog”, and on this album I would say they have.
OK, they don’t sound like Yes or Jethro Tull etc, but there are definite hints throughout. The album does sound like the bands they come from or are in but they have added extra textures and sounds they haven’t tried elsewhere.
Now reading the notes Mikael Stanne (lead vocalist) talks about what is the theme or themes of the album. He says “I wanted to write about what it was like when we were kids, when we started hanging out together at 14 or 15 years old” and how “maybe we weren’t the people who were chosen for the football team or whatever. We turned to music to find our identity” which I can relate to. Music became my life, and indeed how I became known to others (either as “wee Tommy the DJ” or “Rush Tommy” 😂). The theme of not fitting in was of course explored by Rush in the song “Subdivisions” in particular and maybe they had that a bit in mind when writing this album too.
Beautiful Guitar Harmonies
The band are comprised of the aforementioned Mikael Stanne on vocals along with both Niclas Engelin and Jesper Strömblad on guitar, Peter Iwers on bass and last but not least Daniel Svensson on drums. The band started up as 5 old friends having fun, but when the album they made back in 2022 ending up winning awards they decided to keep going. The album has 12 songs all around the 3 to 4 minute mark and the album runs for 44 minutes.
One of the things I particularly like about the album is the guitar harmonies which hint more at Thin Lizzy than perhaps Judas Priest. The mix of those melodic lines with growled vocals and death metal heaviness in places works to great effect. Opener “Conspire To Deceive” starts like an 80s track, melodic and catchy, then the vocals come in harsh gruff and brutal. The good thing is Mikael has great diction so you can pick up most of the words without too much effort. The guitar solo section is almost upbeat and happy sounding (something I would expect from power metal) yet the verses are still heavy. “Detonate” amps up the heaviness, faster and more in your face, yet the melody in the guitar lines that go along with “we just close our eyes” are beautiful.
Definite Prog Leanings
“Our Channel To The Darkness” has a lovely acoustic guitar opening before the metal kicks in. There is a vibe of the galloping riffage that Maiden are famous for on this (it happens a few times) so more trad metal fans should enjoy this even with the gruff style vocals, especially with such a catchy chorus.
“Cruel Perception” seems to be about finding who you are and using your freewill to do what you believe in (another link perhaps to Rush in a lyrical way?). “March Of The Unheard” later in the album follows a similar theme. The song is about an outcast with a fixation on music. It talks about being repressed, not being able to play music that they identify with; in fact urging the listener to “reach for every instrument to amplify our anger“. Once again they (whether on purpose or not) seem to lean into themes that Rush wrote about, in this case side one of “2112“.
It sounds nothing like Rush musically but the themes are there but done as melodic death metal. In a last mention of a certain Canadian rock trio, the track “A Death That Becomes Us” even utilises (again no idea if on purpose or it is all in my mind, only the band could probably tell us) a wonderful lyric from the song “Bravado” in that “we will pay the price but we will not count the cost“. Musically this is one of the proggier songs with some excellent changes.
Variety
“Forever Astray” and “Between Directions” feature the clean vocals which are really pure sounding. The former is another with prog leanings and the latter, dare I say it, could be seen as a “pop” song at points as it is the most commercial sounding song whilst introducing more symphonic metal to the mix too. It definitely has strings on it. There are a couple of mellower moments or in one case an interlude from all the rock/metal. The short break is called “This Curse Of Silence” and is a prelude to “March” and sounds like music from the start of a TV show with only melodic vocals (there are no words, just harmonising a melody) and works nicely almost like a palate cleanser! The ending piece “Coda” is an acoustic/string piece that is rather orchestral, it is also quite beautiful.
Final Thoughts:
An excellent album that obviously has plenty of that In Flames sounds (as well as Dark Tranquillity) but branches out into new territories including elements of hard rock (some of the solos are pure 70s hard rock), prog, symphonic and even classical. This is a terrific listen, fans of the bands they hail from should thoroughly love this, but I feel those who maybe aren’t into melodic death will be able to get into it due to how melodic it is. The band are also touring later this month in Europe and the UK (including Bristol, Glasgow, Wolverhampton, Manchester and London, the dates between 21st and 25th) so get the album and along to the gigs. Should be excellent.
Purchase Album Via Amazon USA // Canada // UK
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Check out my other reviews and articles here. Tom.
