HAUNT
Burst Into Flame
Shadow Kingdom (2018)
Rating: 7/10
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I’m not sure how many of you were fortunate to have experienced California heavy metal band Haunt’s 2017 debut EP Luminous Eyes, but if you didn’t then you missed a fine piece of work.
Haunt is the creation of Beastmaker vocalist / guitarist Trevor William Church, the son of former Montrose and Sammy Hagar solo bassist Bill “The Electric” Church.
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 – 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’ve 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’s eerie corners.
Burst Into Flame 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.
‘Crystal Ball’ 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’s 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.
‘Reflectors’ begins with a nice hook followed by a cool trudge. Lyrically there’s predictability in a sense – y’know, typical metal poetry – as we’re 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 ‘My Mirage’ plods coolly, the vocals mere whispers on the wind of night. The guitars barely cause the bedroom curtains to flutter before ‘Wanderlust’ offers up a slightly more metallic stance. Here, the guitars really do blaze and the drums gallop with intensity, but we’re still brought down a peg or two with those effortless yet harmless vocal wisps. Again, I feel like I’m in Ghost territory, and I’m not sure I want to be there; the rather watery designs suggest a breeziness that fails to hold me.
However, I’m sticking with the graceful nature of this album now, if only for its charm as ‘Frozen In Time’ simmers into view and ‘Heroes’ drives with a touch more passion. Damn, the whole thing is so likable but the lack of bite is just so apparent; Trevor’s 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.
But as ‘Can’t Get Back’, with its vintage polish, and ‘Looking Glass’ flow by I just can’t help but feel that Haunt have missed a trick with this one. Although I’m sure it’s a record that will garner attention due to its NWOBHM strains and those ever-present Ghost-like energies.
Burst Into Flame is a tight record that puffs out many accessible clouds, but it’s not the tour de force I was expecting. Indeed, file this one alongside Spell’s For None And All (2016) for similar modulated swirls.
Neil Arnold
