Haunter – Discarnate Ails
Release Date: 6th May 2022
Label: Profound Lore Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Progressive Death Metal, Black Metal.
FFO: Defacement, Ulcerate, Cosmovore, Convulsing, Kvadrat.
Review By: Eric Wilt
Since everyone knows the best research is done on Encyclopedia Metallum, I began writing this review by stopping by the Wikipedia of metal to see what it had to say about Austin, Texas’s own Haunter. As a fan of the band since their 2016 debut full-length Thrinoida, I thought I knew a thing or two about them, but according to Encyclopedia Metallum, Haunter began life as a screamo band. While I have no doubt that they could be successful at whatever genre they wished to play, I’m glad their screamo stage was merely the beginning of their evolution as a unit, because the progressive death/black metal they are producing these days is as challenging and rewarding and just plain good as any music being made by any band of any genre. Comprised of vocalist/guitarist Bradley Tiffin, guitarist Enrique Bonilla, and bassist Cole Tucker, Haunter is set to release their third full-length, Discarnate Ails, on 6 May 2022.
Containing just three songs, Discarnate Ails is filled with 32 minutes of brain-bending progressive death/black metal that is not intended to be listened to passively. There is so much going on in each song, that the only way to really appreciate every riff and nuance is to put on a pair of headphones and tell your family you’re not to be disturbed. At times dissonant, at times eerily beautiful, full of twists and turns and numerous tempo changes, listening to Overgrown with the Moss, Spiritual Illness, and Chained at the Helm of the Eschaton is like reading theoretical physics while tripping balls. Your brain expands, while at the same time you realize you don’t know how they do the voodoo that they do so well. And while the album is immediately enjoyable—and gets more so each time you spin it—it’s only with repeated listens that you start to follow and grasp the unpredictable nature of the tracks.
If I didn’t think that the term thinking-person’s music was pretentious and overused, I would definitely label Haunter’s music as such. Since I do find the term pretentious and overused, I will simply say that listening to Haunter is like doing cardio for your brain. The songs on Discarnate Ails are protracted, they are engaging, they are complex, and most importantly, they are more fun than playing hide-n-seek in an Ikea. If you are a fan of progressive music, black metal, death metal, or, well, thinking person’s music, you will kick yourself if you don’t jump all over this album as soon as it drops.
(5 / 5)
