The Halo Effect – March of the Unheard (Review)

This is the second album from Swedish melodic death metal band The Halo Effect.

2022’s Days of the Lost was an album I really enjoyed, so it’s great to have a new album once more from The Halo Effect. In case you’re unaware, The Halo Effect are a band that features ex-members of In Flames, (and many other bands), along with the singer of Dark Tranquillity, (also from Grand Cadaver and Cemetery Skyline, and who was also in In Flames very early on). Yep, there’s a lot of talent involved in the March of the Unheard.

With a duration of 44 minutes, March of the Unheard is only marginally longer than its predecessor, despite containing two additional tracks. There is an interlude this time, yes, but the songs in general are generally shorter and more streamlined than those of the debut record, (which themselves weren’t exactly bloated). March of the Unheard is lean and effective.

(On a related note to the above; the interlude track – This Curse of Silence – is basically an intro to the following song, the title track, so I have to wonder why it is separated into a track of its own, especially when both are combined into one for a music video? Odd).

Strange choice aside, March of the Unheard takes what The Halo Effect did on Days of the Lost and expands it with a wider toolkit. Basically, these new songs have a greater amount of and/or a greater diversity of ideas when it comes to the melodies, riffs, keyboards, progressive elements, and clean vocals, all of which are used to flesh out the band’s charismatic sound further, while retaining the album’s core identity.

The well-written songs are based around the classic Gothenburg-style melodic death metal approach, which is delivered with professional skill and passion. The band then expand upon this in places, producing a collection of songs that are thoroughly informed by the past, yet are now more than ever looking to the future as well. In this respect, March of the Unheard has even more in common with Dark Tranquillity than the debut did, while still benefitting from the solid underpinning of old In Flames.

Catchy, filled with hooks, with strong performances and good ideas, March of the Unheard is an extremely easy album to enjoy. While the debut was confident and accomplished, this new album is even more so. It is aiming to take the classic Swedish melodic death metal sound and deliver a version of it that’s focused on the present, rather than merely looking to the past. In this it has succeeded. Don’t get me wrong, this is an old-school record at heart, and obviously takes me back to the 90s and 00s, but it’s more than just that as The Halo Effect are not simply going through the motions here. Ultimately though, this is just an album of good songs from a talented band. If the classic Swedish melodic death metal style speaks to you, then you won’t want to miss this.

Highly recommended.

Favourite Track: Between Directions. Between the riffs, the strings, and the emotive chorus, this is an absolute winner.