Melodic Death Metal or Melodeath as it’s become known, like all subgenres was once full of innovation and a sense of novelty. As with every other genre or scene, the bands who made their mark went moved on, leaving the other behind trying to figure out how to put some new tread on very old tires.
When The Halo Effect emerged on the scene there was a sense they might restore the balance that was lacking in the scene. Given their pedigree and the strength of their debut album Days of the Lost, it was a pretty safe shout.
Which makes their latest album March of the Unheard such a massive letdown. Whether it was the quality with which they introduced themselves or the weight of expectation, it has taken no time at all for the bloom to start coming off the rose.
This is a very tepid and safe follow up album. It’s not entirely bereft of ideas, but it is sorely lacking in new ones. There are some very big highlights on here, and it would be unfair not to praise the good here.
Conspire to Deceive and Detonate give the album some early promise. Two of the more explosive tracks here are delivered back to back, the latter of which was one of the lead singles. The title track and it’s companion piece This Curse of Silence sound like they could have come off any of the last 3 Parkway Drive albums (complimentary) A Death that Becomes Us is a late in the game rager with that has a very classic sound to it, and an irresistible melody.
The rest of the album is the equivalent of musical wallpaper. Even after multiple listens front to back there was very little here that held the attention. It becomes a repetitive as old tropes seep in. When your band is made up of legends who helped create and define a sound, there is an expectation that comes with that. It’s ok to sit back and play the classics sometimes but there is a very big difference between that and resting on your laurels.
The album’s sequencing also plays a part in the overall presentation and replay value here.Having Our Channel to the Darkness, Cruel Perception and What We Become all follow each other is a misfire. Each of those songs sounds so similar lumping them together does the album and the songs no favours.
Not to be completely negative here, I fully understand why a lot of people are going to love this album. Metal fans have been longing for a return of that old Gothenburg sound If that is what you have been waiting for then you’ll find it in spades here.
This is a competently played and slickly produced album that sonically holds up its end of the bargain, but it’s also the first big disappointment of 2025. There are moments that prove The Halo Effect can still deliver an effective tune, but overall maybe this is a march that should have remained unheard.
March of the Unheard is out now via Nuclear Blast Records.
