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| Artwork by Elijah Tamu. |
Over the last five years of releasing music, Haunter has always been visceral and confrontational. But none of their previous records hit as heavily as Sacramental Death Qualia. The opening seconds are antithetical to an ambient intro. Press play and you are bludgeoned with the full force of Haunter right out of the gate. Immediately the listener is thrown straight into the deep end. The effect is intoxicating. Chasers come later. Let it be known from the start that this music is high test.
The vocals are so deep, the guitars low slung, the rhythm section pummeling full force; at first listen it is not easy to get a foothold on this music. The meter is shifting and the harmonies are dense. On Sacramental Death Qualia genre distinctions are obliterated. Elements from all corners of extreme metal are to be found: brutal death cries, majestic blackened subcurrents, technical prowess on ample display, melodies thick enough to make you choke. To be clear, it is not genre bending for its own end that gives this band its strength. Their power lies in their heaving mountainous arrangements.
More than other extreme music artists, Haunter's heady admixture of styles delivers an attack that is as confounding as it is memorable. Every song in this set packs the power to send you into next week and hand you your hat. Still more remarkable, however, is the fact that the album contains plenty of breathing room. Quiet passages and clean melodies abound, providing dynamics that only deepen the darkness of the record as a whole. The mid-marker of the set, "Abdication", track three of five, is a highlight. Here the guitars are entirely clean, there are acoustic passages, trippy sci-fi glissandos, melancholic arco elements, and acrobatic bass work on display. While a lesser act might provide ambient noise as a palate cleanser, Haunter show that they have sophisticated melodic ideas to burn. I can scarcely recall any other extreme metal record that has included an entirely clean melodic track that managed to more than hold its own amidst a set full of barn burners.
Leading up to this record's release, I have had the pleasure of seeing Haunter perfect this set of music in live performance here in their home state of Texas a handful of times. They truly get better all the time. That this music with all its complexity and drastic dynamics can be delivered in a live setting is no small feat. A Haunter show is a testament to the living breathing extreme urgency that this music contains. Don't sleep.