I recently searched for a video by Youtuber Become The Knight where he describes bands in one sentence. His description for Coheed and Cambria was “how to lose a fan in 10 albums”. I searched for that video because I felt it accurately describes my feelings towards one band in particular. That band is Haunt, which has been at the forefront of the traditional heavy metal revival (which began around the mid to late 2010s). Early in 2023, the group released a single, “Fight the Good Fight”, and it made me question whether or not Haunt has gone downhill.

My Introduction to Haunt

The son of Montrose bassist Bill Church, Trevor William Church crafted Haunt into what it is thanks to his DIY approach. Haunt has been consistent in its releases since its inception in 2017. Since 2018, Haunt has released a full-length album every year without fail. I personally discovered them via the NWOTHM YouTube Channel in mid-2020. I listened to “If Icarus Could Fly” and really enjoyed it. The opening track, the title track, “Winds of Destiny”, and “Ghosts” all sounded like they were plucked straight from the 1980s. It had great production, killer riffs and solos, and incredible cover art. It’s a fun album! And it remains my favorite album by Haunt.

I looked for other Haunt albums and “Burst into Flame” and “Mind Freeze” quickly popped up. I enjoyed “Mind Freeze” just as much as “If Icarus Could Fly”! “Hearts on Fire”, “Fight of Flight”, and the opener all had similar energy to the previous Haunt album. Songs like “Have no Fear” helped to show other sides to what Haunt could sound like. After three high-quality consecutive releases, these guys were practically unstoppable! Within three albums, Haunt had established itself as an emerging titan of new-wave heavy metal. 

Weirdly, when “Flashback”, Haunt’s fourth full-length album came out, I wasn’t overjoyed with it. It was a good album, but I felt that it didn’t quite match the quality of the previous releases. That sort of high energy from previous releases just didn’t feel present. Granted, after so many good releases, one was bound to fall short. You can’t always keep exceeding your previous best. So, it was a little bit of a stumble, but nothing to really worry about. By this point, I can reasonably expect Haunt to bounce back and return to form. I had no reason to doubt that this was possible for them.

Starting Downhill?

Later in 2020, Haunt released “Triumph”, a full-length album that combined the band’s first two EPs. I wasn’t really excited about it. When I heard that a new Haunt full-length was on the way, I wasn’t expecting a repackage of previous material. Those EPs are relatively easy to find on their own too. I didn’t understand what was wrong with the EPs to begin with. To me, there didn’t seem like much of a reason to re-record and re-release the material. So, two lackluster releases now, but it’s not the end of the world. With Covid taking the world by storm, I wouldn’t be surprised if that had impacted things somehow.

Haunt released their next full-length, “Beautiful Distraction”, on April 2nd, 2021. I remember feeling a little excited about it. Brand new Haunt material? After the last releases? Alright, I’ll give it a go. Hopefully, they bounce back. After giving it a listen… I was disappointed.  The songs include similar elements of previous releases, but don’t really match up in quality. The energy was slightly above par with the previous release, but the new songs felt more stock and same-y. Only one song, “Sea of Dreams”, really stood out to me – even if only barely. And shockingly, “Hearts on Fire” and “It’s in My Hands” both get re-recordings for this album. 

I know Haunt can do better than this; they’ve shown that they’re capable of better. But to release such lackluster tracks just feels disheartening. Hell, I could barely get myself interested in the “Unplugged Vol. 1” full-length that followed this. That album was just acoustic recordings of previously released songs. I held hope that maybe things could get turned around. But now, after three releases dwindling in quality, it’s tough to have hope. 

And The Slump Continues…

Haunt released their eighth full-length (sixth if you exclude “Triumph” and “Unplugged”) “Windows of Your Heart” on July 1st, 2022. It follows the same format as the previous album, once again having two re-recordings. To be honest, I really don’t remember seeing any promotion of the album. I can barely remember how I first realized when the album was out. Upon listening to it, the feelings I had towards “Beautiful Distraction” carried over into this album.

Once again, the songs feel same-y and not up to par. And again, only one song (this time it’s the opener, “Mercenaries”) really stands out. At this point, I’m just kinda burned out with Haunt. The first three albums still hold up, but the newer material is just continuously falling short. 

Even the artwork has taken a dip. Look at the two covers I have up above. “If Icarus Could Fly” is vivid and detailed, with a distinct color palette. But the artwork for “Beautiful Distraction” is just dull. It’s just an image dropped on an empty background. You could argue the same with Sahon’s “10 Years in the Battlefield”. But the detail in the dragon makes that album more visually appealing comparatively. Additionally, that album makes better use of the background, adding more depth and detail. “Beautiful Distraction” comes across more, to me at least, as five minutes in photoshop.

One song, “Fight the Good Fight”, was released from the upcoming ninth album, “Golden Arm”. Even that song gives me the same feeling of same-y-ness. And that album is set to be completely new material, nothing re-recorded. The only positive I can see with this album so far is the artwork is marginally better. That’s not much of a reason to really get excited about it…

What The Fuck Happened?

I’m baffled that a band with such quality tracks could drop off so far. But, I think I have an idea as to how it happened. I found a separate review for “Beautiful Distraction” that states that that album is fairly “paint-by-numbers”. And, honestly, I think that description is applicable to every Haunt release post-Triumph. Every Haunt release since the re-recording, for me at least, has felt very paint by numbers. The riffs don’t hit the same highs they once used to. The solos kinda fade into the background as well. Altogether, the songs feel the same, which makes differentiating them harder. 

Trevor also has an established goal for Haunt. According to an interview with StatikNoize, Trevor wants to get his “20-album goal done, hopefully in a decade.”. So far, he’s on track to achieve such an ambitious goal. However, I wonder if this has, unintentionally, set up Haunt to be in a position of quantity over quality. The more full-length releases Haunt makes, the further quality seems to dip. In pursuing the 20-album goal, the “paint-by-numbers” comment depicts a way to pump out songs quickly to achieve that goal. And as a result, Haunt’s quality material has seemingly burned up quickly.

Can Haunt Right The Ship?

I don’t think that Trevor wants to release subpar Haunt material. I simply can’t see him being okay with that. But, given Haunt’s latest releases, I’m struggling to think that it’s going to get better. I want Haunt to go back to making high-quality metal; I want them to succeed. I want to like Haunt again! And I certainly think that this is all possible. But, I think that if Haunt is going to do this, they need to slow down their releases and focus on writing more varied songs and riffs.

Releasing material year-over-year is taking its toll on song quality. I’d rather wait longer for a Haunt album, hoping it’ll be on par with “If Icarus Could Fly”, rather than accept what’s quickly churned out. Even the greats of metal didn’t continuously release material year after year. I understand Trevor’s ambitious goal. But pushing out material to achieve it will result in releasing material for the sake of hitting the goal. If Haunt continues to churn out material as they are now, then they’ll lose me as a fan in what will be 10 albums. And I really hope that doesn’t happen.