The Haunted

Biography :

The Haunted is a Swedish heavy metal band, formed in 1996 in Gothenburg, Sweden. The original members were Patrik Jensen (also member of Witchery) (guitar), Jonas Björler (bass), Adrian Erlandsson (drums), Anders Björler (guitar), and Peter Dolving (vocals). Both of the Björler brothers and Erlandsson were members of seminal melodic death metal band At the Gates, a pioneering force in the Swedish death metal scene. All members (past and present) are from Gothenburg, Sweden, with the exception of Patrik Jensen, who is from Linköping, Sweden, Per Möller Jensen, who is from Denmark, and Marco Aro, who is from Finland.


History :

The Haunted (1996–2000)

The band released their first album, while signed to Earache Records, the selftitled debut The Haunted, in 1998. Before this, they had also made their demo, called Demo '97, in 1997. The album resulted in The Haunted being praised as Newcomer of the Year by several magazines, and the album being called Album of the Year by Terrorizer Magazine. The Haunted made a respectable live reputation staging the Swedish metal scene, as well the international scene, touring the UK with Napalm Death.

After the release of this album, Peter Dolving and Adrian Erlandsson both left the band in 1999, the latter joining Cradle of Filth.

The Haunted Made Me Do It (2000 – 2003)

Marco Aro was recruited as a new vocalist and Per Möller Jensen as drummer. Their second album, The Haunted Made Me Do It, released in 2000, was more melodic and resembled the Gothenburg style (with bands such as At The Gates, etc.) more than old-school thrash metal that was used on The Haunted. It is originally called "Made Me Do It", but it is meant for the band name to be included in the title. The Haunted Made Me Do It topped CMJ Loud Rock Radio Chart in four weeks, and won a Swedish Grammy for Best Hard Rock Album. The album was followed by European tours with Entombed and Nile, The Crown in UK, and In Flames in Japan. The Haunted played on festivals such as 2000 Decibel, Hultsfred (both in Sweden), Graspop (Belgium), and Wacken Open Air (Germany). The band subsequently released their first live album - Live Rounds In Tokyo.

In August 2001, guitarist/songwriter Anders Björler left the band and he was temporarily replaced by Marcus Sunesson of The Crown for The Haunted's headlining tour; in less than a year Björler returned to the band. This meant that he could appear on the third studio album.

One Kill Wonder (2003 – 2004)

The next album was released in February 2003 and was titled One Kill Wonder. The Haunted broke their own record being listed at number one on CMJ Loud Rock Radio Chart in five weeks. Alternative Press hailed The Haunted as one of metal's 25 most important bands. The album resulted in The Haunted dominating album charts all over the world, and their first tours to Australia and South Africa, another tour to Japan, and a second Grammy. After another tour to Scandinavia, North America, United Kingdom and Europe in the fall of 2003, the sudden departure of Marco Aro came as a shock. Though, this opened a new chance of building up a reunion with former vocalist Peter Dolving.

The song D.O.A., from this album, became available for download in March 2008 for the video game Rock Band, on the Xbox 360's Xbox Live Marketplace, and the PlayStation 3's PlayStation Network. Another song from the same album, Shadow World, was announced as a future download.

Revolver (2004–2006)

Their first album with Peter Dolving back at the helm (and signed by a new deal with Century Media), was entitled Revolver. The new album was released in October 2004 and named as it was to convey the evolution of the band and the music it plays as a whole. Revolver was met with a fair amount of fan support and critical acclaim, and the band toured the world extensively in support of it, including a second stage spot at Ozzfest 2005. On February 2 of 2005, Marco Aro played his last show in Stockholm, Sweden but as a guest singer. In 2006, the band performed on the Extreme The Dojo vol.15 tour in Japan with Exodus and Nile, while Edge of Spirit opened for them.

The Dead Eye (2006–2007)

The Haunted's fifth studio album, The Dead Eye, was released on October 30, 2006 in Europe and so far has been a huge success, showing a more sinister side to Dolving's vocals and a more technical, haunting musical display. It was released in the USA on October 31, 2006. They later toured Europe and toured with Dark Tranquillity, Into Eternity, and Scar Symmetry for the North America Metal For The Masses tour. They recently toured Europe for the Cursed Earth tour with bands like Wolf, Municipal Waste, and Lyzanxia and took a break to later return to play in tours and some shows in Russia.

Versus (2008–present)

Their sixth studio album, Versus, was released on September 17, 2008, in Sweden, September 19-24 in the rest of Europe, and October 14 in the USA. They are supporting Slayer on their August 2010 tour. Dolving has recently confirmed the writing of new material as well as a DVD release set for June 8 in North America. The band is set to record the new album on October 18.

In 2010, the band was confirmed as being part of the soundtrack for Namco Bandai Games' 2010 remake of Splatterhouse.


Band Members :

Current Members :

* Peter Dolving - Lead Vocals (1996–1998, 2003–present)
* Anders Björler - Lead Guitars (1996–2001, 2002–present)
* Patrik Jensen - Rhythm Guitars (1996–present)
* Jonas Björler - Bass (1996–present)
* Per Möller Jensen - Drums, Percussion (1999–present)

Former Members :

* Adrian Erlandsson - Drums (1996–1999)
* John Zwetsloot - Guitar (1996)
* Marco Aro - Lead Vocals (1999–2003, and February 2, 2005)
* Mike Wead - Live Guitar (2001)
* Marcus Sunesson - Session Guitars (2001–2002)


Discography :

Studio Albums :

* The Haunted - The Haunted (1998)
* The Haunted - Made Me Do It (2000)
* The Haunted - One Kill Wonder (2003)
* The Haunted - Revolver (2004)
* The Haunted - The Dead Eye (2006)
* The Haunted - Versus (2008)