I’ve literally been reviewing Haunt for as long as this site has existed. My review of their third album, Mind Freeze, was the first I ever posted. Six months later, I was reviewing album #4, Flashback. To put things in perspective, Beautiful Distraction is the third Haunt album released in the last year and a half; fourth if you include Triumph: an album consisting of re-recorded versions of the Luminous Eyes and Mosaic Visions EPs. If nothing else, Haunt mastermind Trevor William Church deserves an award for productivity alone.
If it makes you feel better, Beautiful Distraction isn’t ALL brand new music. Two of the tracks originally appeared on splits (“A Fool’s Paradise”, “Sea of Dreams”). Two others are re-recordings of earlier tracks. “It’s in My Hands” was originally featured on If Icarus Could Fly, while “Hearts on Fire” (no relation to the HammerFall song of the same name) first caught my ear just last year on Mind Freeze. Truth be told, I’m not sure what the purpose of these re-recordings are. The only difference from the original versions seems to be the addition of extra synthesizers. Perhaps this was done in an effort to add more depth and atmosphere? I don’t know.
Once we factor the 4 previously released/recorded songs out of the equation, we’re left with 6 brand new tracks. The first is the opening title track. “Beautiful Distraction” boasts the melodies and harmonies of Ghost, while retaining those old school Angel Witch style riffs that put Haunt on the map. This balance between hard and heavy has always slightly annoyed me. As I’ve said in previous reviews, they’re a good metal band, but have the potential to be a GREAT hard rock band. This is evidenced by cuts like “Fortunes Wheel”, “Keeping Watch”, and my favorite, “Face of Danger”. If you have a soft spot for the big 80s sound of Demon, Abominog era Uriah Heep, and Fire of Unknown Origin era Blue Öyster Cult, then boy are you in for a treat.
This leaves “In Our Dreams” and “Imaginary Borders”. These two songs sees Haunt exploring yet another new frontier: power metal. Sure they may not be as orthodox as what’s known to constitute “power metal” these days, but the spirit is present in the riffs and choruses. Now that I think of it, I’m sure there’s other power metal-isms scattered throughout Haunt’s catalog. I just didn’t have the time to revisit any past releases before reviewing this one. And at the rate Church is going, I’m sure he’ll be halfway finished with a new release by the time I publish the review for this one.
In the scope of Haunt’s ever growing catalog, Beautiful Distraction is the band’s strongest release in a while. There’s a sense of consistency to their sound that I haven’t felt since If Icarus Could Fly. Maybe it’s because Church has gotten back into the groove of Haunt being a solo project. The question from here is will they remain a solo project à la High Spirits? If they do, I wouldn’t mind.
6 out of 10
Label: Church Recordings
Genre: Heavy Metal
For fans of: Angel Witch, Ghost, Demon