Haunter - Sacramental Death Qualia
Texas / USA
I, Voidhanger Records
Haunter, a four-piece band hailing from San Antonio, Texas, plays progressive black/death metal on their second full-length album, “Sacramental Death Qualia,” which was released by Italy’s I, Voidhanger. There’s a good deal of variety to be found on this album. The songs are quite lengthy, with the shortest track being around 7 minutes and longest track 12 minutes.
Musically, their sound bears resemblance to bands such as Opeth, Blut Aus Nord, Akercocke, etc. As a whole, the performance on this album is quite proficient, and shows a group with a knack for well-crafted compositions and an atmosphere that is nothing short of epic. The album is nicely balanced between extreme and more somber moments. When it’s heavy, it’s pretty damn heavy. The band also has a penchant for haunting clean acoustics, rendering to the overall prog vibe.
“Sacramental Death Qualia” is idiomatic to the kind of strange, experimental, and ominous metal that I, Voidhanger specializes in, and that can be a good thing or bad thing, depending on your taste. Personally, I’m quite fond of Haunter’s take on progressive metal, since they are able to retain a dark intonation and do not sound overly self-indulgent. It’s a prime example of the style done right. A highlight from 2019. (HT)