DEAD HEAD — Haatland (review)

DEAD HEAD — Haatland album cover Album · 2005 · Thrash Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
UMUR
"Haatland" is the 4th full-length studio album by Dutch death/thrash metal act Dead Head. The album was released through GMR Music Group in 2005. It´s the successor to "Kill Division" from 1999. "Haatland" was produced by Jacob Hansen at his studio in Ribe, Denmark.

Although it´s been 6 years since the release of "Kill Division (1999)", the music style on "Haatland" is a natural continuation of the style on the predecessor. Dead Head take no prisoners and continue to play aggressive thrash metal in the more brutal end of the scale. A rabid dog snarling vocalist, fast played and mid-paced thrash metal riffs and screaming chromatic guitar solos, and a solid rhythm section able to play both mid-paced heavy beats and much faster rhytms.

"Haatland" opens with a couple of aggressive and heavy tracks, which show the band from their best side and the remaining tracks on the album are also of high quality, but upon conclusion of the album I´m left with the impression that Dead Head are strongest when they play mid-paced sections and less interesting when they play faster-paced ditto. Too often the latter type sections become a little uninteresting and they have a tendency to sound a bit the same on all tracks, while Dead Head really excel when they take the pace down and play more heavy. I don´t usually complain about variation and in this case the rhythmic diversity also brings something positive to the album, but on the other hand I just have to mention the difference in quality when the band change pace. They are just so much stronger when they deliver sharp mid-paced riffs and rhythms.

"Haatland" features a well sounding and powerful production, which was by far their most well sounding production on an album up until then. Dead Head are well playing too and the snarling vocals by Tom van Dijk deserve a special mention. His delivery is beyond aggressive and ear piercing in the most satisfying way. A perfect death/thrash vocalist. It´s just an example of one of the many great features on "Haatland", which overall is a high quality release (despite the issues mentioned above). A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.
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