When pioneer Swedish melodic death metal band At the Gates locked their doors after 1995's excellent Slaughter of the Soul, guitarist Anders Bjorler, his bassist/brother Jonas and drummer Adrian Erlandsson formed the Haunted with Mary Beats Jane singer Peter Dolving. Then they turned their backs on their gnarled roots.

While At the Gates essentially birthed the now-prevalent Gothenburg sound (grunted vocals, double-time beats, harmony-laden guitar solos), the Haunted are more rooted in '90s thrash. The group's self-titled debut is caustic and unrelenting, filled with rapid-fire riffs, flailing solos and barked vocals that sound like a hybrid of Pantera, Slayer and Exodus. Songs about murder ("Bullet Hole"), suicide ("In Vein") and antipathy ("Choke Hold") compliment the musical brutality, and while there are some impressive and complex rhythm shifts and melodic guitar solos, the Haunted never allow changes or hooks to deter the heaviness.

After the release of The Haunted, Dolving quit and was replaced for four years by Marco Aro. In late 2003 Aro left, Dolving returned and the Haunted recorded rEVOLVEr, an album that's sonically similar to, but more melodic than, The Haunted.