Except One – Haunted Humanity (2016)

Coming at you like an unsuspecting bag of bricks to the face, today we have Except One and their crushing release “Haunted Humanity”. Featuring an interesting mixture of Metalcore and Melodic Death Metal elements, this release instantly stands out thanks to the sheer brutality of their female singer harsh vocals and the perfect balance of melodic guitars. For fans of bands like Arch Enemy and Soilwork, this French band is a true force to be reckoned.

Opening with the dissonance of “Rise”, we instantly get the Arch Enemy vibe, as the band perfectly managed to negotiate brutality and melody. Fronted by Estelle, the vocals are quite powerful and very fitting for the level of intensity in the band’s music. Filled with brilliant moments for headbanging, tracks like “Lost” and “Schizofriend”, showcase the band’s very talented guitar duo and their killer skills.

Not lagging behind, the band’s drummer Fanch’ delivers solid and intense moments to perfectly round up a very musically proficient outfit. Our personal favorite song in this release is the relentless “Elm Street” and its barrage of crushing guitar riffs that slowly change tempos and weave around clean and harsh vocals. Reminding us of old Dark Tranquility and Kalmah, “Disease” is another fine example of the band’s musical abilities to blend genres seamlessly.

As the album closes off with the intensity of “7even”, we are very impressed with the band’s musical abilities and attention to detail. Delivering around 30 minutes of high-octane music, Except One is one hell of a band with all elements perfectly aligned together. If you like killer guitar work and intense hellish vocals, “Haunted Humanity” will keep your cravings satisfied. Completely recommendable for fans of Arch Enemy, Soilwork, Kalmah, and similar Melodic Death Metal/Metalcore bands.

Label: Self-Released

Release: February 25th, 2016

Genre: Melodic Death Metal / Metalcore

Country: France