Jail, the debut album from Swedish act Confess sounded exactly like something that came out of the Sunset Strip for approx 30 years ago. Their follow up album, Haunters, released in 2017 see a band that now has evolved in style a bit more towards genuine heavy metal and it also shows a great growth in song writing and atmosphere. The album features an intriguing cover art that, in addition to immediately capturing the attention of any fan looking for retro sound, also manages to establish strong identity for the band, set around their alleged anthem, "We Are The Rats". The cover will also be super attractive for anyone, who as a kid was a fan of the cartoon "Biker Mice From Mars", I personally confirm. Jail was not a bad album, but Haunters tops it in every aspect imaginable. Not only that some parts of the first half of the album are straight up NWOBHM that would please way more metalheads than the Motley Crue-esque sound of their debut, but also the tracks show much more complexity and content, way better management of tempo and offset of slow versus fast, and hard versus soft segments, and most importantly - the band sounds like they actually have something to say with their music. An original message to convey, a statement to make, rather than just to put out an album and be proud of existing. John Elliot's voice is brilliant throughout the record, never dropping the ball for a second. Haunters would be a great addition to any glam metal fan's collection, and also a valuable addition for any heavy metal fan, who doesn't feel strong hatred or disgust towards glam influences. The album also ends with a damn rocking version of Magnus Uggla's Vittring, but i guess this is something that mostly will be appreciated by their Swedish fans.
