Band:	Haunt
Album:	Mind Freeze
Style:	Heavy metal
Release date:	January 2020

01. Light The Beacon
02. Hearts On Fire
03. Mind Freeze
04. Divide And Conquer
05. Saviors Of Man
06. Fight Of Flight
07. Have No Fear
08. On The Stage
09. Voyager

Another year, another Haunt album.

I'll get straight to the point: Mind Freeze clocks in at just over 37 minutes, yet it feels that it's overstaying its welcome; at least to me. Trying to sound like a mix between Ozzy's solo work, Dokken and Angel Witch, it is merely a combination of unremarkable songwriting and largely generic riffs. Like Cauldron more or less. The addition of keyboards is also unneeded for the most part, because the notes played are very basic and the mix makes them sound cheap and puerile. On top of all that, the choruses are invariably repeated so many times by such an average voice that they become annoying.

On the other hand, Trevor William Church is a talented guitarist and this is mainly heard in the soloing, which is generally quite tasty. There are also some very nice parts in songs but unfortunately, and much to my frustration, I did not find one song on Mind Freeze that I enjoyed from start to finish. This shouldn't have come as a surprise though, because everything that this band has released ranges from average to just above average as far as the songwriting is concerned.

The most serious problem though is the vocals.

Haunt started as a one-man band and even though this has now changed, Church feels that for some reason he should sing. His vocals are an expressionless mix of Kevin Heybourne and Ozzy, and they taste blander than unsalted Brussels sprouts. And the thing with Haunt is that the songs are not good enough to make the listener forget about how bad the vocals are. If I can make a comparison, Nate Garrett is not that much of a better vocalist if you hear him next to Church, but Spirit Adrift's songs are so compelling, catchy and memorable that the band's not-so-talented singer is not an issue.

Heavy metal is simple; had Church hired someone capable of singing and used on only one album the best riffs, solos and choruses of Haunt's releases of the last two years, he would have come up with something much more than a just decent record. And 'just decent' is what a lenient reviewer would call Mind Freeze. To me right now, this overkill of output is seriously harming the quality offered, to the point where it is a real shame to see talent being wasted like that.

Listen at Bandcamp and see if you find it more appealing.