On the verge of conquering the underground-metal scene following 2004's rEVOLVEr, The Haunted shot their wad and stretched their music thin. If 2006's The Dead Eye was a disappointment, Versus could very well be career suicide.
European metal is best known for its progressive and multi-metered sound and not for its commercial successes. But with Versus, The Haunted make no bones about rolling the dice and trying to make it big on rock-radio playlists.
Before recording the album, The Haunted decided that they wanted Versus to have a live feel. In doing so, they eliminated the use of click tracks and other technologies that are commonly used in the recording studio. If Versus is supposed to be a statement about the band keeping it real, then it is also a statement about them being unable to stay in sync with each other.
While trying to dive into a non-European verse-chorus-verse style of song structure, The Haunted manages to rip off other bands in the process. "Moronic Colossus" should earn The Haunted a slap from Agnostic Front, and the chorus to "Rivers Run" is an electric copycat of the Days of the New track "How Do You Know You?"
Long story short: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
