THE HALO EFFECT, the new band which is made up of five former members of the Swedish metal band IN FLAMES have completed mixing their second studio album
In a new interview with Finland’s Chaoszine, THE HALO EFFECT vocalist Mikael Stanne said about the new LP: “It’s done, and it sounds awesome. But, yeah, we were [originally] supposed to do an EP [instead of a full-length album] — we had that kind of plan — but then we realized, ‘Ah, maybe not.’ So now we’re gonna release the album beginning of next year and starting with singles and that kind of stuff soon.
“So it’s really exciting, because we worked really hard just to fit into all of our schedules to make sure that the album was kind of done in time, and then we figured out like a release schedule and a release date and all that stuff. So it’s been — not stressful, but we did a lot during a short period of time, which ended up being fantastic just because it turned out a much more confident album, I think.
“It’s very focused and you can, you can probably tell — at least from the people that I’ve played it to — that whereas the first time was kind of, like, ‘Hey, let’s figure out what we wanna do,’ whereas this is kind of, like, ‘This is exactly what we wanna do.'”
He added: “So it’s, it’s gonna be interesting. I can’t wait to have people hear it because I’m incredibly proud of it.”
When asked if the second THE HALO EFFECT album is a “continuation” of last year’s “Days Of The Lost”, Stanne replied: “Yeah, I think so. I think Niclas and Jesper were more confident in terms of their songwriting, where it’s, like, ‘Yeah, this is gonna work.’ And there are some cool experimentation on the album as well, but some of the songs are just like straight up, like there’s no questions. It’s just so easy and so to the point, you know.
“So it’s kind of fun when I get the demo version of a song, and I start thinking about lyrics and vocals, it’s, like, it just makes sense. I just know this by heart. It’s so easy. Which is — it is weird, but it’s just, like, it speaks to me in a way that where I go like, ‘Okay, I know exactly what to do and I can finish it in a matter of days.’ That’s sometimes how it feels. You just hear a song and you go, like, ‘Yep, I know this already. I know exactly what to do. And it’s gonna be great.”
THE HALO EFFECT debuted two brand new songs, “Become Surrender” and “The Defiant One”, during their recent February 2023 Swedish tour. IN a talk with MoreCore.TV Mikael touched on the band’s decision to perform new material before it is officially recorded, saying: “We decided to [test the water a little bit], see if people are into the new stuff that we’re writing. Not that it’s super different, but still… And it’s been fun to kind of, yeah, try things out and see if people are into it. And they seem to be digging it. So we’re really excited.”
Asked what fans can expect from the second THE HALO EFFECT album, Niclas said: “I think it’s gonna be more riffage, maybe — if that’s possible.” Mikael added: “To me… We listen to it every day now in order to kind of finalize the mix. But it’s more focused, I think.
“For me, it feels like we are more confident in who we are, whereas the first album was kind of, like, ‘Hey, let’s figure things out, see where we can take things.’ Now it’s become focused and more final, I think, and more confident.” Niclas concurred, saying: “Especially after playing a lot of shows together, you get that chemistry going [between the bandmembers].”
In May, THE HALO EFFECT delighted their fans with a visualizer for the song “Path Of Fierce Resistance,” which was previously available only in Japan on “Days Of The Lost” but is now accessible worldwide.
Before this exciting release, THE HALO EFFECT embarked on an eight-date North American tour, culminating in their performance at the prestigious Milwaukee Metal Fest. Throughout the tour, they were supported by the talented bands UNEARTH and HIGH COMMAND.
Last summer, “Days Of The Lost” made a remarkable impact on the music scene. The album achieved the unprecedented feat of reaching the No. 1 position on the official chart in Sweden during its debut week, making it the first time a metal act’s debut LP had accomplished this in the country. Additionally, the album secured a strong No. 6 spot on the charts in Germany, solidifying THE HALO EFFECT‘s global appeal and success.
THE HALO EFFECT is Jesper Strömblad (guitar), Daniel Svensson (drums), Peter Iwers (bass), Niclas Engelin (guitar) and Mikael Stanne (vocals).