FROM THE CRYPTS - CELEBRATING PAST ALBUM RELEASES in the HISTORY of HARD ROCK & HEAVY METAL…
Yesterday, The Haunted album Made Me Do It (also known as The Haunted Made Me Do It) celebrated the 22nd anniversary of its release.
On October 31, 2000, The Haunted released their second full-length studio album The Haunted Made Me Do It in the United States via Earache Records (released in Europe on June 30).
It was re-released in 2001 with the live album, Live Rounds In Tokyo as a bonus CD.
Background:
When asked about why the cover is a collage of serial killers, part of the band replied;
“First of all we wanted artwork that was matching the first album. The idea about the serial killers came in last, and was partly put there to emphasize the title. Since a couple of the songs on the album is about serial-killers and other funny characters it all made sense to include some on the cover. I'd say, they're rather a part of an overall concept, than the actual concept of the album.” — Per Möller Jensen
“I think we wanted to portray a sort of "we are guilty before we even release the album" in regards to all the censorship and musicians blamed for violent crime....” — Anders Bjöler
When asked about who were on the cover, part of the band replied again;
“Let's see...We put Jeffrey Dahmer there, we have Charles Manson (even though not being a serial killer), and Henry Lee Lucas...to name a few. These are all fascinating characters in their own ways.” — Per Möller Jensen
The person that describes it all is definitely RICHARD RAMIREZ. I don't know if he's on the cover or not, but the whole concept is about "an individual is responsible for his/ her own actions in life", it's always easy to blame something else, and not noticing the real problems in society. Taking the easy way out in the RAMIREZ case would be: "we have to ban AC/DC because he wore an AC/DC T-shirt". — Anders Björler
Other notable mentions on the cover are Ted Kaczynski, Albert Fish.
When asked about title, part of the band replied again;
“Ha, we used The Haunted Made Me Do It as a cynical statement to all the censorship discussions in the US, to sloppy cunts like Tipper Gore and the PMRC. People are gonna do what they do regardless.” — Per Möller Jensen
When asked about writing, Per replied;
“Some songs were already written before I joined, but when we came back from the US tour with Testament last year, we started writing the last songs, which became Bury Your Dead, Leech, Trespass and Revelation. Jonas, Anders or Jensen will bring in riffs, or a verse and chorus, and all the members can then have their input on the way the song will go.” — Per Möller Jensen
Critical Reception:
In 2005, Made Me Do It was ranked number 461 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.
In his review for AllMusic, Jason Birchmeier wrote;
“With the group's second effort on Earache and after enlisting a new vocalist and drummer, The Haunted rise in status to a role on par with important metal groups such as Entombed, Carcass, and mid-'80s Metallica, carefully balancing the fine line between raw extremity and accessibility. The majority of the 11 songs on The Haunted Made Me Do It never venture too far into complex progressive territory and never take their extremity to excessive abandon while still keeping their music far more innovative and intense than any metal band recording for a major label in 2000.
Staying true to the complex and intense tendencies of underground metal without being too inaccessible isn't an easy task (only a small handful of metal bands have ever done it, and even fewer for more than one album). The Haunted seem to understand this balance well: their songs average around three to four minutes in length, their vocals are nearly intelligible, their sparingly placed guitar solos never become masturbatory, and their songwriting never breaks too far away from traditional song structuring. Furthermore, the band's new vocalist, Marco Aro, gleams with charisma and possesses a unique style that can't be classified as growling, screaming, yelling, or singing, often fluctuating from one style to the other with ease. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, The Haunted manage to bring a sense of melody to their songs that creeps into their choruses and bridges, bringing back memories of the mid-'80s when Metallica was an important group for similar reasons. Though time will ultimately tell whether or not this album proves to be as fresh as it tries to be, it seems to belong on the same pedestal as Entombed's Wolverine Blues, Carcass' Heartwork, and Metallica's Master of Puppets -- albums that crossed over from the underground without compromising their integrity.”
Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells
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