The Haunt
There is something wonderfully sinister about The Haunt, and Until I Die makes it increasingly difficult to look away. The Florida-born brother-and-sister duo of Anastasia Grace Haunt and Maxamillion “Max” Haunt have spent the past decade building a sound that sits somewhere between alternative rock, hard rock, garage grit and punk attitude, but their latest single pushes that formula into considerably darker and more cinematic territory.
Taken from the forthcoming second album Ghost, due on 30 October through Nettwerk, Until I Die arrives sounding like The Haunt have kicked open a much heavier door and discovered something lurking on the other side. The track is energetic and intense from the outset, driven by muscular instrumentation and Anastasia's powerful vocal performance, but what really gives it its bite is the sense that there is something emotionally dangerous lurking underneath the surface.
This is not lightweight alternative rock dressed up in black clothing for the photographs. The Haunt have genuine darkness running through their DNA, and Until I Die embraces it without becoming miserable. The guitars carry plenty of weight, the production gives the track a cinematic scale and Anastasia delivers the sort of vocal performance that can switch from vulnerability to outright confrontation without losing its melodic edge.
It follows ‘Seasonal Depression’, released the previous month, and the two tracks provide an intriguing glimpse into the world of Ghost. If the first album, New Addiction, established The Haunt as a direct and emotionally charged alt-rock outfit dealing with anxiety, heartbreak, depression and the everyday pressures of modern life, the new material suggests that the band are taking those themes somewhere considerably darker.
And that development feels natural rather than manufactured. The Haunt have been making music together since 2015, when Anastasia and Max began developing their shared obsession with hard rock, garage rock and blues influences drawn from artists including Amy Winehouse and The White Stripes. Anastasia was only 12 when the pair began playing shows around Florida, and they have since gone from teenage musicians cutting their teeth on local stages to an internationally touring act who have shared bills with Palaye Royale and appeared at festivals including Download, Louder Than Life and Rock for People.
That experience is all over Until I Die. There is confidence in the way the song moves between its heavier passages and more melodic moments, while Anastasia's vocal performance gives the track its emotional centre. She isn't simply singing over the top of a big rock arrangement; she sounds completely embedded in it, which gives the song a sense of urgency that carries the listener through its darker corners.
The result is a track that feels tailor-made for a large stage, but still retains the intimacy that has been central to The Haunt's appeal. That combination has clearly served them well, with the band having accumulated more than 40 million global streams and built an international audience through relentless touring and a string of releases.
The influence of punk and Riot Grrrl is still audible, particularly in the attitude and sheer refusal to play things safe. Kerrang! previously highlighted The Haunt's gothic aesthetic, punk energy and riot grrrl attitude, while Rock Sound identified them as one of the more promising emerging acts. Until I Die makes a strong argument that those early predictions weren't misplaced.
What makes the single particularly effective is that it doesn't try to hide behind its darkness. There is a theatrical quality to the track, but it never tips into melodrama, while the heavier sections have enough bite to keep things firmly rooted in rock rather than drifting into soundtrack territory.
If this is representative of Ghost, The Haunt could have something seriously interesting on their hands.
The album's tracklist certainly suggests that they aren't planning to lighten the mood any time soon, with titles including ‘Favorite Way to Die’, ‘Worst Taste in Men’, ‘Cocaine’, ‘Psychotic Love’, ‘Hate Me’ and ‘Six Feet Underneath’sitting alongside Until I Die and Seasonal Depression.
Taken together, it sounds like the soundtrack to a particularly unhealthy relationship with the inside of your own head, and frankly, The Haunt appear to be having a fucking great time exploring it.
There is also a sense that the band's evolution is being driven by their experience on the road. They have already built a formidable live reputation through extensive touring in the US, UK and Europe, including numerous sold-out performances, and Until I Die sounds like a song written with that environment in mind.
It has the weight, drama and immediacy to hit hard in a club, but enough melody to survive outside it. Most importantly, The Haunt sound hungry. After more than a decade of making music together, millions of streams and a growing international following, they could quite easily have settled into a comfortable version of what already works. Instead, Until I Die suggests a band pushing further into the shadows and discovering that the darkness suits them rather well.
If New Addiction was The Haunt announcing themselves, Ghost looks set to be the moment they start revealing what they're really capable of. ‘Until I Die’ is dark, muscular, melodic and emotionally charged, with Anastasia and Max Haunt sounding like a band that has found another gear and has absolutely no intention of taking its foot off the accelerator.
For more information: The Haunt
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