The Haunted, currently being hailed as the leading thrashmetal act from Sweden provided the first moshable moments for the metal elite at Ilosaarirock. Marco Aro used to sing in the band the last time they were in Joensuu, but now he’s been replaced by Peter Dolving - the doomsaying verbal machinegun. It took a while for the audience at the second stage to warm up, but after a few warmup rounds, the crowd was in full motion.

The setlist was built on their latest album, Versus, and set new standards of fitness for unstoppable pit action. If you haven’t yet witnessed how the band performs live, rest assured there are always bullets for newcomers in their magazines.

Text: Ismo Korhonen
Translation: Juha Ekholm