Labels: Threeman
Review by: Alex Deller
KInda cool story with this band: when Unsane opened for Entombed back in the 90s, guitarist Ulf Cederlund was so inspired that he decided to have a crack at creating noise-rock himself. Joined by a couple of other Swedish rock n’ rollers Haystack was born, and the band cranked out a couple of albums in the 90s before falling silent. For whatever reason the band are back some 20 years later with album number three, and the results are a little mixed. The Unsane influence still looms large thanks to the clanking riffs and tendon-twanging yells, though these unkindnesses are offset by washes of spaced-out grunge and some bouncy stoner rhythms a la ‘Stoner Witch’-era Melvins. The bottom line is that ‘The Sacrifice’ isn’t nearly hostile or unlistenable enough to place alongside the best noise-rock acts currently doing the rounds. Instead, where Haystack work best is when they play things with a slightly straighter bat … as an energetic, somewhat cranky rock act that aren’t trying to cripple you but are still capable of surprising given the occasional ugly, warty curveball they lob into the mix.