Finland's Chaoszine recently caught up with Dark Tranquillity vocalist Mikael Stanne to discuss the launch of his new band, The Halo Effect, also featuring Jesper Strömblad (In Flames 1990-2010), Peter Iwers (In Flames 1997-2016), Daniel Svensson (In Flames 1998-2015) and Niclas Engelin (In Flames 1997-98/2011. Check out the interview below.

Mikael: "I'm on tour all the time and everybody's busy, so even though we've been friends since we were kids we don't see each other that much. Not enough. So, for me, this was an opportunity to just hang out more. I said 'Fine, let's do something.' Niclas had some songs so we did a demo, and that felt good. Then I was off to record the new DT album, but after that we did a few more songs and it felt good; very instinctive, very easy-going, so we said 'Let's make this happen.' I don't think we had any plans. We just wanted to play together."

The Halo Effect made their live debut at the Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg, Sweden on June 11th. Fan-filmed video of the performance can be seen below.

The Halo Effect will release their debut album, Days Of The Lost, on August 12. The band recently released the new single, "The Needless End". Stream the song here, and watch the track video below.

A message states: "'The Needless End' deals with the crippling inability to deal with abstract problems. Issues that just seem too huge or incomprehensible falls by the wayside in order to deal with more immediate but less important issues. We end up somewhere not because we want to but because we were unable to understand what we needed to do. There is an intensity to this song and a uplifting melody that I think suits this idea. Among all the anger and resentment it's also hopeful and has an infectious groove and drive."

The initial thought behind The Halo Effect was to go back to the roots and explore the classic Gothenburg Sound. The band delivers the goods in a brutally efficient display of heart pounding beats, melodic mayhem and furious growling at its best and the result is an exceptional sound to fans of melodeath, where the echoes of the Gothenburg Sound are evident.

Pre-order the new album here.

Tracklisting:

"Shadowminds"
"Days Of The Lost"
"The Needless End"
"Conditional"
"In Broken Trust"
"Gateways"
"A Truth Worth Lying For"
"Feel What I Believe"
"Last Of Our Kind"
"The Most Alone"

"Days Of The Lost" video:

"Feel What I Believe” video:

“Shadowminds” video:

The Halo Effect recently announced their first ever tour, accompanying the Swedish death metal giants Amon Amarth and US thrashers Machine Head on 31 dates throughout Europe and the UK.

The band comments: "We could not be more excited to partner with Cobra Agency for our first tour of Europe together with metal giants Amon Amarth and Machine Head. Working together with people who are passionate about the road, the crews, the bands and the fans means a lot to us and doing this together is something we very much look forward to. See you in Sept/Oct!"

Tour dates:

September
8 - Nottingham, England - Motorpoint Arena
9 - Cardiff - Motorpoint Arena
10 - London, England - The SSE Arena, Wembley
12 - Manchester, England - Ao Arena
13 - Dublin, Ireland - 3Arena
16 - Zurich, Switzerland - Hallenstadion
17 - Vienna, Austria - Stadthalle
18 - Krakow, Poland - Tauron Arena
20 - Tallinn, Slovenia - Saku Arena
21 - Helsinki, Finland - Ice Hall
23 - Oslo, Norway - Spektrum
24 - Stockholm, Sweden - Hovet
26 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Forum Black Box
27 - Hamburg, Germany - Barclays Arena
28 - Frankfurt, Germany - Festhalle
30 - Oberhausen, Germany - König Pilsener Arena

October
1 - Berlin, Germany - Velodrome
2 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Afas Live
4 - Milan, Italy - Lorenzini District
6 - Barcelona, Spain - Sant Jordi
7 - Madrid, Spain - Vistalegre
8 - La Coruna, Spain - Coliseum
9 - Lisbon, Portugal - Campo Pequeno
12 - Paris, France - Zenith
14 - Munich, Germany - Olympiahalle
15 - Leipzig, Germany - Arena
16 - Prague, Czech Republic - Tipsport Arena
18 - Budapest, Hungary - Barba Negra
20 - Esch Sur Alzette, Luxembourg - Rockhal
21 - Brussels, Belgium - Forest National
22 - Stuttgart, Germany - Schleyerhalle

(Photo - Markus Esselmark)