Former In Flames members Mikael Stanne (vocals) and Peter Iwers (bass) guested on Machine Head frontman Robb Flynn's NFR podcast for a chat about their new band, The Halo Effect, hitting the road with Machine Head and Amon Amarth in September, the tape-trading scene and how it affected the Gothenburg sound, the songs they lost their virginity to, the awesomeness of Queensryche, and how their name came from a Rush song.

The year of the corona-pandemic, when the music world was forced into a standstill, five old friends put in motion an old idea that had been lingering - and what eventually was to become a new band and powerhouse: The Halo Effect, who recently inked a contract with Nuclear Blast.

The members of The Halo Effect are not only masters of their domain, but also pioneers of the Gothenburg melodeath scene, who, at some point, have all been members of fellow Gothenburg icons In Flames: Lead guitarists Niclas Engelin (Engel) and Jesper Strömblad (Cyhra), lead singer and lyricist Mikael Stanne (Dark Tranquillity), the foundation of power, bassist Peter Iwers, and his partner in crime since twenty plus years, hard-hitting drummer Daniel Svensson.

Today, the band are giving metal fans all over the world a taste of their sound with debut single, "Shadowminds", that comes together with a music video. Its brooding atmosphere, melodic riffs and harsh vocals provide a perfect example of what The Halo Effect is about.

Watch the music video for "Shadowminds" below, and get the single digitally, here.

The band comments: "We are incredibly excited to unveil this new band with one of the first songs that we wrote together. We felt strongly that this was the right direction for the band. Finding identity, finding a drive and passion is what the song is about and also what this band is about. What drove us to do this in the first place, what obstacles have we overcome in order to fully commit to this lifestyle? It's about how easy it is to get lost if you lose focus and passion for what you do.With the video we wanted to convey the emptiness of the city in the early stages of the pandemic and what we saw outside of the studio as we were writing but we also love the cool dystopic imagery so we made the city look even more barren and destroyed. Enjoy!"

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.

The band have 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

Lineup:

Niclas Engelin - guitar
Jesper Strömblad - guitar
Mikael Stanne - vocals
Peter Iwers - bass
Daniel Svensson - drums