Coming off the heels of their 2024 EP I, which garnered a nomination for “Best Indie/Alternative” in the San Diego Music Awards, Hauntu returns with 10 beautifully furious songs about living in uber-capitalist, peri-fascist USA on full-length debut, The Unknown Reigns (Sell The Heart Records / Engineer Records). The album sees release November 14.

From the relentless opening down-stroked guitars of “Crooked Teeth,” to the thunderous drums of “All’s Well (in Hell)” marching you through the apocalypse, the overarching themes of The Unknown Reigns, are poignant and apt. Hauntu’s sound is both cathartic and thought-provoking, unapologetically confronting the darkness that plagues humanity. It’s a little goth, a little ’90s, with hints of metal, and a whole lotta punk as fuck (in the ethical sense). Simply, fans of Mannequin Pussy, Hot Snakes, Wet Leg, Fugazi, Siouxsie, and The Wipers are gonna dig this.

One critic says that the songs on the album “feel lived-in, angry, and self-aware,” and calls The Unknown Reigns “an album forged in the tension of a world teetering on the edge.” Find out why below.

Pre-order the record from Sell The Heart here, from the band here, or from Engineer Records here. Hauntu will celebrate the album release on Saturday, November 29 at the Vinyl Junkies Record Shack in South Park San Diego. The show is free and all ages, with RX Pink Noise performing at 3pm, Hauntu at 5pm and DJs all day.

Catch the band live here as well:

Friday January 16 at Stay Gold in Oakland with No LIghts, Malinformants and Realistic
Saturday January 17 at Humdinger in San Luis Obispo for the Valley Hardcore Festival
Sunday January 18 at Casbah in San Diego (Matinee Show) with No Lights, Sunbendr and Hingada

Photo courtesy of RC Krueger.