Lack of studio updates?

[Villain]

Btw, did anyone else notice the "negotiating with secret guest vocalist" thing on Mr. B's twitter?
I hope it's a man this time.

For a change, I agree. I really enjoyed the return of the female vocals on the Mundane and the Magic, but this time I'd like to hear something new and different.

-Villain

 

[plintus]

For a change, I agree. I really enjoyed the return of the female vocals on the Mundane and the Magic, but this time I'd like to hear something new and different.

-Villain

Fish posting that was kinda expected, but... et tu, Villain?

p.s. That was gay

 

[Erik Erna]

I think studio updates in excess is annoying, suchs as bands who post twenty-five videos during the recording. When all is said and done, you've heard maybe a grand total of twenty seconds in all twenty-five videos.

Personally, I just like hearing little snippets and they get me even more excited for the album. That twenty seconds video of Mikael doing vocals is quick, simple and to the point of what I like about updates.

 

[Lyre's Harmony]

ya studio updates help to build excitment prior to a release for me at least, otherwise i tend scoff it off if its just point a "we're working on an album" to point b "here it is" but really post #20 is an update enough to get me excited!

 

[Defiance]

Right on the spot. The percieved excitement before/during an album in the past really had more to do with how much time we (I) wanted to spend on writing enthusiastic press releases than anything else.

Naturally we have high expectations of the new album; otherwise we wouldn't be recording it, but studio time is rarely "fun" as such for us. It's hard work with a lot of pressure, and you tend to filter everything else out. I guess that this time I didn't really feel that the world needed yet another band saying how much ass their new songs kick - it'll be obivous in the near future anyway.

Also, there will be pretty extensive video documentation posted online the weeks before the album release. I'm not necessarly a fan of these "making of"-things, but I saw the first preview footage last night, and the director (known from another Gbg band) has done a great job.

Excellent .

This is of course true. Some of us are not very comfortable with having cameras around, but for a lot of people out there, it's interesting to get a glimpse of the studio work, so it's not a huge sacrifice to have a friend putting together a professional and entertaining series of "webisodes" that will also build up anticipation for the album. If this in turn translates to more album sales and exposure, we'll have better chances to get good touring/festival offers (which is a VERY competitive thing right now), and then it's win-win and definitely worth the embarrasment of appearing all tired and sweaty on YouTube trying to play a guitar part right for the 10th time.

And no, there's no contractual obligation at all, but reality is that in order to keep going at this level (especially given the current state of the music industry), we need to promote the band, and that means doing things that wouldn't necessarly have been done without the marketing aspect. We've said no to a lot of stuff that would have been good exposure but just wasn't right - but most of these small things (signing sessions, interviews, video recordings, the occassional venture into sellout territory) aren't that exhausting, and they're part of the game.

Haha for the 10th time? What happened to one of Sweden's best guitarist (according to polls)?

I've always wondered how much the crisis has affected DT. For example, The Gathering has had to cancel two concerts, one was of festival which sold only 250 tickets and needed 5000 to make some profit. And they sold 250. Is the crisis that bad in Europe? It surprised me a lot, I'd expect that in the US or England, but not in The Netherlands.

Needless to say, as with Fiction I will buy every possible version of the album.

I think that having the merch shop was really a smart move since the money goes directly to the band (does CM get something of that?). It's quite expensive to us foreign (3rd world) costumers who have to pay the shipping cost within Germany + to the US + to Costa Rica zombie, but I think that the shirts you have there are really nice and worth it (I really like my "Empty Me" sweater, despite the somewhat hardcore logo).

For a change, I agree. I really enjoyed the return of the female vocals on the Mundane and the Magic, but this time I'd like to hear something new and different.

-Villain

Yes! What a great idea! I never thought of this, but it'd be wonderful to have male vocals (anyone said Kristoffer Rygg? ). Michael Jackson woudl be awesome if he were alive, but since he isn't I'd say Neil Tennant or David Gahan . Hahaha not really, but Garm might be a good choice, even though not entirely original. Is there still time for this?

Anyhow Niklas, Martin B., Martin H., Anders, Mikael and Daniel )), you have my full support!!!

 

[Saldiac]

I've always wondered how much the crisis has affected DT. For example, The Gathering has had to cancel two concerts, one was of festival which sold only 250 tickets and needed 5000 to make some profit. And they sold 250. Is the crisis that bad in Europe? It surprised me a lot, I'd expect that in the US or England, but not in The Netherlands.

You shouldn't forget that European metal fans are the most spoiled brats ever. The sheer amount of gigs per week for years after years has definitely made them spoiled plus caused them to become rather picky about shows they go to. Some are willing to travel a bit (especially for a festival) but here in the Netherlands people bitch if they have to travel for more than an hour.

The Gathering has played in the Netherlands a LOT (obviously). So there's not much eagerness to go out and see them. 'Cause they will play again sometime next year anway.

Compare that to for, instance, South America where fans are extremely enthusiastic since they don't get as many tours. Add their temperament to the mix and you'll see that the shows there rarely are cancelled due to not enough ticket sales.
There's a bigger possibility of shows getting cancelled due to shady promotors.

Concerning the crisis: I don't see much difference here in the Netherlands really. The amount of gigs is still high and attendance is pretty decent.

 

[rahvin]

Michael Jackson woudl be awesome if he were alive, but since he isn't I'd say Neil Tennant or David Gahan .

If Neil Tennant sings with Dark Tranquillity--- no, scratch that: if Neil Tennant even sings anything by Dark Tranquillity I'll have a pleasure-induced brain aneurysm and end up in a hospital room (possibly alongside Martin B).

 

[snuffcarl]

i know what they said in the past about recording. My only point was that last time mikael seemed so extravagantly excited that he couldnt help proclaiming the greatness of the album =) And im sure DT wouldnt record anything that wasnt high quality (not counting the previous live dvd=)

However, the reason i wrote it was that i got this idea after reading an interview with niklas about projector, in which he states that hes sure that the band wouldnt exist today if they hadnt done something radically different at the time being. ANd then it struck me that, at least in my eyes, the past three albums havent been that groundbreaking (though i love the all) and that another makeorbreak point is coming closer....

 

[snuffcarl]

i dont consider myself to be a spoiled brat =) But i rarely travel for more than 2 hours to see a concert. And i wouldnt travel anywhere to watch the gathering haha, no offense. But living in sweden means that there are heaps of great concerts, all year roundso ofcoyrse u become more selective. After what i heard, ticket sales in general havent been that affected...

 

[Saldiac]

See, traveling 2 hours in countries like Australia and the US is nothing. Those folks easily do 5 hour back and forth (10h total) to see a good package or some bands they really like.
With spoiled I mean that the amount of gigs per square 100 km is infinitely higher than in the US and Australia.

And I think it gets harder for a band to rediscover themselves and refine their sound the longer they stick around. With so many of the longstanding metal bands I can't get excited anymore because you know exactly what you'll get but the kick ass factor is dwindled away by the reminisces of their former successes.
For me DT is one of the exceptions to this since they do try out new things. Perhaps in a more subtle way on the last few albums but they've been doing this from the beginning. Even "Skydancer" had acoustic stuff and clean male/female vocals.

When "Projector" came out many fans were like "WTF??!!?" but after some getting used to the sound I absolutely loved it. I applaud DT for having the balls to have put out that album regardless of how their fanbase might respond.
The flipside of the coin happened with "Haven" for me. I loved "Projector" so much that "Haven" seemed a bit too predictable and stale to me. It's still my least fave DT album to date.

Just a thought but perhaps it's also more risky to radically change your sound nowadays. Back when "Projector" came out file sharing was around but not so omnipresent as it is nowadays. I could definitely understand if this would have had some effect on DT's musical course over the last few albums.

The thing I'm most curious about is whether Niklas contributed some more to the song writing. After one of the gigs in Pittsburgh he told me that he often writes stuff that's a bit too different for DT but I think it could be interesting to pick up his ideas and see where it takes them.

 

[Defiance]

You shouldn't forget that European metal fans are the most spoiled brats ever. The sheer amount of gigs per week for years after years has definitely made them spoiled plus caused them to become rather picky about shows they go to. Some are willing to travel a bit (especially for a festival) but here in the Netherlands people bitch if they have to travel for more than an hour.

The Gathering has played in the Netherlands a LOT (obviously). So there's not much eagerness to go out and see them. 'Cause they will play again sometime next year anway.

Compare that to for, instance, South America where fans are extremely enthusiastic since they don't get as many tours. Add their temperament to the mix and you'll see that the shows there rarely are cancelled due to not enough ticket sales.
There's a bigger possibility of shows getting cancelled due to shady promotors.

Concerning the crisis: I don't see much difference here in the Netherlands really. The amount of gigs is still high and attendance is pretty decent.

Yeah Europeans get a lot of concerts, I'm sure 99.9% don't know how lucky they're. Here we get 3-4 concerts per year, 1 of a good/decent band. When I was in Europe I saw let's see… 8 bands in three weeks; bands which people will never get to see in CR (Finntroll, Legion of the Damned, The Gathering) and twice the amount we get per year. In three weeks.

If Neil Tennant sings with Dark Tranquillity--- no, scratch that: if Neil Tennant even sings anything by Dark Tranquillity I'll have a pleasure-induced brain aneurysm and end up in a hospital room (possibly alongside Martin B).

it'd be awesome to see a "It's a Sin" and "Terminus" duo, the first in DT-style and the second in Pet Shop Boys style .

 

[Saldiac]

It's been an eye opener for me to have lived in the US the past 4 years after having been a spoiled Dutch brat beforehand.

13 days to go for the anniversary party!

 

[Defiance]

.
The thing I'm most curious about is whether Niklas contributed some more to the song writing. After one of the gigs in Pittsburgh he told me that he often writes stuff that's a bit too different for DT but I think it could be interesting to pick up his ideas and see where it takes them.

Cool that'd be really interesting.

It's been an eye opener for me to have lived in the US the past 4 years after having been a spoiled Dutch brat beforehand.

13 days to go for the anniversary party!

But you see, I've got the feeling that the U.S. gets more bands/tours than Europe. I may be mistaken, though.

 

[Saldiac]

Well the US does get a lot of tours but mostly with bands that are hot for the time being. Often a band like Napalm Death has to function as a support act for Devil Driver in order to have a decent US tour. A band like Misery Index played a recent European headline tour but is usually a support act for a hip band like The Faceless when playing in the US. The US really just thrives on hip bands that ride the wave of their popularity for as long as it lasts.
Furthermore, often a LOT of local bands are added to a tour package which pushes back the original time schedule and cuts time off the bands' setlist. When I went to see Carcass in Cleveland there were so many support acts that they had to open their 2nd stage so all bands could play their 20 minute set. The regular tour package featured Carcass, Suicide Silence (hip band in US), Samael and Psycroptic. Yes, Suicide Silence were the main support for Carcass, not Samael! This is typical for the US.
I was glad I didn't drive to Cleveland earlier that day because I was unaware of all the extra support acts and I would've had to sit through all of them. Basically I just wanted to see Carcass and now 'only' had to endure Suicide Silence's crappy set.
In short, you often have to take a lot of crap bands to see 1 or 2 good bands in the US.

The 2 recent US tours with Dark Tranquillity were actually nice exceptions to this. In 2005 they played with Devin Townsend Band, Into Eternity and Opeth, and in 2007 they had Scar Symmetry and The Haunted I think.

European tours often thrive more on longevity and classic metal bands than on the hip melodic/"extreme" metal bands. I've seen a few Euro tours which conveniently packed a bunch of these hip bands together which made it easy to just ignore those tours.

 

[Defiance]

Well the US does get a lot of tours but mostly with bands that are hot for the time being. Often a band like Napalm Death has to function as a support act for Devil Driver in order to have a decent US tour. A band like Misery Index played a recent European headline tour but is usually a support act for a hip band like The Faceless when playing in the US. The US really just thrives on hip bands that ride the wave of their popularity for as long as it lasts.
Furthermore, often a LOT of local bands are added to a tour package which pushes back the original time schedule and cuts time off the bands' setlist. When I went to see Carcass in Cleveland there were so many support acts that they had to open their 2nd stage so all bands could play their 20 minute set. The regular tour package featured Carcass, Suicide Silence (hip band in US), Samael and Psycroptic. Yes, Suicide Silence were the main support for Carcass, not Samael! This is typical for the US.
I was glad I didn't drive to Cleveland earlier that day because I was unaware of all the extra support acts and I would've had to sit through all of them. Basically I just wanted to see Carcass and now 'only' had to endure Suicide Silence's crappy set.
In short, you often have to take a lot of crap bands to see 1 or 2 good bands in the US.

The 2 recent US tours with Dark Tranquillity were actually nice exceptions to this. In 2005 they played with Devin Townsend Band, Into Eternity and Opeth, and in 2007 they had Scar Symmetry and The Haunted I think.

European tours often thrive more on longevity and classic metal bands than on the hip melodic/"extreme" metal bands. I've seen a few Euro tours which conveniently packed a bunch of these hip bands together which made it easy to just ignore those tours.

Ah OK, I didn't know that, it's amazing that Samael wasn't the support for Carcass.

But then again, there was the probably-the-most-amazing-tour-ever last year, with Heaven and Hell, Priest, Testament and Mötorhead. I can't even conceive what it'd be to see all those four bands in one night.

 

[Saldiac]

Can you believe me when I say I skipped this tour on purpose?
I saw Testament in a Pittsburgh club the same year (was awesome!), have seen Motorhead several times at festivals, saw Judas Priest's cringeworthy performance at Graspop festival 2008 and not big on Heaven and Hell. So instead of spending a lot of $$ on a big arena show I just decided to skip it. I much prefer club shows where you can see the band fairly upclose and which has superior atmosphere to an arena show.

It seems a lot of people are in denial about Priest but Halford just doesn't hit those notes anymore which is understandable for a guy his age. But additionally, at Graspop their entire performance was lifeless and stale. When I saw them some years back with Tim Owens not only the vocals were spot on but the entire band was on fire.
Sad but true.

 

[plintus]

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=310828465569&ref=nf

 

[Erik Erna]

That clip playing in the background sounds absolutely incredible. DT is like a fine wine, get better with age and I doubt this album wil dissappoint.

 

[plintus]

hip... hip... (hip...) hip... hip...

Some tours have strong "packages", local bands used to go on with the doors, but tours used to be cooler back in the day.

Hahaha, on last night of dt tour at the last show one local band went on AFTER dark tranquillity 4 people in the crowd, empty club and mad barbeque in the parking lot =)

had a picture somehwere...

 

[Defiance]

Can you believe me when I say I skipped this tour on purpose?
I saw Testament in a Pittsburgh club the same year (was awesome!), have seen Motorhead several times at festivals, saw Judas Priest's cringeworthy performance at Graspop festival 2008 and not big on Heaven and Hell. So instead of spending a lot of $$ on a big arena show I just decided to skip it. I much prefer club shows where you can see the band fairly upclose and which has superior atmosphere to an arena show.

It seems a lot of people are in denial about Priest but Halford just doesn't hit those notes anymore which is understandable for a guy his age. But additionally, at Graspop their entire performance was lifeless and stale. When I saw them some years back with Tim Owens not only the vocals were spot on but the entire band was on fire.
Sad but true.

Well it's true that a gig in a club will be much better, up close and personal. Since you've seen them before it obviously didn't matter to you if you saw them again or not, but for me it would've been an amazing experience.

Oh yeah, I totally agree! Halford can't sing since two albums. Besides that, everyone has told me that his performance is not really good… actually, they say that he sucks (what does he suck? ). I would basically go to see Testament and Heaven and Hell, I'm not such a big Mötorhead fan, but it's a nice bonus.

Plintus I can't see the video because I'm in class, but thanks for posting the link!

EDIT:

Saw (and listened) to the video, congratulations guys!

I really liked the guitar solos at the beginning; the song sounds very Fiction-like, I don't know if that's good or bad .

I'm wondering what the lyrics will deal with this time… *suspense*.

Hopefully there'll be one or two bass solos .

Congrats guys!!!