Finally got my hands on the new DT disc today and it is certainly living up to my expectations having heard the few pre-release tracks.
First off, there's no mistaking it for anything but a Dark Tranquillity album, but it's also different in as many ways as it is similar to their past albums.
While I readily admit to being a bit of a DT fanboi, finding something I like in even less than perfect releases, they have become a bit predictable in what to expect in regards to formula and execution, basically releasing
Damage Done-like formula albums in
Character and it's follow-ups
Fiction and
We Are The Void, never straying far from the successful sound of the first in that sequence of albums. Yes, they have always experimented around the edges by changing focus on things like instrumentation at the forefront i.e. the heavy keyboard presence on
We Are The Void and at times using a more rhythmic basis for guitars over the strong melody lines we've come to know, but it's safe to say they have delivered consistency in sound if not always in quality or in breaking any new ground.
Well, as Niklas Sundin recently said in a magazine interview:
“On a personal level it was probably important for us to create something different in order to keep the fire burning.”
They certainly have decided to experiment more heavily than they have over the past 10 years plus, all resulting in a great disc that as I mentioned is clearly a DT release upon first listen (how can it not be with the immediately recognizable voice of Mikael Stanne), but not just the results of old formulas retread over and over with little adjustments here and there. This album is both more melodic and varied than any of the past 4 releases, with Stanne using both his exceptional growl and also quite a bit of his clean vocalizations as found on
Projector. The album also is much more guitar melody focused than
We Are The Void was with it's heavy keyboard presence with Sundin filling the album with memorable riffs and lines.
Some might find it not aggressive enough for their tastes, but it's that perfect match of melodic and melancholic music that I love in bands like Katatonia and their like. Combined that with what I think might be Mikael Stanne's best vocal performance to date and it all results in a refreshing release from one of the founding bands of the Gothenburg melodic death metal style.
On the production side of things, the mix Jens Bogren did sounds great. I greatly prefer the sound of this disc over
We Are The Void. another production note is how well the album flows from beginning to end - the pacing seems perfect, whoever chose the song order did a great job.
Perhaps later I'll give a little more detail on particular tracks that are highlights for me, but for now just give it a listen as, at least for me, it's hitting all the right spots for an enjoyable metal release for me.
I'll be interested in others feedback after having listened through the whole album.
