I'm new to Dark Tranquility what are some songs I should check out and what would be the best album to start out with? I've listened to the songs: Therein, Day to End and The Mind's Eye.
New To the Band
- Thread starter Somber Oracle
- Start date
LadyCal
Friend of Maurice
A Bolt Of Blazing Gold from Skydancer
Away, Delight, Away from Of Chaos And Eternal Night
Lethe from The Gallery (Punish My Heaven is also a good pick)
Razorfever from Enter Suicidal Angels (no, not Archetype)
Hedon or Insanity's Crescendo from The Mind's I
The Sun Fired Blanks from Projector
Haven or Rundown from Haven
- red_beef
Away, Delight, Away from Of Chaos And Eternal Night
Lethe from The Gallery (Punish My Heaven is also a good pick)
Razorfever from Enter Suicidal Angels (no, not Archetype)
Hedon or Insanity's Crescendo from The Mind's I
The Sun Fired Blanks from Projector
Haven or Rundown from Haven
- red_beef
rahvin
keeper of the flame
for a "modern" approach to the band, my suggestion is you try the sun fired blanks and the same. then go for the slow, melodic side with auctioned or steer towards harsher shores with hedon. then you're ready for diverse, intense experiences like shadow duet, insanity's crescendo, undo control and lethe.
after getting some rest, you'll be ready to buy their latest damage done the moment it's out on the 22nd of july 2002.
rahvin.
after getting some rest, you'll be ready to buy their latest damage done the moment it's out on the 22nd of july 2002.
rahvin.
Villain
Doctor BenQuillity
I guess it's once again time for...
The Short Dark Tranquillity biography (by Villain)
Dark Tranquillity, formed in late eighties, originally had the following members: guitarists Niklas Sundin and Mikael Stanne, vocalist Anders Friden, bassist Martin Henriksson and drummer Anders Jivarp. Their songs were mainly composed by Sundin and Henriksson together, with some help from Jivarp, whereas the majority of lyrics were written by Sundin and the rest by Stanne (who also performed backing and "clean" vocals).
After a couple of succesful, yet unnoticed demos ("Trail of Life Decayed" and "A Moonclad Reflection"), DT released their first full-lenght album "Skydancer" (Spinefarm Records) in 1993. It was an epic masterpiece, full of strong, well-constructed songs with amazing melodic depth. Their use of several tempo-changes, a mix of "metallish" and acoustic parts and various, long, rarely repeated riffs gave them the reputation as "creators" of the so-called "gothenburg-sound", alongside with At The Gates. The lyrics on the album were very long, somewhat shamanistic proclamations or incantations. Also, the use (though only in a couple of songs) of a female vocalist (Anna-Kajsa Avehåll) as well as Stanne's clean voice in addition to Friden's screaming was something new in death-metal. Although a bit underproduced, Skydancer is still among those few truly original masterpieces, which will stand through time.
Skydancer gave the band wide popularity in metal-underground, but otherwise it went quite unnoticed. The band encountered some problems at that time, when Friden left the band (to later join In Flames). Stanne took now all the singing-responsibilities and a new guitarist (Fredrik Johansson) joined them. In that form, the band fine-tuned and improved its sound to the next level. In early 1995 they released a Mini-CD (again by Spinefarm) entitled "Of Chaos and Eternal Night". The clean singing was gone and the guitars were more prevalent, but the same basic melodic strength was still there.
Later in the same year, the band released its long-anticipated second full-lenght, "The Gallery" (Osmose) - and it was worth the waiting. Hailed by many as the best melodic death-metal album ever, it combined the fast, entwined guitars with precise drumming and sudden "soft" parts. The music was written by the bassist and both guitarists with some additional help from the drummer. The lyrics were now somewhat shorter than before, yet still very unique in their metaphoral approach; Stanne had by this time taken the major part of lyrics-writing to himself, with Sundin contributing only a little. The occasional female vocals were there again, this time by Eva-Marie Larsson, but Stanne used only his low voice for screaming and speach - there was practically no clean male vocals on the album.
The Gallery was a breakthrough and the band toured a lot and started writing new material quite soon. By late 1996, they had recorded their next album and released a Mini-CD containing songs from those sessions. "Enter Suicidal Angels" introduced the band's new sound, which was more straighforward and aggressive.
In 1997 the band finally released the full album "The Mind's I" (still on Osmose), which divided their fans in two - many liked their new, rawer approach, with short, fast songs; yet there were some, who disliked their near abandonment of the "Tranquillity"-part. The trio of Sundin/Johansson/Henriksson was responsible of the song-writing and Sundin and Stanne wrote the lyrics, which by this time had become quite philosophic. Only one song had female vocals, sung by Sara Svensson.
Although the response for the album wasn't so firm, the following tour was a success. Afterwards, the band withdrew from the public and decided to take a step away from the path they had been traveling so far. It took over two years, before their next album, "Projector", saw the light of day - by that time Johansson had already departed with the band, although he still appeared on the record.
Projector (Century Media, 1999) was a bold step into new areas in metal-music. It featured once again clean male vocals and the addition of some synths brought a refreshingly new sound to a couple of songs. However, the album still featured the trademark DT-guitaring and Stanne still growled a lot - thus, overall the album was not "lighter" than the previous ones. Henriksson did now the most of composing, with lots of help from Jivarp and Sundin. Johansson had participated only in a couple of songs and Stanne made one short song all by himself. The lyrics, now written by Stanne alone, were darker in mood, concentrating into the "self". One song had female vocals (by Johanna Anderson).
The departure of Johansson forced some line-up changes in the band. Henriksson took the guitar and left the bass for Michael Nicklasson, who had for long been a friend of the band-members. Also, a new man responsible for the electronics was found in Martin Brändström. The band once again embarked for a tour, this time with In Flames, Children of Bodom and Arch Enemy.
The band's latest album, Haven (Century Media, 2000) was once again a move to a new frontier. It relied heavily on the electronics in sound, and the songs were once again faster and shorter. Sundin had by this time stopped contributing to the songwriting, and most of it was done by Jivarp and Henriksson, with some help from the new guys. Stanne wrote once again all the lyrics and there weren't any clean singing, except in one song.
Some people resented the change towards "techno" and happier, catchy melodies, but the band's incredible ability to retain some old "melodic-death-metal" elements (original guitar-riffs, growled vocals and intense drumming) and combine them with new, fresh synthetic sounds was hailed by many. Another succesful tour followed and at the moment the band is rumored to be writing new material for the forthcoming album, which might see the day of light this year.
I like all their albums, Enter Suicidal Angels the least and The Gallery the most. Of songs, I would recommend "A Bolt of Blazing Gold" from Skydancer, "Punish My Heaven" from The Gallery, "Hedon" from The Mind's I, "Nether Novas" from Projector and "The Wonders at Your Feet" from Haven.
-Villain
The Short Dark Tranquillity biography (by Villain)
Dark Tranquillity, formed in late eighties, originally had the following members: guitarists Niklas Sundin and Mikael Stanne, vocalist Anders Friden, bassist Martin Henriksson and drummer Anders Jivarp. Their songs were mainly composed by Sundin and Henriksson together, with some help from Jivarp, whereas the majority of lyrics were written by Sundin and the rest by Stanne (who also performed backing and "clean" vocals).
After a couple of succesful, yet unnoticed demos ("Trail of Life Decayed" and "A Moonclad Reflection"), DT released their first full-lenght album "Skydancer" (Spinefarm Records) in 1993. It was an epic masterpiece, full of strong, well-constructed songs with amazing melodic depth. Their use of several tempo-changes, a mix of "metallish" and acoustic parts and various, long, rarely repeated riffs gave them the reputation as "creators" of the so-called "gothenburg-sound", alongside with At The Gates. The lyrics on the album were very long, somewhat shamanistic proclamations or incantations. Also, the use (though only in a couple of songs) of a female vocalist (Anna-Kajsa Avehåll) as well as Stanne's clean voice in addition to Friden's screaming was something new in death-metal. Although a bit underproduced, Skydancer is still among those few truly original masterpieces, which will stand through time.
Skydancer gave the band wide popularity in metal-underground, but otherwise it went quite unnoticed. The band encountered some problems at that time, when Friden left the band (to later join In Flames). Stanne took now all the singing-responsibilities and a new guitarist (Fredrik Johansson) joined them. In that form, the band fine-tuned and improved its sound to the next level. In early 1995 they released a Mini-CD (again by Spinefarm) entitled "Of Chaos and Eternal Night". The clean singing was gone and the guitars were more prevalent, but the same basic melodic strength was still there.
Later in the same year, the band released its long-anticipated second full-lenght, "The Gallery" (Osmose) - and it was worth the waiting. Hailed by many as the best melodic death-metal album ever, it combined the fast, entwined guitars with precise drumming and sudden "soft" parts. The music was written by the bassist and both guitarists with some additional help from the drummer. The lyrics were now somewhat shorter than before, yet still very unique in their metaphoral approach; Stanne had by this time taken the major part of lyrics-writing to himself, with Sundin contributing only a little. The occasional female vocals were there again, this time by Eva-Marie Larsson, but Stanne used only his low voice for screaming and speach - there was practically no clean male vocals on the album.
The Gallery was a breakthrough and the band toured a lot and started writing new material quite soon. By late 1996, they had recorded their next album and released a Mini-CD containing songs from those sessions. "Enter Suicidal Angels" introduced the band's new sound, which was more straighforward and aggressive.
In 1997 the band finally released the full album "The Mind's I" (still on Osmose), which divided their fans in two - many liked their new, rawer approach, with short, fast songs; yet there were some, who disliked their near abandonment of the "Tranquillity"-part. The trio of Sundin/Johansson/Henriksson was responsible of the song-writing and Sundin and Stanne wrote the lyrics, which by this time had become quite philosophic. Only one song had female vocals, sung by Sara Svensson.
Although the response for the album wasn't so firm, the following tour was a success. Afterwards, the band withdrew from the public and decided to take a step away from the path they had been traveling so far. It took over two years, before their next album, "Projector", saw the light of day - by that time Johansson had already departed with the band, although he still appeared on the record.
Projector (Century Media, 1999) was a bold step into new areas in metal-music. It featured once again clean male vocals and the addition of some synths brought a refreshingly new sound to a couple of songs. However, the album still featured the trademark DT-guitaring and Stanne still growled a lot - thus, overall the album was not "lighter" than the previous ones. Henriksson did now the most of composing, with lots of help from Jivarp and Sundin. Johansson had participated only in a couple of songs and Stanne made one short song all by himself. The lyrics, now written by Stanne alone, were darker in mood, concentrating into the "self". One song had female vocals (by Johanna Anderson).
The departure of Johansson forced some line-up changes in the band. Henriksson took the guitar and left the bass for Michael Nicklasson, who had for long been a friend of the band-members. Also, a new man responsible for the electronics was found in Martin Brändström. The band once again embarked for a tour, this time with In Flames, Children of Bodom and Arch Enemy.
The band's latest album, Haven (Century Media, 2000) was once again a move to a new frontier. It relied heavily on the electronics in sound, and the songs were once again faster and shorter. Sundin had by this time stopped contributing to the songwriting, and most of it was done by Jivarp and Henriksson, with some help from the new guys. Stanne wrote once again all the lyrics and there weren't any clean singing, except in one song.
Some people resented the change towards "techno" and happier, catchy melodies, but the band's incredible ability to retain some old "melodic-death-metal" elements (original guitar-riffs, growled vocals and intense drumming) and combine them with new, fresh synthetic sounds was hailed by many. Another succesful tour followed and at the moment the band is rumored to be writing new material for the forthcoming album, which might see the day of light this year.
I like all their albums, Enter Suicidal Angels the least and The Gallery the most. Of songs, I would recommend "A Bolt of Blazing Gold" from Skydancer, "Punish My Heaven" from The Gallery, "Hedon" from The Mind's I, "Nether Novas" from Projector and "The Wonders at Your Feet" from Haven.
-Villain
rahvin
keeper of the flame
no... not again... i can picture you out with your friends on a friday night threatening them to re-read it aloud for the upteenth time if they don't admit that dt are the best band that ever lived....... go on, make them squirm!!
rahvin.
Originally posted by rahvin
... go on, make them squirm!!
rahvin.
You mean hes actually friends with such heretics as those who don't acknowledge DT to begin with?
rahvin
keeper of the flame
Originally posted by Wanderingblade
You mean hes actually friends with such heretics as those who don't acknowledge DT to begin with?
he's got to practice his skills on the uneducated somehow.
rahvin.
rahvin
keeper of the flame
Originally posted by red_beef
@Villain: that ain't short.... duh?
shut up, you fool, d'you want him to post the long version??
rahvin. (short version)
|ngenius
Little Grasshopper
Where's Final Vision? Let's create the "If you wanna post a question to Dr. Villain <---- Post here" thread.
|ngenius (who wonders about Dr. Tranquillity copy&paste technique)
|ngenius (who wonders about Dr. Tranquillity copy&paste technique)
which one?
Siren (semi-educated)
it helps me reading the story once in a while, i find myself learning things every time...
Villain
Doctor BenQuillity
Originally posted by Siren
which one?
Let me enlighten thine poor soul with this grand wisdom of mine: Day to End it was.
-Villain
EDIT: Also, Day to End is the song where Fredrik Nordström helped with the arrangements (not, as is incorrectly written on the booklet, did he help on The Sun Fired Blanks).
rahvin
keeper of the flame
|ngenius
Little Grasshopper
Originally posted by FatherVic
fathervic (who wants to be like Villain when he's older...yes, more older
I wanted to be like Michael Jackson but without a mask.
|ng (
)
