The Two Trilogies

[Villain]

No, this is not about the Lord of the Rings or Matrix or Star Wars. This is about DT.

(This morning I mentally prepared myself for receiving my Character and for writing my initial thoughts about it here on the forum. As I didn't get the album I nevertheless decided to make a thread about something - something I had thought about for some years already [and even discussed with some people, I think]. Anyways, here we go.)

The Two Trilogies

Have you ever noticed, how the first six full length Dark Tranquillity -albums apparently form two groups (Skydancer-The Gallery-The Mind's I being the first group and Projector-Haven-Damage Done being the second one) with the corresponding albums of each group forming pairs and resembling each other very much? Well, I decided to make a short list about those similarities. Some of them might seem trivial or far-fetched, but I put them all here regardless. Additions are welcome.

First pair: Skydancer - Projector
- Both have relatively long songs (average song-length more than 5 minutes)
- Clean vocals are used in both
- Both are rather unique in style (even within the DT-discography)
- No "title-track" in either
- After both of the albums, there were changes in the lineup of the band

Second pair: The Gallery - Haven
- Both are the first full-length albums recorded by the renewed lineups
- Both have eleven tracks
- Both have a "title-track" as the 5th track of the album
- Both close with the longest track of the album
- Clean vocals are used relatively little in both
- Both are rather "melodic" in style and among the easiest to "get into" of the DT-discography

Third pair: The Mind's I - Damage Done
- Both have twelve tracks
- Both have relatively short songs (average song-length less than 4 minutes)
- Both close with an instrumental track
- Both are rather "thrashy" in style
- "The Mind's Eye" symbol appears in the booklets of both albums
- There was a live video-recording made available after both the albums

To conclude, DT seems to have worked in three-album "cycles" in the past - it is nice to notice that Character is (for what I know of it) apparently a break from this norm (I really don't think one can put it into the same group with Skydancer and Projector).

-Villain (yeah, I know, I shouldn't waste my time on meaningless ponderings like this - it happens only because I lack CHARACTER )

 

[King Chaos]

I really can see what you mean. I remember even suggesting to a freind that Projector Haven and Damage Done were a trilogy. I never really thought about the first three as a trilogy but I do see them seperately to the later three for sure. You raise some interesting points about them pairing off aswel. I mean, it seems coincidental but also somewhat logical, although I doubt it was in DT's intentions to make such a structured discography.

Try listening to Projector, Haven and DD in a row and you'll see it flows really well. Or at least I thought so. For me it's like three chapters from a big book with long chapters rather than three books from a series, if you know what I mean?.

 

[Siren]

To sum it up, in both trilogies it sort of goes progressively from more melodic to harsher (especially in the Projector-Haven-DD one).

 

[Misanthrope]

mm noup i disagree with the theory, mainly becuase i HAVE listened to Character. The first trilogy is correct, the second trilogy works SO MUCH BETTER if you make it Haven-Damage Done-Character.

Projector was a transition album. So after Character DT will either break up or create another completly new odd album after character....or they will expand the current trilogy to 4 or 5 or even 6 titles, i hope not however.

 

[Hitori]

well they can't break up because i believe (?) they extended their contract for more records
anyways, overanalysis anyone?

 

[Misanthrope]

So? They could do a goodbye record and a live album and thats that? In fact the contract might not specify that the band needs to keep togheter to fufill the contract, maybe the contract its only valid for as long as the band remains togheter.

 

[Thanatos]

I think Skydancer, The Gallery and Projector are a trilogy because they all have the letter "r" *thoughtful*

 

[Traveler In Time]

HA, DT is Grave Digger now hauahuhauhaau

 

[rahvin]

this thread is enlightening.

well, aside from where somebody mentions grave digger.

 

[Strider]

Well if I were a snotty fucking bitch and if I wanted to bitch for the bitching's sake, I might add that S-TG-TMI were a trilogy because on those DT were mighty, unique, underground and therefore tr00 defenders of the faith. And P-H-DD were another trilogy because they sold out with Century Media and added keyboards losing in doing so their their metallic grimness.

No, seriously, I agree with Misanthrope. If you look just at the sound of the record, Projector is a sort of "watershed" (does this mean anything in english as it does in italian?), so the second trilogy ends with Character. Now we can expect a total Depeche Mode-influenced record in a couple of years.

 

[rahvin]

Projector is a sort of "watershed" (does this mean anything in english as it does in italian?)

it does. but not necessarily the same thing.

i'm just joking. good choice of word, imo.

 

[Strider]

i'm just joking. good choice of word, imo.

thanks rahvin. coming from you it's really a compliment (shameless flattering)

 

[BuzzAldrin]

i agree with misanthrope and strider... i would add that skydancer, gallery and the mind's I are a more "classic death metal" albums. projector being a bit more experimental. haven, damage done and character have the same heavy sound with keyboard elements... so i expect (and i would love) to see DT renewing their sound once again with a completely different album next time

but I must say that all the similarities vilain posted are pretty odd.. anyway i'm pretty sure that DT write music as it come to them and that they don't have an established "plan" for their discography

 

[solefald]

cool some ideas I had too
well I dont think that they have some kind of "DT-Masterplan"
(Do they?do they really???? DT the secret rulers of the world???? In Flames will dissappear on an lonely Island with no route to remain, At the Gates are dead-DT are the last and winners of the swedish melodic death metal triumvirat??)
but the skydancer-gallery-minds I are some kind of similiar releases
and projector-haven-DD are similiar too.

anyway
but what w can expect from DT is always something we dont expect right?
after improving their skills and musical ideas what led into THE perfect melodic deathmetal album of the 90's(for me :THE MINDS I) they changed their style suddenly into the modern openminded projector-album.
after this everybody expected them to continue with the great clean vocals and more mellow songs out of the deathmetal scene-what did DT do?
reducing of clean vocals-integrating a keyboarder in the band and still writing hard modern and fresh music( Question: Which album has the harder songsrojector or Haven?)
What did the world expect after haven?
something similiar?
what came was DD:Harder, faster,scooter(Joke)zero clean vocals, more trashinfluenced riffs, more cool keyboards...

and now character...expect the unexpected


is there a reason why they stopped female vocals after projector??

 

[Misanthrope]

well I dont think that they have some kind of "DT-Masterplan"

Not necessarily, we human beings are animals of cycles, our very life reflects that as we are born, grow up, reproduce and die. It is natural to asume that every band which constantly strives to create reflects this aspect of our live and has a life cycle too: if you think about it most genres that truly innovate have had identifiable cycles when they are rough and unpolished but original ( born ), refined and more consistent and influencing others ( grow up, reproduce ) and then finally a culmination of the work, when everything that was originally created has been throughoutly explored.

Dark Tranquillity can easily be seen as to follow this kinds of cycles within their music, if you think about it there was nowhere to go to after TMI without repeating themselves, and i believe they even stated that, hence the Projector album which takes things into another direction completly.

What i believe is that the musical concepts that where born on Projector where not directly explored, they were slowly and gradually incorporated into the concepts that were there on TMI, and if you closely listen to Character i think many of us can agree that is about the perfect ( or close to ) convination of both the most refined agressive yet melodic sound and the truly sentimental and even vulnerable side the projector brought forth.

 

[Blitzkrieg Pajo]

nice misanthrope. i agree that character might be nearly perfect.

 

[solefald]

What i believe is that the musical concepts that where born on Projector where not directly explored, they were slowly and gradually incorporated into the concepts that were there on TMI, and if you closely listen to Character i think many of us can agree that is about the perfect ( or close to ) convination of both the most refined agressive yet melodic sound and the truly sentimental and even vulnerable side the projector brought forth.

sounds good, your opinion.
I think as I´ve heard in a lot of interviews that they tried some kind of breakout with projector and after this BIgBang they collected the pieces and build a new character of their band with all their ideas they have.

damn 3 days till character!!!

 

[LoboUivante]

scary similarities... ... or not

 

[The Don]

Good points. Very interesting