Skydancer
Anders Frieden - vocals
Niklas Sundin - guitar and lyrics
Mikael Stanne - guitars and lyrics
Martin Henriksson - bass
Anders Jivarp - drums
1. Nightfall by the Shores of Time
2. Crimson Winds
(guitar tab)
3. A Bolt of Blazing Gold
(guitar tab)
4. In Tears Bereaved
5. Skywards
6. Through Ebony Archways
7. Shadow Duet
8. My Faeryland Forgotten
9. Alone
The Gothenberg based Dark Tranquillity make their debut. They play very melodic and classically influenced songs, while Sundin and Stanne compose excellent prose. This album has a lot of fast songs. I think that the fast songs are too fast to be as good as they could be. The woman singing on this album is a good singer but she isn't powerful enough. She sings on "Of Ebony Archways." "Shadow Duet" and "Of Ebony Archways" really hit "the spot." The vocals on this album aren't that great because Anders Frieden sounds like he needs a drink. Also, I believe this album had poor recording, whether that's the band's fault or the record company's is hard to say.
Production rating 7/10
Songwriting 8/10
Of chaos and Eternal Night
Mikael Stanne - vocals and lyrics
Niklas Sundin - guitar and lyrics
Fredrik Johansson - guitar
Martin Henriksson - bass
Anders Jivarp - drums
1. Of Chaos and Eternal Night
2. The Flaming Shades of Fall
3. Away, Delight, Away
4. Alone (re-recorded with Mikael Stanne doing vocals)
This is a four song mini cd. Despite this, this is one of their strongest works. "Away, delight, away's" guitar and bass harmony is so amazingly melodic. "The Flaming Shades of Fall" has a really cool bass part and it's heavy. "Of Chaos and Eternal Night" is a really fast, melodic song. The re-recorded "Alone" is awesome because you can actually hear the guitar parts and Mikael's vocals are incredible.
Production rating 10/10
Songwriting 9/10
The Gallery
Mikael Stanne - vocals and lyrics
Niklas Sundin - guitar and lyrics
Fredrik Johansson - guitar
Martin Henriksson - bass
Anders Jivarp - drums
1. Punish My Heaven
2. Silence... And the Firmament Withdrew
3. Edenspring
4. The Dividing Line
5. The Gallery
6. The One Brooding Warning
(guitar tab)
7. Midway Through Infinity
8. Lethe
(guitar tab)
9. The Emptiness From Which I Fed
(guitar tab)
10. Mine is the Grandeur...
11. ... Of Meloncholy Burning
The metal album of the decade!! All hail the mighty Dark Tranquillity!! The first time I heard this, I shit my pants. Every single song on here is awesome because the melodies are just so well orchestrated. "Lethe" is a really long bass and clean guitar intro and then out of the blue, the heavy guitars jump in and then they become emotionally melodic. Stanne then begins to roar passionately, exquisitely interwining with the instruments and creating sounds of pure beauty. The combination of melody and lyrics on this album induce melancholy thought and poetic visions. The guitar and bass fit together perfectly. It contains a lot of harmony but no pointless solos. The female singer on this album has a near perfect balance of power and melody. She sings on "The Gallery," "...Of Meloncholy Burning," and "Lethe."
This is essential for every metalhead out there!!!
Overall rating 10/10
Songwriting 12/10
Enter Suicidal Angels
Mikael Stanne - vocals and lyrics
Niklas Sundin - guitar and lyrics
Fredrik Johansson - guitar
Martin Henriksson - bass
Anders Jivarp - drums
1. Zodijackyl Light
2. Razorfever
3. A Shadowlit Facade
4. Archetype
This is a mini cd released to demonstrate the differences between the Gallery (the Masterpiece) and the Mind's I. Razorfever and A Shadowlit Facade are awesome songs. There's a part in Razorfever where guitars with shimmering chorus do some shit but the song is being held together by mostly drums and the bass. Razorfever is about alcohol I think. A Shadowlit Facade is self explanatory. Archetype is a techno track, which is cool considering Dark Tranquillity's love for doing things differently. The techno track is o.k., it sounds like it came off of Fear Factory's Remanufacture.
Production rating 10/10
Sonwriting 9/10
The Mind's I
Mikael Stanne - vocals and lyrics
Niklas Sundin - guitar and lyrics
Fredrik Johansson - guitar
Martin Henriksson - bass
Anders Jivarp - drums
1. Dreamlore Degenerate
2. Zodijackyl Light
3. Hedon
(guitar tab)
4. Scythe, Rage and Roses
5. Constant
6. Dissolution Factor Red
7. Insanity's Crescendo
(guitar tab)
8. Still Moving Sinews
9. Atom Heart 243.5
10. Tidal Tantrum
11. Tongues
(guitar tab)
12. The Mind's I
This is Dark Tranquillity's fourth album. This album is a lot heavier, less theme and classically based. Mikael sounds like he's grown a fourth testicle, the guitars are tuned down at least a whole step and the tempo for most of the songs is a lot slower. This album sounds closer to At the Gates than to previous Dark Tranquillity cds. The song "Atom Heart 243.5" isn't that great. The intro riff sounds just like "Still Moving Sinews!" You see the thing is when you listen to this band for a while, you have great expectations of the songs. You want to hear excellent riffs and good song structure. "Atom Heart 234.5" is an just an o.k. song.
This album also has good melodic songs on it like Hedon, Insanity's Crescendo (best song on the album), and Dreamlore Degenerate. On "Insanity's Crescendo" there is a female singing and it's the only female vocal on the album. What she lacks in soprano singing ability she makes up with power.
This is a good album but it is overshadowed by The Gallery.
Production rating 10/10
Songwriting 9/10
Projector
Mikael Stanne - vocals
Niklas Sundin - guitar
Fredrik Johansson - guitar
Martin Henriksson - bass
Anders Jivarp - drums
1. FreeCard
2. ThereIn
3. UnDo Control
4. Auctioned
5. To a bitter halt
6. The sun fired blanks
7. Nether Novas
8. Day to end
9. Doberman
10. On your time
Dark Tranquillity's long awaited offering has finally arrived. Some people say it sucks and some people say its "the shit", I think it is good, but not spectacular.
There are some really good tracks on here; ThereIn, FreeCard, Auctioned, Nether Novas and On Your Time come to mind. Instead of the outright aggression of the Mind's I orthe intense emotionalism of the Gallery, Projector projects (crappy pun intended) a combination of sadness and aggression. This album is much more mellow that previous releases. I think the songwriting has deteriorated to a certain degree, in that it is more simplistic in chord progressions and simplistic in solos. The drums are o.k., and the bass does an o.k. job on keeping things interesting. Mikael's vocals have changed both positive and negative ways. His "cookie monster" vocals (I'm just kidding) are weaker, less distorted and therefore, less intense. His clean vocals are, (bad French accent) az wi say in France, ze sheet! They are very emotional and very expressive, especially on "Day to End", a song whose beginning is very weak except for Mikael's awesome clean vocals. This album makes me wish that Mikael had decided to use his clean vocals on previous ablums more often.
Production rating 10/10
Sonwriting 7 or 8/10
Haven
Mikael Stanne - vocals
Niklas Sundin - guitar
Michael Nicklasson - bass
Martin Henriksson - guitar
Martin Brandstrom - electronics
Anders Jivarp - drums
1. the Wonders At Your Feet
2. Not Built to Last
3. Indifferent Suns
4. Feast
5. Haven
6. the Same
7. Fabric
8. Ego Drama
9. Rundown
10. Emptier Still
11. At a Loss for Words
This latest offering from Dark Tranquillity goes further down the "Projector" road, but takes a turn for the better.
The electronics in particular give a new flavor, new texture and new ideas to the increasingly stale and ossified "Gothenburg sound". The song writing has more flare, more spirit, more aggression but also more emotion than "Projector", despite the sparse use of Stanne's clean vocals (only on one song during the whole album!).
The sound quality is also better than "Projector"; the blurry guitars and fuzzy-sounding vocals are much more clear, sharp and concise.
Chalk it up, this ablum is yet another Dark Tranqullity masterpiece.
Production rating 10/10
Sonwriting 9 or 10/10
Click here for my interview with Niklas Sundin
Click here for the official Dark Tranquillity homepage
Enter the ego drama of Niklas Sundin...
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