Dark Tranquillity - We Are The Void

Published February 09 2010

*=Staff's pick	Shadow In Our Blood Dream Oblivion The Fatalist In My Absence* The Grandest Accusation At The Point Of Ignition* Her Silent Language Arkhangelsk I Am The Void* Surface The Infinite* Iridium

Genre	Melodic Death Metal	Mikael Stanne	Vocals
Tracks	11	Niklas Sundin	Guitar
Runningtime	48 Min.	Martin Henriksson	Guitar
Label	Century Media	Daniel Antonsson	Bass
Release	01 March 2010	Anders Jivarp	Drums
Country	Sweden	Martin Brändström	Keyboard
Similar artists	In Flames, Nightrage, Arch Enemy

Every year, more and more quality bands who I thought I could count on to craft quality material begin to succumb to age, success, complacency, or some combination of the three. Fortunately, Dark Tranquillity has never been one of them. A band that needs little introduction as the progenitors of the Gothenburg style of death metal, Dark Tranquillity has been largely consistent in terms of craftsmanship throughout their nearly two-decade career.

Though the band would switch modes from a traditional melodic death metal sound to a more melancholy, synth-driven sound at the end of the nineties, and then again to a modern hybrid of both at the turn of the century, the band has always done its experimentation with style and aplomb. Since 2002’s Damage Done, the band has largely been following and refining the archetype that has become their current sound, culminating in what I believe to be the logical conclusion of this musical stage in the release of their previous record, Fiction.

We Are the Void follows the same style laid down by its most recent predecessors, and does so amicably. However, whereas the three releases prior to this were a process of evolution, with each one being a progression of style and quality, Dark Tranquillity’s latest offering stalls out. That’s not to say it is poor in craftsmanship, but rather, feels derivative. As I said earlier, I feel the band’s current style had already reached its apex previously. The songs here, while well done, do not feel as inspired or emotion-evoking as their work has previously, and largely conform to the established formula.

In addition to being cut from the same mold as recent works, there are elements of almost all of their previous albums. Mikael Stanne’s vocals are in top form as usual, being mostly darkly aggressive, but seeing moments of cleanly sung, emotive passages ala Projector. The complexity of the riffs occasionally elicits comparisons to the glory days of the The Gallery and the heavy use of keyboards and synthesizer effects is reminiscent of Haven. In fact, it the usage of this effects-laden production that is to the album’s detriment. In the past, the melodic keyboard breaks or piano-backing would bring a welcome contrast to the frenetic riffs, but the effect is lost when used in every song as it is here.

I’ve always praised Dark Tranquillity for sticking to their guns and putting out records that maintained the integrity and heaviness of their seminal works, even if there was some experimentation going on. To this day, the band is one of a dying breed still playing high-caliber melodic death metal, which is more than I can say for many of their contemporaries, who have since left the style for greener pastures. However, I feel that they have reached a point where to continue in this phase of their sonic evolution would mean becoming static and predictable, even if competently done. In terms of always knowing what to expect from them, and with no disrespect intended, it would be a shame to see a dynamic band like Dark Tranquillity become the Iron Maiden or Motörhead of melodic death metal.

See also review of: Fiction , Character , Exposures: In Retrospect And Denial

Performance	Originality	Production	Vocals	Songwriting
8	8	8	9	8

Summary
8 chalices of 10 - Dux