Review Summary: Dark Tranquillity continues their legendary career with their best album in over 10 years...
From behind a wall of silence, a low, monotone bass line comes into play. Striking a simple riff as the drums thunder behind it, the twin electric guitars sweep in over the still raging bass and drums. Seemingly all this chaos becomes one, becomes a thrashing, head banging riff fest. The raspy, harsh vocals rip their way through the instruments before a bone cracking break in the instruments gives way to more harsh screams. Slowly and heavily, the guitars, bass and drums pummel the listener, then go silent, then pummel you again. No way can this be real; no way can a band which has been putting out consistently excellent material for over 18 years still be able to write such jaw-dropping material as this. It could be real, it could be a dream.
No, this is not a dream. Nor is this real. This, my friends, is
Fiction.
As a band which needs little or no introduction, Dark Tranquillity continue to re-write the book of Melodic Death Metal, constantly bringing the genre to new heights and adding more and more original (not to mention amazing) touches to Metal as a whole. I mean really, these guys went from shoving riff after riff of melodic glory down the listener’s throat (
The Gallery,
The Mind’s I) to going completely off track and throwing in electronics and keyboards (
Haven,
Damage Done,
Character) to even putting in some deep, emotional clean vocals (
Projector). Dark Tranquillity touch every possible human emotion you can think of. From hatred and sadness to glory and love, from depression and anxiety to redemption and vengeance, Dark Tranquillity convey it all, sometimes wrapping all those up into one single song. Their influence is felt everywhere, from Metalcore to Black Metal, the void which Dark Tranquillity has filled has erupted into worldwide recognition and success.
We’re not here to dwell on the past, though. The time is now, and in 2007 Dark Tranquillity have released their astonishing 8th full length album full of Melodic Death greatness. I can think of maybe a handful of bands which have put out 7 or more albums which live up to their hype and show the exact same level of musicianship and thoughtfulness. Every singly aspect of
Fiction is full of a certain tasteful, modern, yet heavy sense which conveys to the listener that Dark Tranquillity is certainly not here to release the same thing over and over again, but to continue to push the boundaries on what a band can do for the genre throughout their careers.
In
Fiction, Dark Tranquillity take a little bit of everything from their previous albums and combine them into one epic album. They took the rawness of
Skydancer, the melodies of
The Gallery, the dark atmosphere and female vocals of
The Mind’s I, the clean vocals of
Projector, the electronics and keyboards of
Haven, the fast pace of
Damage Done, and the innovation of
Character and sort of fuse it together into something recognizable, but also something certainly different and innovative. Each song displays their individual qualities and certain aspects taken from their different albums. The opener “Nothing To No One” sound like a tune off of
Damage Done, the ballad-like “Misery’s Crown” sounds like a piece off of
Projector, the furious and melodic “Focus Shift” is like something off of
Character, and the slow, depressing “The Mundane And The Magic” is like a track off of
The Gallery. Not to mention the underrated “Empty Me”, which sounds straight off of
The Mind’s I. It’s really all there waiting for you if you listen for it.
Instrumentally, this album is solid as a rock. The guitars, as always, bring some insanely catchy melodies without giving up on the overall heaviness of this album.
Fiction is probably one of Dark Tranquillity’s heavier albums, because every songs sneaks in those oppressive, crushing guitar riffs amidst the ambiance of the keyboards and the surprisingly good bass guitar. A perfect example is the opening to “Nothing To No One”, which was described in my first paragraph. This, along with the melodies in “Focus Shift”, “The Mundane And The Magic”, “Terminus (Where Death Is Most Alive)” and “Empty Me” let you know that Dark Tranquillity definitely have plenty of ideas left in their heads. The drumming compliments the bass and the heavy guitar lines and the simply stunning vocals, slamming away at full speed and with terminal intensity in nearly every single song on this album.
Another staple of the new Dark Tranquillity sound is the stunning use of keyboards and electronics to enhance the atmosphere that the guitars and the vocals create. Whether it’s straight-up classical piano like in “Empty Me” or ambient sounds and electronic keyboards as in the fantastic closer “The Mundane And The Magic”, the keyboards and electronics of Martin Brandstrom add a third dimension to the sound of Melodic Death Metal, with Dark Tranquillity being some of the forerunners of keyboard use in Death Metal.
Vocally, this album is simply flawless. Mikael Stanne is simply one of the best Metal vocalists ever to live. His voice is so emotional and has such a wide variance of tones and emotions it is mind-boggling. Here, he uses his voice to its fullest potential, and you’ll realize that when you hear it gasping over a depressing piano line at the end of “Empty Me” or during the verses and chorus of the “The Mundane And The Magic”, “Focus Shift”, or “Terminus (Where Death Is Most Alive)”. Also bringing back memories from past albums is Stanne’s very unique, and very deep, clean voice. Used toward the end of the album, it adds immeasurable amounts of emotion and meaning to “Misery’s Crown” and “The Mundane And The Magic”. On the closer, Dark Tranquillity bring back one of my favorite aspects of their sound: Female Vocals. Remember “…Of Melancholy Burning” and “Insanity’s Crescendo”? Well, the icing on the cake of those two masterpieces is back. Those ominous female vocals play a main part on the chorus of that song, something I hope Dark Tranquillity continues to do.
So, with this album my respect and admiration of this band simply climbs to new heights. I mean, seriously, this band has thought of unique songs, lyrics, and riffs for 18 years now. These six gentlemen from Gothenburg, Sweden have a serious gift; they write some of the best material in the Metal world. And yet again, with another immaculate and damn near perfect album, the crushing leviathan that is Dark Tranquillity shows no sign of slowing down.
Pros
+ Fantastic Vocals
+ Innovation, Innovation, Innovation
+ Surprisingly Good Bass
+ Perfect Guitar Work
+ Immaculate Songwriting Skill
+ A Blend Of All Their Previous Albums
Cons
- Only 45 Minutes
