Review Summary: With "Character", Dark Tranquillity continue their road to greatness by creating an album that blows fellow compatriots and competition out of the water, mixing the classic Dark Tranquillity sound with more modern keyboard parts and fantastic song writing
Remaining Gothenburg’s longest standing original melo-death band as I write this review, one calling card that Dark Tranquillity have always had over their brothers in arms “In Flames” is that they have, arguably been the far more consistent band over their 38 years combined experience. Unlike their contemporaries, this band have stuck to the same formula ever since their inception in 1989, and have produced arguably their strongest effort to date with “Character”. This is an album that seethes hate, spits bile and contains some of the best instrumentation heard on let alone any Dark Tranquillity album, but the genre as a whole. The daddies of Gothenburg yet again show everyone else how it is done, something becoming an ever more familiar phrase in Melo-death circles.
Melody has never been in short supply on Dark Tranquillity’s albums, and “Character” continues much in the same frame of mind, interlacing keyboards and guitar harmonies glimpsing back into the glory days of Gothenburg, blending seamlessly with Mikael Stanne’s vocals that are still truly punishing. Listening to this, you get the rare feeling that unlike so many artists, Dark Tranquillity are maturing and getting better with age. Opener “The New Build” is an absolute cracker, managing to contain a keyboard line adapted perfectly from Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue in D minor” with a fantastic rhythm section, and one of Stanne’s best vocal performances to date. By using such a well known organ piece and, in many ways, a classical music anthem, Dark Tranquillity have created an album that, while not exactly totally accessible, is much easier to listen to than predecessor "Damage Done".
Stanne is the bands most well known, and most potent weapon, at times sounds like he could be in a black metal band. All this does is make this an all the more captivating listen as he brings an almost theatrical sound with his voice to the album, something which only makes it a much stronger listen.
“Lost to Apathy” is the album lead single, and perhaps the best on display here, containing an apocalyptic sounding chorus, one of the best examples of how keyboard harmonies should sound and the classic fiddly twiddle guitar lines the band have become infamous for. The classic sense of atmosphere continues into songs like “One Thought”, that contain a more modern sounding synth akin to work off In Flames “Reroute to Remain” mixed in with the classic bell toll and a simple, yet highly effective guitar solo. It contains a similar keyboard line to “Lost to Apathy” but they add even more atmospherics and a slower tempo to the fray, before building up into Stanne screaming “Switch it off!”
Perhaps the only gripe with this album is the repetition. While similar keyboards and guitars work fantastically well on “One Thought”, on “Am I I?” it is a much less successful affair. It is a bit of a plodder, and despite sounding interesting for the first minute or so, it starts to grate after a while. Another song that does not quite fit the bill is “Out Of Nothing”. Starting promisingly with a rumbling bass line and a uniform Death Metal Thrash attack, it degenerates into one of the worst tracks on the album. Going through all the motions, from the aforementioned to slow, melodic and atmospheric, unlike the rest of the album the components just do not blend very well.
Thankfully, normal service is resumed immediately with the cracking “My Negation”. Being the albums most emotional track, the keyboards take a slightly more prominent role than on its predecessor’s, and the sound mix produced here is fantastic. It is such a dark track, and being the slowest song on the album, all the atmospherics produced are just a little bit clearer and it really closes the album on a bang.
Dark Tranquillity’s “Character” really is a benchmark for the genre. With fellow acts popping up all around them, the band kept their cool and produced an album, that dare I say it, in parts knocks “The Gallery” off the top spot on Dark Tranquillity’s collection. Atmospheric, ferocious and at times, surprisingly emotional and passionate, this is, put simply a must if you are a fan of Death Metal, and even the casual listener would have a problem not being drawn in. Highly Recommended.
Recommended Tracks:
1. The New Build
2. Throuh Smudged Lenses
3. Lost to Apathy
4. One Thought
5. My Negation
