Dark Tranquillity formed at the birth of the Melodic Death Metal scene in the early 90s, along with At the Gates and In Flames. DT have continued from pioneers to revolutionists across their eight album repetoire. Instead of stagnating, splitting or changing into something horrible, DT have developed their sound into something much better (by introducing keyboards, increasing production quality and tightening song structure) to become the masters of the Melodeath sound. DT have not succumbed to the usage of clean singing that has plagued their brothers In Flames as well as the offshoot of the genre, Metalcore.
Their 7th studio album, Character, brings together everything that is great about Dark Tranquillity in one CD. You have the beautiful melodies, gentle instrumental piano sections, irregular time signatures, brutal guitars and complex rhythms that have become an intrinsic part of the experience. The album is one to savour. The first few listens, many songs sound similar, and overall seems of poor quality. The best part about Character is that it improves with every listen, to the point that listening to only a few successive songs at a time prevents the songs from blending and reducing quality.
It is a testament to the band's skill that they can develop music that improves with time, with a limited range of instruments. One of the best features is the use of rubato, which makes melodies much more memorable, and interesting to listen to.
There should be mention of Mikael Stanne's vocals. He brings character to the part, forming words in a simultaneously distorted and unique way. The vocals are not artificially forced on the listener, instead blending with the music much of the time. The result is that lyrics become less important within the song as the music is brought foward, and vocal work becomes an instrument itself instead of dominating.
Each song features many brilliant sections, which alternate rapidly to create an interesting varied sound. The tone of the music is also outstanding. It can be described as epic, rousing and often melancholic. Guitars play beautiful melodies, twin harmonies and powerful rhythm. Keyboards play leither lead melodies, accompaniment or piano sections. The keyboard is one of the reasons for Character's diverse sound, because of the many voices which can come from it.
Trouble is, if you aren't a fan of heavy, often fairly dense music and death grunts, this isn't going to win your favour.
Their 7th studio album, Character, brings together everything that is great about Dark Tranquillity in one CD. You have the beautiful melodies, gentle instrumental piano sections, irregular time signatures, brutal guitars and complex rhythms that have become an intrinsic part of the experience. The album is one to savour. The first few listens, many songs sound similar, and overall seems of poor quality. The best part about Character is that it improves with every listen, to the point that listening to only a few successive songs at a time prevents the songs from blending and reducing quality.
It is a testament to the band's skill that they can develop music that improves with time, with a limited range of instruments. One of the best features is the use of rubato, which makes melodies much more memorable, and interesting to listen to.
There should be mention of Mikael Stanne's vocals. He brings character to the part, forming words in a simultaneously distorted and unique way. The vocals are not artificially forced on the listener, instead blending with the music much of the time. The result is that lyrics become less important within the song as the music is brought foward, and vocal work becomes an instrument itself instead of dominating.
Each song features many brilliant sections, which alternate rapidly to create an interesting varied sound. The tone of the music is also outstanding. It can be described as epic, rousing and often melancholic. Guitars play beautiful melodies, twin harmonies and powerful rhythm. Keyboards play leither lead melodies, accompaniment or piano sections. The keyboard is one of the reasons for Character's diverse sound, because of the many voices which can come from it.
Trouble is, if you aren't a fan of heavy, often fairly dense music and death grunts, this isn't going to win your favour.