Nearly four years since their last release, Moment, it is always with a certain amount of excitement and yet trepidation that you press play on a new Dark Tranquillity record. Not that there is any fear that the album will be below par, for the Swedes have not made a bad album. But there is always the question about how crafted the release will be. Is the dirt still under the fingernails, or has the buffered polish shined it to a clean finish?
Dark Tranquillity – Endtime Signals (Century Media)
Release Date: 16 August 2024
Words: Paul Hutchings
The first bars of the opening track Shivers And Voids dispel most of those concerns. A crisp riff combines with Mikael Stanne’s trademark gruff vocals and it is a journey on which to travel.
The production is polished, as one would expect when one considers the personnel involved. Recorded across three studios, with keyboardist/producer Martin Brändström’s watchful eye overseeing matters, before the legendary Jens Bogren mixed and mastered. Throw in the work of engineer Alexander Backlund (Soen, Dödsrit) and you have a team of world class musicians working with their counterparts in a cohesive and organic manner.
Since 2020, Dark Tranquillity have undergone some major changes. Former member Fredrick Johansson passed away in 2022, but still left a contribution whilst Niklas Sundin remains involved in the artist elements and added contributions to two songs. Joakin Strandberg Nilsson (drums) and bassist Christian Jansson are now ensconced in the line-up, and with it comes a fresh chapter in the band’s epic adventure.
Brändström is effusive about their input. “There’s new flavours with new musicians,” he says. “Joakim is a very technical drummer. He opened up new avenues of composing music. With that energy, we thought it would be cool to revisit faster songs. Christian, who is from Pagandom, understood who the band are and already knew what we’ve done—I think he’s been in our orbit since day one. They’re both highly motivated.
“So, figuring out the album we wanted to make wasn’t a stretch for them. Musically, it’s melancholy neighbouring rage. The world is futile, and our music gives us (the band and our fans) the power to do something about it. We’re standing strong, confronting things head-on.”
12-songs is now the staple for Dark Tranquillity, but the quality matches the quantity. Following Shivers And Voids, the blistering bursts of Unforgivable proves Brändström’s point. It’s a swirling, emotion-filled rollercoaster that sees melodies wrap themselves around you, snaring you into their coils whilst Stanne’s snarling delivery is matched by Strandberg Nilsson’s precision drumming, whilst Johan Reinholdz’s guitar work is both ferocious and crafted, weaving a sonic web that ensnares you. White-hot aggression is unleashed and it is one that demands attention from the start.
On first impressions, Endtime Signals did not stick that well, but repeated plays have embedded it in the psyche, and it has rapidly morphed into one of the best albums of the year. There is a balance of light and shade that tugs at the heartstrings, pulling the emotions this way and then that.
The imperious grandeur of The Last Imagination for example, soars majestically before giving way to a delicious riff and driving track complete with gravel-soaked gruff vocals. It powers along with an urgency that is both compelling and addictive.
Contrast that with the gentler One Of Us Is Gone or False Reflection, by no means weakling tracks, but which show the band’s lighter side.
There is a darkness in the lyrical content which highlights a change of direction from Stanne. He is honest in his appraisal. “The last time I wrote was before the pandemic,” Stanne says. “It was time to deal with some of that. Many things happened when we started writing for this album a year and a half ago. We lost a lot of friends like Fredrik [Johansson]. The world seemed like a more hostile place overall.
“We have new guys in the band, too. We felt like we had to make an album that needed to be taken very seriously. So, it’s everything I’ve been thinking about for the last two years. We’re destroying our lives, world, atmosphere and reality systems. It’s so hard to get along and agree on things now.
“There’s a lot of doomsday feeling in this album. I asked myself, how do we get ourselves out of this? I felt helpless and insignificant. All this spiralled into what I’d call a ‘light depression’. Writing was my only way out of it”.
Endtime Signals is an album I could and will continue to play throughout the year.
Its smouldering approach allows more to be drawn from each play, reaching deep into the band’s latest evolutionary movement. An album that reflects our time, it’s one that deserves plenty of attention and the highest praise.
30 years into their journey, Dark Tranquillity is as relevant today as they ever were.
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Dark Tranquillity / Endtime Signals, A Darker Masterpiece Reflecting Our Times first appeared on
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