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Mikael Stanne

Vocals
Niklas Sundin

Guitars

Martin Henriksson

Guitars

Martin Brändström

Keyboards

Daniel Antonsson

Bass

Anders Jivarp

Drums

DARK TRANQUILLITY: "We Are The Void"   www.darktranquillity.com  

Century Media

review  by dalia "gryphon_spirit" di giacomo ___          

The fuel or the flame?

We Are The Void, the band's ninth album, is the proof that no one can outplay Dark Tranquillity concerning technique, richness and intensity of sound and skill in the European Melodic Death Metal scene.  Less nervous but much  creepier, much darker than before, the Giants from Sweden release a CD which is able to completely refresh the roots of the group. With well conceived lyrics.  But not everything is super in this album... i have the impression that tin this album there is something arrogant that disturbs me, i don't know why... Actually it's brilliant , there are songs  which are formidable. But there are also tracks like Shadow In Our blood, I Am The Void and Iridium which are ...arrogant,  as if they would claim to understand  the abyss. Or maybe because they are those who let you think the most about this concept of void, gap , emptiness. Whatever. Fortunately  other tracks are the bless...in fact i  think that, in this CD, Dark Tranquillity has also re-discovered the spell of their old songs to which  a new strong taste of darkness is added, with some elements of Gothic and Black magically mixed with unrelenting riffs. On the other hand , this dark touch seems to find points in common with already known productions from the  90's and, as mentioned before, sometimes displays pretentiousness. 

Hails to  Dream Oblivion, a song that is the modern "summa" of all  best characteristics from Heaven era to Character.   It's with Dream Oblivion that the album begins to take its best shape where decadence, nostalgia darkness and lividity are underlined. And the following The Fatalist is a masterpiece of composition between excellent melody and brutal strength, the guitars are outstanding in this song, each note of each instrument brings something cosmic, every note is played like it should be then be written  in the stone, and the opening is pure obscure beauty with a formidable eruption of very hard guitars on the melodic, harmonic carpet. The right point of explosion of the Death Metal (at level 0:34 min.) introduced by the escalating drumming could have been postponed just for a second for an even more majestic result, but after all who cares?  Excellent is the work done by the  keyboard. Superbly abrasive are the vocals. In these first songs Dark Tranquillity ascend and descend musical scales with astonishing ability. Therefore who listens to this albums should  have some true cognition of what is Beautiful in music.

The continuum goes on with In My Absence, an optimal composition with propelling elements balanced through a great melodic landscape enriched by different levels of intensity, different levels of aggression  and different levels that pull you apart into tears. Solo included. The grandest accusation is full of sorrow and proposes some vocals in clear, actually  interesting are more the lyrics then the music, anyway this song works as moment for reflection, i think. 

What if you are an island of sorrow? 

Then i'll be the raging sea...

At The Point Of Ignition has  some short patterns which i have already heard in older German gothic productions but they are perfectly unified with the typical Dark Tranquillity  midtempo style, maybe just an unexpected convergence, all in all thing  which brings some new sensations. 

In a day, that holds no other

What are we? The fuel or the flame?

Her silent language leaves space for a "sung" in clear à la Moonspell, not bad, but  not so proper in DT. Do you want to sing in clear too? Then do it in a distinctive different way. Cool the guitars however. 

Arkhangelsk dares to trespass the door into melodic black, just in order to reinforce the dark concept. The true strength of this song is its final part.

The thrashy, fast I Am The Void is just an inflated title track in my opinion, a bridge with  the latest productions of the band. Surface The Infinite, which is also thrashy and a bit nervous, is thousand times better than I Am The Void and more implacable, with superb rollercoaster games between lead guitar, rhythmic and keys. Iridium is an ambitious song, sorrowful, many times furious, cold and cruel  like a starry winter night. Sensational the lyrics, unfortunately the inspired spectral  even somehow bio-desperate music sounds  cold, not so spontaneous.

Shattered into a million brighter stars

we fragile, naked, rare

scattered across forever

out from creations core

Yet, with Iridium as last song, we do perceive that this album is an "opus", a complete work with head and feet.

Rating:  9/10 

dalia di giacomo         13.03.2009

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