Gothenburg metal forebears Dark Tranquillity have been reliable purveyors of brutal, yet melodic fare for more than three decades now. Perhaps due to their sheer longevity and slew of beloved releases, album number 13 Endtime Signals seems unlikely to be a landmark effort for them. And while it’s not a career high, there are plenty of satisfying moments to be found.
The Swedes’ career arc is a curious one. They’ve been remarkably consistent, but willing to take a few risks. After helping set the foundations for the melodic death metal sound via the likes of 1997’s The Mind’s I, they successfully followed it with the more experimental Projector and Haven. The band channeled that classic melo-death sound on a brilliant hat-trick of albums in the 2000s: Damage Done, Character and Fiction. There have been flirtations with other styles on more recent efforts, but Endtime Signals perhaps best recalls the aforementioned ‘00s run, which should be to diehards’ liking. It’s crushing, yet melodic fare, and a dense, dark and desolate LP in many ways too.
Featuring a couple of new members – who have seemingly slotted in with ease – the results are punctuated by bruising riffs, classy guitar solos and swathes of keys. Meanwhile, Mikael Stanne’s bipolar vocal approach seems a little more commanding and energized than on recent records. Perhaps the success of Gothenburg metal all-stars The Halo Effect’s debut and the formation of goth crew Cemetery Skyline has motivated him. Former members Fredrik Johansson (who died in 2022) and Niklas Sundin contributed to two songs, helping ensure Dark Tranquillity’s modus operandi remains intact.
Opener “Shivers and Voids” is on the surface archetypal fare for the band, but incisive melodies and leads elevate it. Blistering “Unforgivable” is one of the record’s heaviest tracks, bustling with thrashy inflections and intent. Single “Not Nothing” has more hooks than your grandfather’s tackle box, while the groove-laden “The Last Imagination” could stylistically have easily have been placed on to any number of their past classic albums. The piano-charged closing track proper (the deluxe edition features two solid, if unremarkable bonus tracks), “False Reflection” concludes proceedings in suitably atmospheric, somber fashion.
The group’s sense of melancholy has long been a calling card. But the string-laden (courtesy of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra) ballad “One of Us Is Gone” is among their most striking tracks in this vein. The tribute to Johansson packs emotional heft, and is a clear standout. It will be a truly heavy moment when performed live – even the most grizzled metallers in the crowd may shed a tear.
Dark Tranquillity have already blazed their trail, and it would therefore be churlish to expect a similar seismic shift from Endtime Signals. But they haven’t let anyone down with another slab of melo-death writ large.
(released August 16, 2024 on Century Media Records)
Heavy Music HQ Rating:
Watch Dark Tranquillity – “Not Nothing” Video
