‘Construct’ is Dark Tranquillity’s tenth album and it breathes with the confidence of a band nearly twenty-five years into their career. The true masters of the Gothenburg melodic death metal sound, Dark Tranquillity have never quite reached the level of popularity of their closest associates, In Flames, or the the level of acclaim afforded to At the Gates’ classic ‘Slaughter of the Soul’ either, but there are complicated reasons for that. In Flames drastically altered their sound to reach ever bigger audiences and At the Gates split up before they had a chance to damage their legacy. Dark Tranquillity have, in the meantime, knuckled down and got on with producing brilliant record after brilliant record, with only a couple of slip-ups in their discography to date.
For many fans, although not this one it must be said, 2010’s ‘We are the Void’ was one of those slip-ups. It saw the band tiptoe hesitantly in new directions whilst simultaneously trying to recapture the genius of 2007’s ‘Fiction’, a record that got as close to perfection as could possibly be imagined. However it also contained in spades what Dark Tranquillity albums have always had without exception: great songs. ‘Construct’ has great songs too but, more than ever before, it takes time to appreciate just how great these ten songs are.
Dark Tranquillity have always thrived on immediacy and, at times, perhaps they have been all too aware of this. They have occasionally reined in experimental urges in favour of their tried and tested sound but on ‘Construct’ there are new touches all over the place. Opener ‘For Broken Words’ and ‘Apathetic’ are as much about the atmosphere as they are the melodies and the riffs, whilst ‘Uniformity’ and ‘What Only You Know’ see Mikael Stanne’s clean vocals pushed right to the foreground with more authority than ever before. You could almost see it as Dark Tranquillity gone pop if they hadn’t always been catchy as hell anyway.
There are, of course, a few standard Dark Tranquillity numbers, but these are more complex upon closer inspection than it may first appear. ‘The Silence In Between’ and ‘Weight of the End’ are more off-kilter than your average Dark Tranquillity track, not just musically but also in terms of the wider sonics. They just sound different. How much of this can be attributed to Jens Bogren’s work at the desk is unclear, but it seems that Martin Henriksson and Niklas Sandin have also pulled some new tricks out of their guitar cases as well. Martin Brändström’s keyboards, meanwhile, are less front and centre than before, but arguably better integrated into the compositions as well. The structuring of the songs is perhaps less natural than before, but at the same time it’s more interesting too.
In fact, the skill on show here from all sides threatens to make this the best thing Dark Tranquillity have ever done, but it’s some way from that. The lack of immediacy is one issue. Whilst this is perhaps the band’s most consistently intriguing record to date, it is also their least listenable, especially for long term fans. It’s hard to imagine many a Dark Tranquillity acolyte would choose to pick this one off the shelf instead of ‘The Gallery’, ‘Damage Done’, or ‘Fiction’. This in itself isn’t a bad thing but it just doesn’t feel like that was the intention behind this album. Perhaps, in experimenting more than usual, Dark Tranquillity have just fallen slightly short on writing their usual quota of excellent songs. This isn’t a big problem, and I would bet that the next record will probably fix all the minor issues with this album, but it does mean that ‘Construct’ is slightly less than the sum of its parts.
‘Construct’ is out on Monday 27th May via Century Media.
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
For many fans, although not this one it must be said, 2010’s ‘We are the Void’ was one of those slip-ups. It saw the band tiptoe hesitantly in new directions whilst simultaneously trying to recapture the genius of 2007’s ‘Fiction’, a record that got as close to perfection as could possibly be imagined. However it also contained in spades what Dark Tranquillity albums have always had without exception: great songs. ‘Construct’ has great songs too but, more than ever before, it takes time to appreciate just how great these ten songs are.
.jpg)
.jpg)
