Fiction - Dark Tranquillity

Gingery led Swedish melodic death metal band Dark Tranquility released their eighth studio album in April 2007 and this is their most recent to date. With a grey cover and the cool dt logo on the front, this album is as good as the band have released and fuses a lot of the styles they've tried and tested over the years to produce a very clean and clear sounding record. The death metal growls are still in use but they are combined with the singer's regular vocals which prove a pleasant change - a deep booming sound. Killer guitar riffs are backed up by pleasant keyboard playing, the guitars aggression is gently softened by the relaxing almost classical piano ...  Read the complete review

The most recent release from Dark Tranquillity follows directly on from the previous two albums, in its repetition of the same melodic death metal style with very little to distinguish it from the crowd. One of its advantages is a comparatively high budget due to the band's high profile, more evident here than ever as the drums sound more distinct and powerful than before, while the keyboards are relegated satisfyingly to the background in most songs. This album's main failing is its sheer repetitiveness, as every song descends into an ambient, atmospheric section at some point in its second half, a gimmick that starts to get tiresome quite early on. As much ...  Read the complete review