Album Rating: 3.0 | Sound Off

FBI open up

Album Rating: 3.0 | Sound Off

It's burning from the insiiiiiide ouuuut

The restleeeess tries not to remembeeeerrr

Album Rating: 2.5

Slightly hyped because it's new DT but it will probably end up being another 3 - 3.5 album.

I thought I saw the cover on Spotify but I was sleepy, it's only a single

How do you have a review for an album not out yet ...

Album Rating: 3.0

I was a bit underwhelmed with the singles though I am a fan of most of their stuff, will be interesting to see how the abum as a whole holds up

Pivoting back to the first page in regards to not letting the new members contribute -- Cradle of Filth in 2015 was essentially in the same place and instead of icing their new members out, let them contribute to what has been two of the best albums of their career.

Album Rating: 3.5

Nice review dude, I also enjoy Projector (and Haven much more than the average joe), and I think i'll enjoy this one based on the two singles I heard. As a huge fan of the two new guitarists, I agree it still very much sounds like Dark Tranquillity riffs and songwriting, and it's only in the solo department that I really noticed much of a difference. Really excited to hear the whole thing

Album Rating: 3.5

"How do you have a review for an album not out yet ..."



staff reviewer

Album Rating: 5.0

Easily the best album since their masterpiece "Projector"



Amazing write up btw, our DT tastes are exactly the same

Album Rating: 4.0

I got the idea from watching the studio blog for this record, that at this point, it's Brandstrom and Jivarp that are the primary creative forces behind the band, especially during the preliminary writing process. That's the idea Stanne gave me as I watched each release of the blog. He alluded to Jivarp providing the lion's share of ideas at the start, which Brandstrom then runs through with an initial pass at arrangement.



I am unsure when the new guitarists were officially added to the lineup, with their credentials being modified from "live show fill-ins" to full members of the band; I am guessing around the time of Sundin's public announcement that he was moving on. If this is the case, I presume most of the record's ideas were already hammered out, a process which they had kept out of the hands of the new guys at least partially out of respect for Sundin, and perhaps mostly out of a domineering stranglehold on the creative process.



Over the years, I have gotten the feeling from Stanne that the bickering back and forth during previous studio sessions had become tiresome, giving the impression that he has perhaps surrendered most of the early work to Jivarp and Brandstrom, with perhaps some light touches in overall direction here and there, later jumping in for the lyric writing. He comes across as being happier in that role at this point in their career.



Anders Jivarp is not a guitar player, and if I recall, neither is Martin Brandstrom, or if he plays, it's clearly not at a level of skill anywhere near either of their guitarists. So, I presume these new guys are sat down in front of a bunch of music that is written in a very non-guitar oriented way, and asked to conform to the model they are given. Seems very restrictive. Perhaps on the next record, they will be allocated a bit more of a contributing role in the creative process, but at this point, it seems like the DT train is already at a full head of steam on its well-worn track, without many signs of deviating to a new route. Unless the two guitarists can construct a switch house with some incredibly convincing new and different material, DT's fans will continue their comfortable, albeit familiar trips through DT's musical countryside.

Album Rating: 3.0 | Sound Off

Excellent analysis Blade, I think that's pretty much what has happened. I guess Jivarp must have improved his guitar playing due to his writing over the years, but obviously not up to the level the band would use to record. I think Martin and Anders will still be the major songwriters going forward but will probably allow the Chris and Johan to get more involved than this time for sure



i guess after being in a band together for so long you can grow exhausted of each other at certain times, so I guess it's wiser to either leave or change your attitude a bit. Mikael used to play guitar right? Gave that up has he heh

Album Rating: 4.0

Not sure if Stanne plays guitar anymore. During the A&P Reacts interview he did recently, he talked about how much time he spends playing video games, so maybe he doesn't have time!



I don't recall which interview it was, but at one point, Stanne expressed how there was a lot of friction between bandmates during the recording of many of the albums pre-Construct, which eventually came to a head, and was perhaps the catalyst for Martin Henriksson's eventual departure. I think Construct began the period of less collaboration = less stress that we are in the midst of now.



Henricksson claimed he no longer had much passion for music when left, so maybe he was sitting there one day thinking about how he was not much more than a live show fill-in at that point...who knows.

Another 2020 album I've been looking forward to!

Album Rating: 3.5

I think you're hitting the nail on the head Blade. These guys are at the auto-pilot point of their career.

Album Rating: 3.5

As far as I can tell from the studio vlogs it sounds like Amott had little to no input on the writing and just came into the studio to record his rhythm and lead parts. Reinholdz seemed to at least contribute more to the riffs and writing process on here. Guess we'll see when it releases though

Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound Off

--Guess we'll see when it releases though--

Minus some of the solos and a few riffs, it sounds exactly like Dark Tranquillity circa- Atoma and Construct. For those of us into that style of DT, it's awesome.

I don't feel like these guys are autopilot at all. The last two albums (and now this one) are new(ish) territory for the band.

Album Rating: 3.5

A melancholic Projector? Color me interested.

Also beautiful cover.

Album Rating: 4.0

I feel like it's their worst cover honestly

Honestly I'm getting kinda tired by the way keyboards are driving basically all the songs since Construct, it's becoming repetitive. The fact that many reviewers wrote that Martin took "a step back" for guitars is a little relieving, but honestly I read the same for Atoma, which kept the random keyboards which didn't make much sense as much as they did in, say, Fiction or WATV. There, they used to "appear" at the right moment and give that right "boost" to the song, whilst for now those new releases appear to have they keyboards always-on. It feels forced, kinda like whatever they do with Lethe in lives - it's not a song keyboards, and yet, they're always there. I firstly fell in love with dt exactly due to keyboards, as I love how they used them in Misery's Crown, they added such a sprint, and since then I became a huge dt fan. But now, the melody just feels like it lost all the melancholy everybody seems to praise. Just my personal thought. Still can't wait to hear the full thing tho.