Review Summary: A case where merely delivering a good album almost equates to failure.
Dark Tranquillity are one of the most consistent bands in the melodic death metal subgenre. Their continued fame with the tough, metal crowd is actually a bit of a puzzle to me. While the band have always delivered in the way of giving listeners phenomenal, Gothenburg-style riffs over the years--that they helped set in place and make popular, as many know--there has always been a
strong melodic aspect to their music that has manifested itself in fist-pumping choruses and sing-a-longs; in fact, one could call it almost commercial in nature. Does that deter many a metalhead or cause them to turn away and scoff at the band's apparent, commercial agenda? Nope. Listeners can be seen placing the Swedish sextet's albums up right next to those of the titans of the death metal genre. Whereas, at one moment, they’re dumping the latest In Flames in the garbage can, listeners can then be witnessed head-banging to one of Dark Tranquillity’s classics the very next. Why does that happen? Well, to put it simply: Dark Tranquillity are gods in their subgenre; thier sound is respected for being both brutal and catchy, and they have never failed us in the past--
never. Yet as I sit here spinning
We Are The Void, I have to wonder: what exactly constitutes a failure for a band like Dark Tranquillity?
Fans of Dark Tranquillity, or those just new to the band, should not fear:
We Are The Void contains everything a good Dark Tranquillity album should. You have the characteristic snarl of vocalist Mikael Stanne, the melodic riffing of Nicklas Sundin and Martin Henriksson, and the flavorful yet surprisingly serious keyboard melodies of Martin Brandstrom. The difference in this album, however, when compared to past efforts, is made evident in exactly how everything plays out. Whereas the past three albums all started out on phenomenal songs--“Final Resistance”, “The New Build”, and “Nothing To No one”, respectively--
We Are The Void greets us with a traditional-sounding Dark Tranquility song in “Shadow In Our Blood”, i.e. snarled vocals layered over top guitar riffing in the verses with a melodic chord change for the chorus hook. This isn’t really a bad thing, to be honest, but it’s just that this song sounds like the typical stuff that the band usually begin to deliver around track six or seven of many of their past albums: that is, good enough to keep one going through the track list to the very end but not powerful enough to effectively engage a one into the album with an excited feeling.
We Are The Void then precedes to play out like a typical Dark Tranquillity album would. Highlights can be found on catchy “The Fatalist”, “The Grandest Accusation”, “Arkhangelsk”--the last is a song which actually happens to switch up the Dark Tranquillity formula a little bit with a verse that
builds into a spiritual, driving chorus--and finally, the phenomenal “Iridium”. For its part, “Surface The Infinite” is classic Dark Tranquillity as well and would have been a highlight if it didn’t blatantly steal the melody from
Fiction’s “Empty Me”; it’s even worse given that the very song it plunders from is
still better. Mikael Stanne’s clean vocals from the bands earlier albums and 2007’s
Fiction also show up once again on “Misery’s Crown”-rewrite “Her Silent Language”, halfway through the aforementioned “The Grandest Accusation”, and again on finale “Iridium”. For what it’s worth, his often-times awkward, gruff tone has improved slightly when cleanly sung, and songs like the latter actually benefit from the inclusion. That being said, Michael’s best use of his voice will always be in the way he wages his lyrical wars of human depravity and loss with his memorable snarl.
Instrumentally, the band is competent in the way they perform on
We Are The Void, if not a bit uninspired. The guitar solos that were found throughout
The Gallery, and on later hits, such as “Dry Run” and “Blind At Heart”, can be found here on tracks like “Arkhangelsk” and “In My Absence”. Guitar riffing, however, is another subject altogether; captivating riffs that will remain in the memories of a listener are really lacking on
We Are The Void. Because of this, listeners may have to rely solely on Stanne’s melodies to keep them coming back for more, and as there is a bit of a familiar air running through the majority of the tracks,
We Are The Void’s replay value is uncharacteristically low for a band with a respected reputation like Dark Tranquillity.
Despite the fact that Dark Tranquillity have once again crafted another good melodic death metal release, I must say that the melodic death metal gods have failed us. In creating an album that is
merely good, the Gothenburg heroes have let us down by failing to captivate and move us like the band’s past three releases all have. Where
Damage Done,
Character, and
Fiction each took steps, however small, to slowly tweak the established formula,
We Are The Void is devoid of any such progressive advancements. If anything, and this being said with respect, it sounds as if Mikael Stanne and his round table have combined the b-sides from their past three or four albums for this release. No, the reader shouldn't get the idea that this album is a sloppy job; it’s just so underwhelming when listened to given our expectations of greatness for these Swedish performers.
We Are The Void--is the title a reference to humanity depravity, or is Dark Tranquillity just secretly admitting that they are running out of ideas?
