Album Review: Dark Tranquility – Endtime Signals
Reviewed by Drew McCarthy
Sweden seems to be a country that has been very good over the years at churning out impressive metal bands, In Flames and Arch Enemy being two bands that immediately come to mind. With the imminent release of their latest opus, Endtime Signals, Dark Tranquility are a band that may just be about to be crowned the new kings of melodic death metal.
Endtime Signals opens with 'Shivers and Voids', a surprisingly mid paced classic sounding slab of melodic death metal. Within can be found an intricate and melodic guitar parts, expertly layered, and in stark contrast to what may be expected yet this takes nothing away from the harsh vocals found in the chorus.
The middle portion of the album is where Dark Tranquility seemingly kick open the door and stride proudly out of their comfort zone. This is most evident on 'Wayward Eyes', a song that has a surprisingly catchy chorus for a metal album. This may be sacrilegious, but 'Wayward Eyes' also sounds like a hard rock orientated song rather than a metal song, which is due in part to the previously mentioned chorus. While this song still has more of the familiar harsh vocals, it would not sound out of place being played on modern radio.
'A Bleaker Sun' is another curve ball found on this album, that begins with a prog metal style riff that descends into a chorus of moody, bleak sounding guitar playing. When combined with the brutal and pained screams courtesy of vocalist Mikael Stanne it gives this particular song an almost black metal vibe.
To say that Endtime Signals is a varied album would be the understatement of the year. Listening to this album not only shows us the different influences of Dark Tranquility as a whole, but also of each individual band member. The instrumentation on Endtime Signals is some of the best that I have ever come across. This is an album that if there is any justice in the world, will elevate Dark Tranquility to new heights and solidify their legacy as Melodic Death Metal pioneers.
