I love the track Zero Distance!

All of my favorite tracks from We Are The Void. Perfect.

Could be because I haven't listened to anything post-Character for a couple of years but this seems slightly better than the last album (despite being rejects from it), if still nowhere near what Dark Tranquillity are capable of.

Written by Guest on 22.04.2012 at 21:12
...what Dark Tranquillity are capable of.

I've had a rather unfortunate "falling out of love" kind of experience with Fiction and I straight-up did not like We Are the Void, but I haven't given up on these guys. They've released too many albums that I absolutely love, and I don't think I'll call it quits with them until they release something truly horrendous.

Written by Troy Killjoy on 23.04.2012 at 03:24

I've had a rather unfortunate "falling out of love" kind of experience with Fiction and I straight-up did not like We Are the Void, but I haven't given up on these guys. They've released too many albums that I absolutely love, and I don't think I'll call it quits with them until they release something truly horrendous.

Yeah they're miles and miles away from the terrible stage. I'm not sure they have it in them to do a Come Clarity to be honest. Unless they get sick of being ridiculously less popular than In Flames and quite literally sell out. Let's hope that never happens...

Written by Guest on 23.04.2012 at 04:22

Written by Troy Killjoy on 23.04.2012 at 03:24

I've had a rather unfortunate "falling out of love" kind of experience with Fiction and I straight-up did not like We Are the Void, but I haven't given up on these guys. They've released too many albums that I absolutely love, and I don't think I'll call it quits with them until they release something truly horrendous.

Yeah they're miles and miles away from the terrible stage. I'm not sure they have it in them to do a Come Clarity to be honest. Unless they get sick of being ridiculously less popular than In Flames and quite literally sell out. Let's hope that never happens...

I think you guys are just... you know, not very much into this kind of stuff anymore. I mean, if you dislike Fiction, you're probably not going to like anything DT do from now on, because I don't think they're going to top that.

I hope for another change. They're pretty good when they bounce from one sound to another.

Written by Milena on 23.04.2012 at 08:34
I think you guys are just... you know, not very much into this kind of stuff anymore. I mean, if you dislike Fiction, you're probably not going to like anything DT do from now on, because I don't think they're going to top that.

I don't know about Troy but I highly doubt that is the case with Joe considering how much he likes most of their stuff. He gave Character a friggin 10, and it has been a while since I heard them both but last time I checked Fiction wasn't THAT different, only slightly uninspired maybe. "To top" is quite a personal thing too so that can't really be argued.

Did someone horribly mentioned "Dream Theater" as a cheeky metaphor?

Written by X-Ray Rod on 23.04.2012 at 14:40


I don't know about Troy but I highly doubt that is the case with Joe considering how much he likes most of their stuff. He gave Character a friggin 10, and it has been a while since I heard them both but last time I checked Fiction wasn't THAT different, only slightly uninspired maybe. "To top" is quite a personal thing too so that can't really be argued.

To the laymen Character and Fiction might not seem different but they are. One is a band hitting its peak with extremely confident, blasting musicianship and excellent songwriting, the other is a band on a come down from that with less intense, more synth-reliant songwriting. Fiction is nowhere near as good as Character I'm sorry to say, though it is a decent record

Written by Guest on 23.04.2012 at 15:04

To the laymen Character and Fiction might not seem different but they are. One is a band hitting its peak with extremely confident, blasting musicianship and excellent songwriting, the other is a band on a come down from that with slower, more synth-reliant songwriting. Fiction is nowhere near as good as Character I'm sorry to say, though it is a decent record

I do get my excuse for being quite ignorant of their music. They are still in my notes of "bands I still need to check out" and I only remember the overall idea I felt years ago.
But you don't come across as someone who stopped caring about this kind of music, which was the main part of my post.

decent is an 8 now?

Written by X-Ray Rod on 23.04.2012 at 15:07


I do get my excuse for being completely ignorant of their music. They are still in my notes of "bands I still need to check out".
But you don't come across as someone who stopped caring about this kind of music, which was the main part of my post.

I stopped caring about it because Character was the last great work of the melodeath/Gothenburg genre if you ask me. The only exception I can think of was Barren Earth's excellent debut which breathed new life into the genre.

Written by Guest on 23.04.2012 at 15:08

I stopped caring about it because Character was the last great work of the melodeath/Gothenburg genre if you ask me. The only exception I can think of was Barren Earth's excellent debut which breathed new life into the genre.

In that case why do you care for a new album? Just curiosity?

Written by X-Ray Rod on 23.04.2012 at 15:13


In that case why do you care for a new album? Just curiosity?

Because Dark Tranquillity are the only band of the original Gothenburg lot still worthy of any kind of respect (apart from At The Gates I guess) and aside from the fact they hold sentimental value and still get regular plays from me (The Gallery and Character) they're the only band capable of reclaiming any glory for this tired scene.

Written by Guest on 23.04.2012 at 15:15

Written by X-Ray Rod on 23.04.2012 at 15:13


In that case why do you care for a new album? Just curiosity?

Because Dark Tranquillity are the only band of the original Gothenburg lot still worthy of any kind of respect (apart from At The Gates I guess) and aside from the fact they hold sentimental value and still get regular plays from me (The Gallery and Character) they're the only band capable of reclaiming any glory for this tired scene.

Valid point, like you said a bit earlier... They haven't done anything that can be considered shit... yet.

Written by Cynic Metalhead on 23.04.2012 at 14:54
Did someone horribly mentioned "Dream Theater" as a cheeky metaphor?

No.

Written by Troy Killjoy on 23.04.2012 at 18:03

Written by Cynic Metalhead on 23.04.2012 at 14:54
Did someone horribly mentioned "Dream Theater" as a cheeky metaphor?

No.

um okay. I shall wait for this to happen.

Written by X-Ray Rod on 23.04.2012 at 14:40
He gave Character a friggin 10, and it has been a while since I heard them both but last time I checked Fiction wasn't THAT different...

The two are practically worlds apart. Character is much more in-your-face, varied, catchy, aggressive, and overall more forward-thinking in terms of composition and delivery.

Fiction is much more tame, restricted, by-the-numbers synth-driven melodic metal hampered by a rather sterile production that takes away whatever bite any of the songs would've had.


Those two songs could have easily been some of my favorites if not feeling so directionless and plastic, because the lyrical content and aggressive approach made me remember the kind of material they released going all the way back to The Gallery. But again, I felt they were restricted in the sense DT were afraid to push a boundary, and I never got that feeling with Character.

Troy da man.

It's funny how infrequently people mention the fact that Stanne is totally a black metal vocalist.

Well, like I said before, it has been a while since I tried those albums so I suppose I was out of line.

Written by Troy Killjoy on 23.04.2012 at 18:11
I felt they were restricted in the sense DT were afraid to push a boundary, and I never got that feeling with Character.

This turns out interesting considering how Mora comments on them constantly changing and you feeling they were in fact afraid to push things too far and just going for a regular by-the-numbers kind of deal.

Written by X-Ray Rod on 23.04.2012 at 18:16
This turns out interesting considering how Mora comments on them constantly changing and you feeling they were in fact afraid to push things too far and just going for a regular by-the-numbers kind of deal.

Well they have been changing ever since their debut. For a band that has technically only ever played one style of metal, they have a rather varied discography.

The problem for me is the recent change (beginning with Fiction) into much more restricted territory. Milena's right about them changing even with that album, but in my opinion it's a change for the worse, as made apparent by an incredibly lackluster 2010 showing.

Written by Guest on 23.04.2012 at 18:14
Troy da man. It's funny how infrequently people mention the fact that Stanne is totally a black metal vocalist.

Stanne is by far one of my favorite metal vocalists, mostly in part due to the fact that he enunciates when he growls, his pitch is incredible, he can break into some emotional cleans, and he can shriek as if he's been fronting a few black metal side projects over the years.

And he's a great lyricist in my opinion.

Written by Troy Killjoy on 23.04.2012 at 18:21

Well they have been changing ever since their debut. For a band that has technically only ever played one style of metal, they have a rather varied discography.

The problem for me is the recent change (beginning with Fiction) into much more restricted territory. Milena's right about them changing even with that album, but in my opinion it's a change for the worse, as made apparent by an incredibly lackluster 2010 showing.

I agree. Not to mention the fact that not many, if any, other bands sound like them. They've changed but managed to stay a unique entity (probably the saving grace of the recent outputs). The fact they seem to change every few albums is good news. You never know, they might go for a more technical, death metal approach like on The Gallery?

And Stanne is awesome live too, very humble and a nice looking ginger person.

Written by Guest on 23.04.2012 at 18:24
And Stanne is awesome live too, very humble and a nice looking ginger person.

Definitely. One of the few bands I actively seek out on Youtube for live performances. I've seen quite a few at this point and I must say he seems like the most humble, relaxed person in the history of metal.

Although from what I've seen of Abbath... dude's also pretty chill and down-to-earth. Fenriz would be up there but he still expresses a lot of angst in spite of a somewhat child-like sense of apathy and innocence.

Written by Troy Killjoy on 23.04.2012 at 18:28

Definitely. One of the few bands I actively seek out on Youtube for live performances. I've seen quite a few at this point and I must say he seems like the most humble, relaxed person in the history of metal.

Although from what I've seen of Abbath... dude's also pretty chill and down-to-earth. Fenriz would be up there but he still expresses a lot of angst in spite of a somewhat child-like sense of apathy and innocence.

Yep, all three are funky cool dudes from what I've seen and read of them.

Written by Troy Killjoy on 23.04.2012 at 18:28
Although from what I've seen of Abbath... dude's also pretty chill and down-to-earth.

Not to mention that he trolled Varg hard. That is still one of my favorite interview moments ever.

Written by Guest on 23.04.2012 at 15:04

To the laymen Character and Fiction might not seem different but they are. One is a band hitting its peak with extremely confident, blasting musicianship and excellent songwriting, the other is a band on a come down from that with less intense, more synth-reliant songwriting. Fiction is nowhere near as good as Character I'm sorry to say, though it is a decent record

For me it is just the opposite I was implying that back then you liked the style more, and felt a change come in Fiction, and a shift in your own thoughts. Because that happens to people. But I guess that can only be said if you started liking DT in 2005.

Written by Milena on 23.04.2012 at 18:35

For me it is just the opposite I was implying that back then you liked the style more, and felt a change come in Fiction, and a shift in your own thoughts. Because that happens to people. But I guess that can only be said if you started liking DT in 2005.

Naturally not everyone likes change but I would say a majority of the time people dislike change because of lack of quality or inferior choice of sound, not simply because a band changed direction.

Melodeath was my first real metal genre I liked so I had the benefit of getting into it when it was still doing ok. It's no secret that gothenburg/melodeath is generally maligned these days because it's a stale genre with little experimentation and while Dark Tranquillity are not as guilty as other bands the choice to slow their music down, adopt overbearing production and a reliance on keyboards is still a poor move for this band considering what they've achieved before.

I liked the style more because there was more to like

Written by Guest on 23.04.2012 at 18:40

Naturally not everyone likes change but I would say a majority of the time people dislike change because of lack of quality or inferior choice of sound, not simply because a band changed direction.

Melodeath was my first real metal genre I liked so I had the benefit of getting into it when it was still doing ok. It's no secret that gothenburg/melodeath is generally maligned these days because it's a stale genre with little experimentation and while Dark Tranquillity are not as guilty as other bands the choice to slow their music down, adopt overbearing production and a reliance on keyboards is still a poor move for this band considering what they've achieved before.

I didn't mean a change in their direction, a change in your attitude towards music

We all think melodeath is stale *now*, but I think it was stale even when we younger folk got into metal (for me it's late 2005-mid 2006). Out of all the variety of bands, I listen to maybe 7 or 8 of them, and Kalmah in the "extreme power" spectrum. Because... there's not much left to say anymore. I really like Insomnium's latest, for example, but it was just more of the same. I think DT's new will ultimately be more of the same too.

Written by Troy Killjoy on 23.04.2012 at 18:24



Stanne is by far one of my favorite metal vocalists, mostly in part due to the fact that he enunciates when he growls, his pitch is incredible, he can break into some emotional cleans, and he can shriek as if he's been fronting a few black metal side projects over the years.

And he's a great lyricist in my opinion.

I completely fangirl over Stanne (yeah, I made up a verb, deal with it). He's a rare bird.

Written by Milena on 23.04.2012 at 18:45

I didn't mean a change in their direction, a change in your attitude towards music

We all think melodeath is stale *now*, but I think it was stale even when we younger folk got into metal (for me it's late 2005-mid 2006). Out of all the variety of bands, I listen to maybe 7 or 8 of them, and Kalmah in the "extreme power" spectrum. Because... there's not much left to say anymore. I really like Insomnium's latest, for example, but it was just more of the same. I think DT's new will ultimately be more of the same too.

Around 2005 melodeath was already on a serious nosedive with the likes of Stabbing The Drama, Come Clarity, Doomsday Machine etc. Character probably the only great release of that era. When I was into it I had the likes of Clayman, A Predator's Portrait, Wages Of Sin, and whatever great record DT had out at that point. I don't think you'll find many people that can legitimately call those releases stale as they all successfully modernised earlier melodeath sounds. I think history now would attest to that. Being someone who began in that era it's not hard at all to see how the genre has fallen from grace.

Insomnium will always be a poor man's early-Amorphis to me ;]