Dark Tranquillity - We Are the Void Review

Dark Tranquillity is one of the only Gothenburg originators that still have a decent level of credibility on the scene. With At the Gates no longer producing quality material, In Flames barely maintaining a shred of their former stature, and Soilwork producing inconsistent music from album to album, there isn’t much left of the Gothenburg core to keep the old fans happy. Therefore, a new Dark Tranquillity album always manages to excite fans of the traditional sound, as well as the newer fans that the band has drawn in recent years. After the masterpieces Character and Fiction, it seemed to be a foregone conclusion that Dark Tranquillity’s ninth studio album would match that level of quality. Dark Tranquillity entered the studio prepared to do just that on We Are the Void, armed with new writing and recording techniques that were intended to make their sound even better.

This album is certainly a solid addition to Dark Tranquillity’s discography. There’s no denying that these songs have intensity, melody, and technicality blended into the signature Dark Tranquillity sound. Mikael Stanne’s vocals are as powerful as always, carrying his unique passion and surprising depth throughout. Stanne also breaks out his clean singing voice once again on the track “Her Silent Language”, and after the excellent clean-sung parts of “Misery’s Crown” on Fiction, bringing back the clean singing on We Are the Void is sure to please both new and old fans. New bassist Daniel Antonsson delivers an excellent performance, fitting into the sound perfectly and providing a strong foundation for the rest of the sound. His performance is doubly good considering that he normally plays guitar and has not played bass in any of his other bands....full text Dark Tranquillity has had a remarkably consistent track record, which they continue with We Are The Void. Consistency doesn't mean they are repeating the same album over and over. While they do have a well-defined template, they inject enough differences and the songs are constructed well enough to avoid musical deja vu.

This CD delivers everything you'd expect from a Dark Tranquillity effort: catchy guitar riffs, a lot of melody and strong vocals from Mikael Stanne. Harsh vocals dominate the album, but Stanne's periodic baritone melodic vocals help add a gothic vibe to songs like "The Grandest Accusation" and "Her Silent Language."...full text After three years of waiting, in which they have released a compilation, a split and a live album, the Swedish melodic deathsters entered the studio and delivered to us their new “We Are The Void” album.
There is no need for special introductions when it comes for a band like DARK TRANQUILLITY so lets get to the chase: By the first note of “Shadow In Our Blood” I thought that the band finally has detached from the usual style that follows their steps the last years. Many blast beats, some black metal touches and a possessed Stanne on the mic gave me the impression that this should be their break through work; unfortunately I was wrong…
I know what you are going to say but hey, give me a break here! Of course it is a very good album, bonded, melodic, with enormous rotation on rhythms, groovy, embellished with gothic touches and a guitar section that is beyond doubt inspired and powerful. Murderous riffing and classic solos among with the guaranteed vocals of Mikael Stanne leaves me no choice but to admit that “We Are The Void” is a hot release. But guess what; so does the previous “Fiction” and before that “Character”. What I’m saying here is that DARK TRANQUILLITY are drowned in the swamp of their own personal style and they seem to be unable to save themselves from repetition.
I consider this band as a pioneer in the specific genre and this title is heavy as hell! Still they deserve it, but the criticism must be so heavy as hell too!!
In conclusion “We Are The Void” is an original sample of Swedish death metal but when we are talking about DARK TRANQUILLITY it is an album that we have heard in the past many times before it…...full text