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• Julian Casablancas And The Void Tour
• Dark Tranquillity We Are The Void Tour Edition
• Dark Tranquility We Are The Void Tour Edition Edition

Dark Tranquillity never cease to amaze! A great mix of strong riffs and drums with dark/melancholic atmosphere. Excellent edition! We are the void album + Zero distance EP in one disc + DVD with bonus material + extended artwork booklet. Definitely a must have for DT fans.

Construct is the tenth full-length studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Dark Tranquillity. It was released on 27 May 2013 through Century Media Records. A music video for 'Uniformity', directed by Patric Ullaeus, was released on 10 May 2013.^[2] The album was written during what the band described as their 'darkest period'^[3] and drew critical praise for its melodrama^[4] and darkness.^[5] Construct would be the band's last studio album with founding member guitarist Martin Henriksson as he left the band in early 2016 due to loss of passion for playing music.

• 5Track listing
• 6Personnel

Background[edit]

Prior to recording the music for Construct, bassist Daniel Antonsson departed on amicable terms and guitarist Martin Henriksson (who originally played bass for Dark Tranquillity before switching to guitars beginning with Projector in 1999) filled in for the recording session.^[3] Mikael Stanne described Antonsson as 'a great guy and an awesome musician' but acknowledged that he was not 'on the same page' as the rest of the band due to his desire to be 'like a band leader. He wants to be the one in charge, but there’s no way to be in charge in our band [as] we're all democratic and close to each other after playing together for so long'.^[6] Two songs, 'Sorrow's Architect' and 'A Memory Construct', were recorded during the making of this album, but were instead released on the 'A Memory Construct' limited tour single.^[7]

Lyrics[edit]

Stanne noted from where both the lyrical themes and the album title originated:

[T]he stuff that angers me the most[, which is] the narrow-mindedness and biased will to not see things as they are...I wish we could be more honest with ourselves and see things more clearly and be more rational...Over the years I've gotten more upset about this and that got me thinking about what motivates and drives us to believe the things we believe. The big theme is the ultimate construct of religion and faith. The title is Construct in a most negative way: this shield or excuse we have to do the things we do.^[6]

In another interview, Stanne said 'I want people to be sceptical and be able to think for themselves. The herd type of behaviour of many I find quite disturbing...I like people to be pure and unbiased and free any preconceptions when they encounter other people. The utter ignorance and bigotry of some people really gets to me'.^[8]

Niklas Sundin elaborated that 'Our brains have evolved to find patterns and connections where there are none, but – as they say – extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. I rarely want to talk about non-musical stuff in interviews, but as a science buff and skeptic I have to take the opportunity to recommend every UFO or conspiracy theorist to read Carl Sagan’s The Demon Haunted World'.^[9]

Songwriting[edit]

The songwriting process departed from Dark Tranquillity's typical method. Henriksson reduced his role in arranging the songs, while keyboardist Martin Brandstrom, guitarist Niklas Sundin, and drummer Anders Jivarp served as the principal songwriting team. Stanne commented about this method:

[It] was totally different from what we normally do...It was an experiment at first, but then it turned into this really creative thing. We were all really excited. We could talk and be more objective about the songs and what they needed and what the album should be like. It was so liberating. Finally, we could make music and not argue about it too much. It was a very positive experience.^[3]

Stanne attributed the album's sharp departure from previous albums to the band's struggle with 'writer's block' and the alternate songwriting configuration that eventually enabled the band to create the new album: 'The material we had was pretty emotional. It was written during this period where we were struggling...Most of the material was emotional and sad and heavy. That's what the album became. The stuff we wrote during our darkest period was put together in the most creative way we had done in many years.'^[3] Their previous album, We Are the Void had not been as positively received as their previous albums, and the group had experienced troubles in the creation of the album, such as in-fighting.^[8]

The band commented on the style of the album, saying, 'While still bearing the unmistakable mark of the Dark Tranquillity, the record is probably our most different and diverse offering since 1999's Projector'.^[10]Mikael Stanne described the album as being both 'melody driven' and a 'reaction' to the band's recent work.^[6]

Chad Bowar of About.com noted 'the darkness and sadness in the composition of many of the songs', which he attributed to the more collaborative songwriting approach.^[5] However, Sundin stated in an interview that 'Most likely, the upcoming 500 years will be a patchwork of great tragedy and suffering as well as major advance and improvement, just like the past 500 years have been. But metal lyrics are often about polarizing. You don’t sing about being mildly sceptical of a certain amount of people behaving in a slightly disagreeable way and that you would prefer if they please could consider changing their behaviour. You sing about throwing the whole of humanity in a sea of fire and brimstone and laughing while doing it'.^[9]

Reception[edit]

Describing the band as 'legendary', Chad Bowar of About.com remarked, 'it's no surprise that Dark Tranquillity has delivered another quality album with Construct. It's one of their most creative and diverse releases in quite a few years.'^[5] James Christopher Monger of Allmusic noted that the album pulled back on the intensity in favour of an approach that 'retains the chilly elegance of the band's best work while dialing back on the more punishing aspects, resulting in an expansive, world-weary, and windswept racket'.^[11]

Kyle Ward of Sputnikmusic compared Construct with the band's 1999 album Projector, due to the character of the experimentation, and praised the album's atmosphere as 'the most palpable and poignant of their entire discography, due in large part to its focus on dark, melodramatic tones in the synths and the swift, tight melodies that make up the guitar leads'.^[4]

On 15 June 2013 the album entered the US Billboard 200 chart at number 171.^[13]

Track listing[edit]

Notes[edit]

1. ^Note 1 That song is an instrumental.
2. ^Note 2 That song is from the We Are the Void reissue.
3. ^Note 3 That song is from the We Are the Void reissue and the Zero Distance EP.
4. ^Note 4 That song is a Radio Edit version of its original song.

Personnel[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/dark-tranquillity-completes-recording-new-album/
2. ^DARK TRANQUILLITY - Uniformity (OFFICIAL VIDEO) on YouTube
3. ^ ^abcdBowar, Chad (26 May 2013). 'Dark Tranquillity Interview A Conversation With Vocalist Mikael Stanne'. About.com. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
4. ^ ^abcWard, Kyle (May 22, 2013). 'Album Review - Dark Tranquillity: Construct'. Sputnikmusic. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
5. ^ ^abcdBowar, Chad. 'Dark Tranquillity - Construct Review'. About.com. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
6. ^ ^abcArthur, Ty (29 April 2013). 'Dark Tranquillity's Mikael Stanne Discusses New Album 'Construct''. Metal Underground. Retrieved 16 June 2013.External link in work= (help)
7. ^'Dark Tranquillity - A Memory Construct - Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives'. metal-archives.com. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
8. ^ ^abhttp://www.ghostcultmag.com/the-science-of-noise-an-interview-with-dark-tranquillity/
9. ^ ^abhttp://newnoisemagazine.com/interview-dark-tranquility-explain-the-blueprints-of-construct-and-the-possibility-of-alien-life/
10. ^'DARK TRANQUILLITY: 'Construct' Album Details Revealed'. BlabberMouth.
11. ^ ^abMonger, James Christopher. 'Construct - Dark Tranquillity'. Allmusic. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
12. ^Dick, Chris (June 2013). 'Dark Tranquillity, Construct'. Decibel Magazine (104): 88.
13. ^http://www.billboard.com/charts/2013-06-15/billboard-200?page=8

Dark Tranquillity is a Swedish melodic death metal^[1] band from Gothenburg. They are considered one of the pioneering acts of the Gothenburg metal scene, which also includes bands such as In Flames and At the Gates. Dark Tranquillity is regarded as the Gothenburg fathers in the film entitled Out of Nothing: A DT Documentary released by Century Media, which was filmed in Gothenburg, Sweden in April 2009.^[2]

• 1Background
• 2Band members

Background[edit]

Early years and Skydancer[edit]

Dark Tranquillity was formed in 1989 by the current vocalist and then rhythm guitarist Mikael Stanne, and lead guitarist Niklas Sundin, under the name Septic Broiler. Three additional members, Anders Fridén, Anders Jivarp and Martin Henriksson, later joined the line-up.

In 1990, the band recorded a demo entitled Enfeebled Earth before changing their name to Dark Tranquillity, which featured a largely thrash metal-influenced style of death metal, comparable to early Death.^[3] It was followed by multiple demos, including Trail of Life Decayed in 1991 and A Moonclad Reflection in 1992, which both showed a progression into the more melodic nuances of death metal that the band would explore on their later studio releases.^[4]

In August 1993, the band released their debut album Skydancer. Soon after, vocalist Anders Fridén left the band and joined fellow Gothenburg band, In Flames. Rhythm guitarist Mikael Stanne then assumed the position of lead vocalist, and Fredrik Johansson was recruited to take over rhythm guitar duties.

The Gallery[edit]

In 1994, Dark Tranquillity covered the song My Friend of Misery for the Metallica tribute album, Metal Militia - A Tribute to Metallica.

In 1995, the band released an EP, Of Chaos and Eternal Night, which was later followed by the release of their second studio album, The Gallery. The Gallery is often referred to as a masterpiece from the era.

The Mind's I[edit]

Dark Tranquillity released their second EP, Enter Suicidal Angels, in November 1996. They later released their third album, The Mind's I, was released in April 1997, with the band continuing further with the sound conveyed on The Gallery.

Projector[edit]

In January 1999, with the band's album Projector recorded months prior and its release months ahead, Fredrik Johansson was fired by the rest of Dark Tranquillity, due to Johansson wanting to focus more on being a father, meaning also he could not tour with the band and leave his family anymore, and wanted to keep a day job, as opposed to the difficulties of being in the music industry. There were mutually no hard feelings between both parties, but with all of Johansson's reasons, the band still saw it as a lack of commitment to Dark Tranquillity as well. The album marks the last new release with Johansson. With difficulties always finding a new guitar player, a switch then occurred in the band when Johansson's empty guitarist position was then taken by the band's bassist Martin Henriksson, who was a little bit reluctant at the time to do the switch as he believed he was an average guitar player, but still went on to do so. To take Henriksson's bassist position the band hired Michael Nicklasson. Since the album included a lot of piano, keyboards, and electronics the band also hired an additional full-time member, Martin Brändström as their first keyboardist to complete their lineup and to tour for the album, additionally the band wanted these elements to become an integral part of the band's sound. With the new lineup, they played live bonus tracks of the reissue of this album and filmed a music video for 'ThereIn'.

Projector was released in June 1999. It was the fourth album from the band, and was later nominated for a Swedish Grammy Award. The album saw a major change in songwriting: while retaining growled vocals and their signature death metal sound, pianos, baritone soft vocals, and verse-chorus fashion song structures were now integral parts of Dark Tranquillity's sound, reflecting the band's goal to strive for different musical expressions. Also during this time, Skydancer and Of Chaos and Eternal Night were reissued together as Skydancer/Of Chaos and Eternal Night.

Haven[edit]

A year later saw the release of Haven, which featured prominent electronics in comparison to previous releases. Like its predecessor, Haven was also received in a generally mixed manner by fans and critics alike.

As the band toured in 2001, the band hired Robin Engström to play live, due to Jivarp's commitments as a new father.

Damage Done[edit]

Dark Tranquillity released Damage Done in 2002, and was intended to be a step in a much heavier direction, adding thicker guitar distortion, deep atmospheric keyboards, and abandoning soft vocals altogether. They released the music video for the single 'Monochromatic Stains', followed by their release of Live Damage, their first live DVD. In 2004, Exposures - In Retrospect and Denial was released.

Character[edit]

Character was the seventh release from Dark Tranquillity, released in 2005, and was held in much critical praise. It featured the third music video released by Dark Tranquillity, with the successful single 'Lost to Apathy'. After releasing the album, the band played live in Canada for the first time.

Fiction[edit]

In 2007, Fiction was released, which in turn, saw a return of Stanne's clean vocals, and the first female guest vocalist since Projector. The album also saw writing style that combined the stylings of Projector and Haven, with the more aggressive traits of Character and Damage Done. At this time, Dark Tranquillity toured with The Haunted, Into Eternity, and Scar Symmetry for the North America Metal for the Masses Tour.^[5] They also toured the UK in early 2008 along with Omnium Gatherum. They returned to the US during spring 2008 with Arch Enemy. On the band's official website they announced that bass guitarist Niklasson left the band in August 2008 due to personal reasons with no hard feelings between him and the band. On September 19, 2008, the band found a new bassist in Dimension Zero guitarist Daniel Antonsson, who also was a guitarist for Soilwork.

On May 25, 2009, reissues of Projector, Haven, and Damage Done were released.

We Are the Void[edit]

On October 14, 2009, Dark Tranquillity finished work on their ninth studio album. On October 26, 2009 they released a DVD titled Where Death Is Most Alive. On October 30, 2009 at the release party of the DVD 333 copies were given away for free of the rare live album The Dying Fragments. On December 21, 2009, Dark Tranquillity released the song 'Dream Oblivion',^{[citation needed]} and on January 14, 2010, they released the song 'At the Point of Ignition',^{[citation needed]} from their ninth album, exclusively on their MySpace page. Their ninth album, titled We Are the Void, was released on March 1, 2010 in Europe, and March 2, 2010 in the US.^[6] They were also the opening act for a US winter tour that was headlined by Killswitch Engage and joined by The Devil Wears Prada.

Dark Tranquillity headlined a North American tour in May–June 2010 with Threat Signal, Mutiny Within and The Absence.^[7] In February 2011, the band performed live at BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus in Hyderabad, India.^[8]

Julian Casablancas And The Void Tour

Construct[edit]

On April 27, 2012, Dark Tranquillity re-signed with Century Media. On October 18, 2012, the band began writing for the album.^[9] On January 10, 2013, the band announced the title of their tenth album would be Construct, and it was released in Europe on May 27, 2013 and in North America on May 28, 2013. The album was mixed by Jens Bogren at his Fascination Street studios in Örebro, Sweden.^[10]

Dark Tranquillity We Are The Void Tour Edition

On February 18, 2013, Antonsson amicably left Dark Tranquillity, citing a desire to focus on playing guitar and being a recording engineer and producer.^[11] On February 27, 2013, the band announced that they completed recording the album.^[12] Although Antonsson remained during the recording of 'Construct', he did not perform the bass.^[13] According to Niklas Sundin's Twitter, he hasn't been excited for a Dark Tranquillity release since Skydancer, due to the fact that the recording sessions for all their other releases were 'way too long' compared to Construct.^[14]

On March 27, 2013, a teaser campaign and track list for Construct were revealed. The band also commented on the style of the album, saying, 'While still bearing the unmistakable mark of the Dark Tranquillity, the record is probably our most different and diverse offering since 1999's Projector'.^[15]

To promote the album, the band is touring the world with dates in Finland and North America alongside Omnium Gatherum, Europe with Tristania, and Sweden with Darkane.^[16]

Dark Tranquility We Are The Void Tour Edition Edition

On July 10, 2013, a b-side from Construct, titled 'Sorrow's Architect', was released on a limited flexi 7' released with an issue of Decibel. On January 14, 2014, the band announced that the song will be released with another b-side, titled 'A Memory Construct', on a limited tour 7' and digitally which also includes the 'Sorrow's Architect'. The 7' became available on February 1, 2014, and digitally in March 2014.^[17]

In March 2016, rhythm guitarist Martin Henriksson has announced his departure from the band, admitting he had 'lost the passion for playing music' after playing in the band for 26 years.^[18]

Atoma[edit]

On May 22, 2016, Dark Tranquillity began recording their eleventh full-length album Atoma,^[19] but didn't officially announce it until July 6.^[20] The album was finally released on November 4, 2016, via Century Media. In March 2017, the band released the song The Absolute, which was recorded during the Atoma sessions, as a digital single. On January 28, 2018 Dark Tranquillity embarked on a European tour with main support band Equilibrium. ^[21]

Band members[edit]

Timeline[edit]

Discography[edit]

• Skydancer (1993)
• The Gallery (1995)
• The Mind's I (1997)
• Projector (1999)
• Haven (2000)
• Damage Done (2002)
• Character (2005)
• Fiction (2007)
• We Are the Void (2010)
• Construct (2013)
• Atoma (2016)

References[edit]

1. ^Serba, John. 'The Gallery - Dark Tranquillity'. AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-12-07.
2. ^Century Media Records (2016-11-21), DARK TRANQUILLITY - Out Of Nothing - The DT Documentary, retrieved 2018-01-30
3. ^https://www.metal-archives.com/albums/Septic_Broiler/Enfeebled_Earth/26665
4. ^https://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/Dark_Tranquillity/A_Moonclad_Reflection/4020/hells_unicorn/29518
5. ^Century Media RecordsArchived October 10, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
6. ^'Dark Tranquillity: new album title revealed'. Roadrunnerrecords.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2011-11-04.
7. ^'Dark Tranquillity Announce Headlining Dates'. ListenOut. Archived from the original on 2012-03-03. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
8. ^'Dark Tranquillity @ BITS Pilani-Hyderabad'. Unseenunderground.com. Archived from the original on 2015-05-30. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
9. ^'Blabbermouth.net'. Blabbermouth.net.^{[permanent dead link]}
10. ^'DARK TRANQUILLITY: New Album Title, Release Date Announced'. Blabbermouth.Net. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
11. ^'DARK TRANQUILLITY Parts Ways With Bassist DANIEL ANTONSSON'. Blabbermouth.Net. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
12. ^'DARK TRANQUILLITY Completes Recording New Album'. Blabbermouth.Net. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
13. ^'DARK TRANQUILLITY Frontman Talks New Album, Bassist Split'. Blabbermouth.Net. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
14. ^'niklas sundin (cabinfevermedia) on Twitter'. Twitter.com. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
15. ^'DARK TRANQUILLITY: 'Construct' Album Details Revealed'. Blabbermouth.Net. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
16. ^dtofficial (23 September 2013). 'DARK TRANQUILLITY tour trailer 2013' – via YouTube.
17. ^'DARK TRANQUILLITY To Release 'A Memory Construct' Single'. 15 January 2014.
18. ^'DARK TRANQUILLITY Guitarist MARTIN HENRIKSSON Quits: 'I Have Lost The Passion For Playing Music''. Blabbermouth.net. March 31, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
19. ^'Dark Tranquillity - Facebook'.
20. ^'New DARK TRANQUILLITY Album Is 'Shaping Up To Be Fantastic,' Says MIKAEL STANNE'. Blabbermouth.net. July 5, 2016. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
21. ^'Dark Tranquillity'. www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2018-01-29.

External links[edit]

• Dark Tranquillity at AllMusic