Let me preface this review of Endtime Signals by saying I can remember the feeling of excitement I had finding Projector in a second hand CD shop. I remember the first time I listened to Damage Done, and screaming the last “Zodijackyl Light” into the mic at a show, and a veritable litany of moments of belonging. No band has meant more to me than Dark Tranquillity. Yet somehow I’d have missed the release date of Endtime Signals if friends hadn’t reminded me. Part of that is me living a more complicated life now I’ve grown up. The other part though is that age has simultaneously fractured Dark Tranquillity‘s line-up while also ushering in a calmer sound with less wild album to album evolution. They’re not releasing bad albums, but they’re not punishing heavens any more either.
Yet the first lightening like riffs of “Shivers and Voids” suggests I might have been over-hasty thinking that. Much of the song lies in Dark Tranquillity‘s now trademark mid-paced, synth-heavy moodiness – as much Depeche Mode on steroids as any other melodeath band – but the aggression spikes keep coming in Endtime Signals’ opening songs. This infusion of energy brings Dark Tranquillity‘s sound to life. It makes the songs zip by almost too fast and provides a much needed contrast to the catchy melodies and big venue riffs. Then there’s the other side of that spectrum too with the mournful ballads such as “One of Us Is Gone” and the cathartic closer “False Reflection”, both powered home by Mikael Stanne‘s (The Halo Effect, Grand Cadaver) crooning.
At this point in Dark Tranquillity‘s life, that man’s vocals will always be the main talking point. Stanne‘s trademark corrosive sneer is as magnificent as ever, but the rest of the new line up can take a bow too. In particular, it sounds like Johan Reinholdz (Andromeda, Skyfire) has shaken off whatever nerves he might have felt as taking over guitar duties on melodeath’s living legends. He and keyboardist Martin Brandstrom share the melodies here with a beautiful balance. Behind them, the new rhythm section of bassist Christian Jansson (Grand Cadaver) and drummer Joakim Strandberg-Nilsson provide the necessary nervous energy to get a good Dark Tranquillity album.
Endtime Signals is very much a good album. It fuses the gothic drama of We Are The Void with the aggressive vibrancy of Damage Done in a way I never knew I needed, and in doing so has re-sparked the repetitive listening habits of my youth. Just how good Endtime Signals is remains to be seen as the years roll by but for now, I will be watching for the next Dark Tranquillity release far more closely.
