Dark Tranquillity: back to the old but “new” days
There’s an upcoming live show for Dark Tranquillity in Greece, actually it’s 2 dates. The first one in Athens (12th of May) and the other in Thessaloniki (13th of May). I took the chance to talk about a much beloved album from this particular band. Before I go on, I must say In Gothenburg Sound We Trust. The album I decided to talk about is Projector which was recorded at Fredman Studios (OH, I DIDN’T SEE THAT COMING) in September 1998.
The line-up for this album was:
Mikael Stanne − vocals, lyrics, image editing and layout
Niklas Sundin − lead guitar, cover artwork and inlay
Fredrik Johansson – rhythm guitar
Martin Henriksson − bass, rhythm guitar
Anders Jivarp – drums
Projector (stylized : projector, or on the reissue p.r.o.j.e.c.t.o.r.) is the fourth full-length studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Dark Tranquillity. It was released on 10 August 1999.
Projector is kinda different from The Gallery (1995) and its predecessor The Mind’s I (1997). In my opinion, that’s what I love from bands like In Flames and Dark Tranquillity. They are not afraid to change their sound whatever the outcome and the fans opinions. You may lose something but you definitely gain something. Another reason why I chose this one, is that some time ago an old member and composer of D.T and this particular album passed away. I’m talking about Fredrik Johansson. His music will remain forever. Skål!
The album opens with Freecard. So, freecard is given to D.T to perform something a bit different to the old releases. The sound of a piano makes me wonder if this is Dark Tranquilliry but, wait.. the guitar strikes and the brutal voice from Mikael makes me think…oh yeah, here we are! Throughout this album you can hear a mixure of a more obscure and gothic style and yet Melodic Death Metal, the Dark Tranquillity way! Ballad like songs like Auctioned and Day to End reminds me of a more obscure and gothic style perfomed in this album acompanied by clear vocals by Mikael. Those clean vocals especially in Auctioned … Oh, my God. Let me say, thery remind me something like Depeche Mode which i like way too much! Also on the track UnDo Control there are some female vocals performed by Johanna Andersson. This is something I like about Gothenbung bands, well I mean In Flames and Dark Tranquillity who use female vocals on some parts and if possible they perform those parts live, along with the female singer. Lovely! This album is a bit slower that it’s predecessors and yet it’s Melodic Death Metal consisted of 10 songs. Dark Tranquillity worked hard and every song deserves it’s mention but if I talk about every single song, believe me I’m gonna be talking about them too much. Songs I like most in this controversial album are: Freecard, ThereIn, Auctioned, To a Bitter Halt, Never Novas, Days to End. As I said before, you lose something and you gain something. Dark Tranquillity are a band not afraid to take that risk and I think they relatiated with this one. Some fans may not like it, but it’s a great album to listen to and become one with it. Those clean vocals from beloved Mikael Stanne, made me love this album even more! Please notice that Projector’s limited edition digipak includes the bonus track “Exposure”. However, there were problems with the pressings because not all the digipaks include “Exposure” and there are some traditional releases that include the track. The Japanese version of the album has different cover art and includes a booklet with more photos and biographical information. The 2009 reissue has digitally remastered audio. I haven’t checked their setlist on this tour, but I hope they perform at least one from this one. Can’t wait for the day to come! See you there…
