Ha! Yet another candidate for the RMR n00bs section. Never too old to be one, you know. Dark Tranquility is yet another of these old metal warhorses that never made it onto the RMR review pipe. Thus, for us, they’re firstcomers despite the band’s undeniable contribution to the holy books of The Lore ov Metal. After all, they’ve been in business since 1991 – and continually so. And again, we shall look at Endtime Signals without regard to what came before.
It comes as no surprise that Dark Tranquility is insanely popular with grizzly metalheads and adepts of metal o’ the light. The starter – Shivers and Voids – takes off angrily enough with some sturdy riffing, throaty rasps, melodic parts, but disappears into softer pastures shortly thereafter. Unforgivable adds some frantic speedy energy to the fray and this track gave us hope for a stellar banger of a record.
But as of the third track, Endtime Signals plays it safe. The RMR crew found the rest of the tracklist safely nestled in the middle of the road. Juicy Gothenburg metal it is, they said. But – instead – Dark Tranquility serves us with mainstream fare that won’t really talk to this underground reviewer. Mind you, there are sturdier tracks such as Drowned Out Voices sporting a pretty feisty thrash-laden bite. But the ballad-y tracks all gave me insane visions of 60-year-old dancers enjoying a slow-motion grind with their mate.
But don’t get me wrong, the production is pristine. Mikael Stanne‘s growls and melancholic croonings are right on point with no note out of place. And for once, one can actually understand the lyrics. The Melodic Death Metal on offer smoothly mingles with some progressive airs and a fair amount of Gothic melancholy. And hints of Amon Amarth and Moonspell snazzily line some of the songs for added spice.
Yet, compared to the true masters of Melodeath and their emotional weight, Endtime Signals ain’t no match. The axe jockeys – in contrast – positively knock it out of the park with often tremendous leads, melodies, and harmonies galore. The solos are otherwordly and snugly fit with the rest of the offering (The Last Imagination, for instance). In other words, the grouchy geezers over at the RMR Review Desk found no fault with the production. On the contrary, this is high-level songwriting with finely chiseled songs on full display.
By and large, Endtime Signals almost feels overproduced – and a tad too slick. It’s one of these safe spaces for non-metallists to go glean a tiny bit of that diabolical metal fare. Pop-heads and other culprits all too quickly detect the terrible visage of the fiend on the wall where there’s nothing to be seen. Gojira‘s late thunderbolt at the French Olympics is testament to that. And that happens, even when the metal on offer has nothing whatsoever to do with Black Metal and its ritualistic airs. But it gives these dwellers of pop and lightly roasted rock that pleasant and almost ecstatic shudder. A delicious electric jolt to have been in metal’s vile realm and come back unscathed. An experience that actually can be shared with a priest of your choice.
So, you might have guessed it. Dark Tranquility‘s latest is way too slick for this here crew. The tracklist contains sturdier tracks that hold their water somewhat. But nothing on Endtime Signals really rips or draws blood. In fact, most of the tracks made us want to buy some vitamins for the crew at work. Maybe that might have helped with the energy levels. I mean, they all look the part with long hair, leather, and all. But start to watch one of their videos and you risk falling asleep halfway through.
But ultimately and despite the yawn effect, Endtime Signals is a good, well-structured, and equally well-produced album. It dwells where the metal mainstream shines the brightest. And this is not necessarily a bad thing, one has to sell a disk or two. But as to this crew, it sadly won’t survive a few more spins.
Ed’s note: The band made it onto our 2024 list of lamestream n00bs. Click on the link to find out what we had to say!
Record Rating: 6/10 | Label: Century Media Records | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 16 August 2024