Dark Tranquillity - Damage Done

Dark Tranquillity

Damage Done

Century Media Records

Sweden’s Dark Tranquillity may have been a half step behind some of the other leaders in the Gothenburg melodic death metal movement (In Flames and The Crown come to mind), but with Damage Done, Dark Tranquillity are not only going to get the praise they deserve, but be a hard act to follow in the process.

Their last release, 2000’s Haven raised a few eyebrows from long-term fans, and while it was a great album from the band, it tended to be a little more on the experimental side of things. Damage Done seems to revert back to the aggressive sounds of previous albums, yet pushes them beyond anything they’ve done before.

‘Final Resistance’ opens with a deceptively melodic riff before turning into a full on assault attack of the senses. Vocalist Mikael Stanne seethes anger and hate, while retaining the essential melody that binds the band as one. ‘Hours Passed In Exile’ has some majestic melodic twin guitar work (Courtesy of Niklas Sundin and Martin Henriksson), while ‘Monochromatic Stains’ (The first promotional video from the album) returns the aggression. Both ‘Single Part Of One’ and ‘The Treason Wall’ lean heavily on the keyboard sounds, but are counter balanced with the heavy guitars, and riffs most bands would envy. One of the catchier tunes is the unusually titled ‘Format C: For Cortex’, and has a passing resemblance to Iron Maiden in parts. The title track ‘Damage Done’ passes with intensity, but ‘Cathode Ray Sunshine’ is certainly highlighted by its experimentation of subtle keyboards and guitar tones. The experimentation is taken one step further with the brilliant ‘The Enemy’. This is defiantly one of the albums many highlights. ‘White Noise/Black Silence’ again pushes the manic fury, only to dilute itself with the sweeping instrumental ‘Ex Nihilo’.

The Gothenburg scene may well be seen as death metals bastard child, but there’s a lot to be said about the movement when something as special as Damage Done is conceived.

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© Justin Donnelly.