If they’ve proven anything over the last thirty-odd years Gothenburg, Sweden-based melodic metal quintet DARK TRANQUILLITY have earned enough notoriety and sonic identity to the point that they can sustain significant paradigm shift in terms of line-up and style. With all of the original members beyond their frontman now having taken leave to focus on other things (alongside numerous side-projects cropping up in the last four years) you’d think it was time for an indefinite pause for the group, yet it seems they’ve found a reasonable and I’d say generally palatable way forward in a very short period of time. In examination of this thirteenth full-length album, ‘Endtime Signals‘, I’m not necessarily here to praise the endurance of the artist so much as check in as to where this (mostly) new line-up has taken the group, if anywhere. Their path continues to refine along an apparent linear strand despite a handful of new inputs this time around wherein some reinvigoration is achieved here, they’re hitting a few heavier notes and just often enough to ensure those who’ve picked-and-chosen from their discography over the years should find some interest and those who’ve stuck around for decades should appreciate the still thickly melodic focus of their work.

Active since 1989 and officially Dark Tranquillity since 1991 it would be fair to consider the “legacy” act portion of the well-regarded classic melodic death metal band to have taken place over the course of four albums in the 90’s as the (mostly) original line-up persisted into reasonable popularity for a span of about ten years. The line-up changed and the authorship of the band changed in the new millennium to the point that it’d almost become a different band with sights set upon their evolving future rather than holding fast to their connections to early Swedish death metal. Those elements were steadily eased upon for the sake of progressive and/or popular melodic metal explorations since. I have my own nostalgia for those old records but I’d never built any real connection with the four increasingly popular albums they’d released in the 2000’s and as such I’d fallen off as they’d seem to release the same, or too similar for my taste, record from 2007-2016 and with diminishing returns anytime I’d checked in. At that point I wouldn’t say I’d developed a bias so much as an expectation that their work probably wasn’t entirely for me, though I’d appreciated they’d moved on to popular music with more grace than say, In Flames or Soilwork who’d taken more drastic paths.

The litmus test in the past for whether or not you’d be interested in a more recent Dark Tranquillity album was basically did you follow the band beyond 1999’s ‘Projector‘? If yes, then the next watermarks were a combination of the songwriting additions of keyboardist Martin Brändström on ‘Character‘ (2005) and ‘Fiction‘ (2007) as their sound became quite a bit more split between intensely poppy alternative metal feeling movements and a bit more shred/progressive metal touches. Over the last twenty years this band in particular have had more influence upon popular melodic metal generations moreso than anything related to melodic death metal… in the ‘old school’ sense of the sub-genre anyhow. So, if you never made it out of the 90’s with this band I will say outright there is probably nothing on ‘Endtime Signals‘ that is directly meant for you or written in your particular language. Guitars remain understated, vocals are performatively growled to the point of remaining intelligible and clean vocal tones are harmonious but used sparingly. All of this speaks to and acts in delivery of pleasant keyboard/electronics driven melodies more than anything else with the sombre thrum of the guitars and drums being the pusher, the conviction behind it, but not their main directive.

So, if none of this is typically my kind of thing outside of sticking with some old favorites (Amorphis, Rotting Christ, et al.) out of curiosity… then why give it a shot? While Dark Tranquillity have built tropes enough to survive on over the last two decades I felt it was worth giving the songwriting duo of Johan Reinholdz (Andromeda, Nonexist) and Brändström another shot beyond the hapless ‘Moment‘ (2020). This album intends to convey the bleaker perspective of the present day while potentially doing something different with a new rhythm section filled out by folks involved in related groups Grand Cadaver, ex-In Mourning and Nonexist and I’d felt that was worth taking seriously. I’m not sure my feelings have changed drastically in the midst of these results, they’ve presented a fine enough standard for Swedish melodic metal, arguably nothing so drastically different in its affect as the drowsy excess which oversaturates, or, overstates ‘Endtime Signals‘ is familiar but admittedly heavier than their last few releases. Much of the time the songwriting is pleasant enough as the catchier step of “Shivers and Voids” and “Not Nothing” make their mid-paced pop metal statements, shred a bit, and convey a sense of listlessness fitting of the album’s aesthetic themes. Other times, and I would say this is a bit worse in the second half, their work is a bridge too far into sentimental release (“False Reflection”) where I’m likely not the intended audience. All of this is certainly inoffensive, of course, but the main issue here is the same one I’ve had with the band for a while, they simply put too many songs on each of their albums and belabor the experience. They could easily cut this ~50 minute, 12 song record down to a more digestible stretch and lose a few of the more redundant sections in the process.

The kick-off of “Unforgivable” is probably the closest thing to melodic death metal riff here off the jump but again probably nothing brand new if you’ve stuck with the band for some time and potentially indulged in The Halo Effect over the last few years. In terms of guitar driven pieces that’ve some lasting efficacy I’d say “Enforced Perspective” is the closest thing to classic post-1999 Dark Tranquillity in arrangement with its bounding movement, plenty of leads, and the expanding guitar progression(s) at the centre of the song. Otherwise “Zero Sum” brings a bit of life to the largely dismal second half of the album in a similar way, butted up against the more alt-metal groove of “A Bleaker Sun”. These aren’t always the songs where the lyrics have as much to say, you’ll want to dive into “Our Disconnect”, “Not Nothing” and a few others for the full effect of Mikael Stanne‘s (Cemetery Skyline) exploration of downtrodden times, pandemic-era frustrations, and our world turning into a darker-sighted, less forgiving era as death and stress surround all in greater numbers. I didn’t get the sense that the compression of the times has affected Dark Tranquillity‘s voice, still seeing a light at the end of the tunnel in some respects. Though there are some more aggressive pieces here the overall feeling of ‘Endtime Signals‘ expresses the root of nihil and depressive notions before detangling it into a series of miscommunications and unfortunate morbid realities. Some heavier focus on guitar work is naturally superseded by songs which attempt connective personal narrative, the long-developed lyrical voice of the artist parsing difficulties rather than wallowing in them. Its not exactly power metal attitude but also not meant to be a total downer either.

As far as I’ve gathered over the years the appeal of Dark Tranquillity‘s work for their most persistent fandom has long been held via appreciation for nuance rather than outright blazon, folks who read lyrics and give a simple enough sentimental melody a few days to fester, trusting their consistency. In this sense I’d given ‘Endtime Signals‘ some considerable time to ripen in mind rather than bounce off it quickly and though I didn’t ultimately find the fiery immediacy I tend to want in heavy music I do understand the signature of the group is both served well and distorted slightly herein, again you’ll have to have followed the band’s work for the last twenty years to understand why this album is a bit heavier than much of their post-2010 (and especially post-2016) songcraft even if it can seem a bit floaty and quaint in the moment. It would be difficult to argue that Reinholdz‘ hand doesn’t fit here, in fact his co-writing the record fits the general directive of the group perfectly despite the part of my brain that’d always prefer if more nostalgic, heavier sounds were stoked.

“Drowned Out Voices” does a fine enough job of representing a bit of everything that this album has to offer, stretching between some melodic death-type riffcraft and decent leads until landing upon clean vocal work which completes the thought via their ~alternative metal side. Only about forty percent of it is my kind of thing but I appreciate that they reach for all of those capabilities to suit the vision of any given song. “Enforced Perspective” and “Zero Sum” on the other hand are among the few songs on this over-stuffed album where I more-or-less get everything I’d want from a Dark Tranquillity record in 2024: Electronic/keyboard work sets off the melodic idea of most songs, strong lead guitars secure the statement amidst some manner of heavier, jogging attack. Otherwise the full listen was a bumpy road for my own taste, not having invested much time in their discography beyond 2007, suggesting where you’ve fallen in with the band over the years might determine how much this one lines up with your own taste, naturally. For a general audience I’d give this one a moderate recommendation overall, though it wasn’t for me it carries obvious broad appeal for folks seeking melodic metal.

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