Dark Tranquility: Purveyors of modern death sound uncredited but unrepentant

The sound of modern metal is almost dominated by melodic guitars, powerful riffs and screamed melodies that have your fists up, pounding the air while mouthing along to the words that inspire you to heights of violent passion.

That is the image of metal today. Well, rather, metal a few years ago. Metal today has become a shadow, a limping figure in the dark, a false god.

Why?

The reason is quite simple really. Metal has become “cool”. Metal was never meant to be cool, Metal thrived on being the antithesis of cool. Metal was anti-establishment, anti-jock, anti-prep, sometimes even anti-drug or antiwar. Metal is statement music. Rebellious, raw, powerful.
It's hard to be rebellious when everyone likes you.

Back to the original point about melodic death, not to mention the fact that Dark Tranquility's name is in the title so you must be expecting something about them too.

The closest thing to real metal today, power metal aside, is melodic death metal. I specify melodic death because most death metal bands that haven't adhered to the melodic path are merely bad recreations of death metal glory long since past.

Of the three original “kings” of melodic death metal, At The Gates, In Flames and Dark Tranquility, only the latter truly holds to their roots in the melodic death metal genre, albeit with the addition of some terrible gothic undertone.

At the gates split up, probably for the better, considering the former member all went on to swell the ranks of other bands.

In Flames, well, they took the path of the popular. They became cool. Indeed, today if you mention death metal, never mind specifying Melodic death, In Flames will be the first band most people think of, whether they're fans of metal music or not.

This is not a good thing.

It's a sign that they gave up the ghost, they began producing shit! They're 2002 effort, reroute to remain, was the first sign that In Flames had begun they're downward tumble into pseudo-mainstream sound.

The problem with heavy metal bands taking the route of popularity is that its the first step towards obscurity. The metal sound doesn't translate well into radio friendly bullshit. Losing your integrity and then attempting to woo the masses, with whom you stand little to no chance, is never a good idea.

So, metal lost one of it's big names, one of its real heavy-hitters.

Funny though, Dark Tranquility, who also pioneered the melodic death metal sound, never gained massive respect in the metal community, despite far a superior sound to that of In Flames. Nevertheless, Dark Tranquility has never lost their popularity, they still go on, strong as ever, perhaps even stronger than ever.

Bands like Dark Tranquility are what metal has always been about. Never surrender.

Never surrender your ideals.

Never surrender your integrity.

Never surrender your sound.

Dark Tranquility have just released their latest studio album. Fiction.
Get it as soon as you can to see what real melodic death metal masters are all about.