Dark Tranquillity - Character REVIEW

Dark Tranquillity - Character: A-

After spinning Damage Done too many times to count, I was so ready for the new one from Dark Tranquillity -- of course after being disappointed by the SF release earlier, I was perhaps unjustifiably cautious, but yes I was cautious to build my expectations too high over this one

The disc just comes flying out at you with everything that a DT fan loves about them -- guitar melodies, symphonic styled dramatic arrangements, technical and controlled brutality, great riffing, in essence that Gothenburg sound goodness

The assault generally continues throughout the disc with really agressive tempos and riffs, with lots of melodic variety to keep the song from smashing down on the listener -- guitar melodies ala IM, thrash and black metal influences from the 80s, this band is one of those great bands that stands soundly on the foundation of metal

One of the cooler aspects is the continued experimentation with breakdowns and synth melodies, that actually add to the total epic sound that is DT rather than take away from the tone of the songs -- another cool aspect is that DT actually seems to know musical theory and arrangement in a way that really makes its music technically sound and sound great

Their albums sometimes have this concepty symphonic quality where some tracks use passages from other tracks and add to the overall intangible emotional quality -- it's just neat to see bands employing these techniques

This album is about knowing the core elements of your sound -- and expanding on some themes and elements -- not really meandering and experimental, not light or sold out by any means -- DT continues to lead the melodic thrash/death metal scene