Flung throughout the cosmos we pass out of this existence and fall into the crushing darkness and into...The Void!
We Are the Void is a remarked improvement on Fiction, an album I felt was more of a proving ground for what was to come. Spine-chilling in its execution, the openers possess a burning despondency as an undercurrent – riffs are mammoth and unrelenting. Tracks like The Fatalist recaptures their death metal meets Depeche Mode bleakness they once had undisputed dominion over in Damage Done but until now left by the wayside. Mikael Stanne’s clean vocals make a welcome return in the successor to Format C: For Cortex, The Grandest Accusation.
They drain us with the colorless and inhuman Arkhangelsk only to amp us up with I Am the Void, a jagged riff plunging like a snarling beast baulked of its prey, guitars wreaking havoc as they streak by.
There’s scorching headbangers on here, pensive moments and everything that makes melodic death metal great – as well as some new sinister tricks and turns. It’s definitely not metal by numbers and the leadwork sounds lush yet jarring but endlessly enthralling. Mr. Stanne’s lyrics are insightful and chilling as always, his use of the English language almost peerless in metal. The combination of modern crunch and their classicalist dalliances as heard in their earlier work is simply a delight to behold. Well done, Dark Tranquillity!
(Kudos to Niklas Sundin appearing twice in my end of years honors list...again.)