Every fifty-something I know is acting like they’re half their age. Going to more gigs than me, taking on night shift jobs to make extra cash, and riding from Melbourne to Adelaide like it ain’t no thing. Mikael Stanne has just moved the needle to that ripe old age and is rocking in no fewer than four internationally-touring bands: his OG Dark Tranquillity, the DT-In Flames hybrid The Halo Effect, Gothenburg old school death metallers Grand Cadaver, and Scandi-goth rockers Cemetery Skyline.
The man himself.
His daughter, Marillion (click here for some Marillion-ception), is all grown up and demands to be home are likely non-existent. Why not heap more of what you love on your plate? It makes sense. This Six Stacker has three new Stanne-led cuts on, so without further ado…
Dark Tranquillity - Endtime Signals
Century Media (2024)
I was fortunate enough to see Dark Tranquillity in concert this month and they absolutely blew me away, being my favourite band of all time. That’s despite Mikael (arguably) being the only original member left. If Soilwork can put out great stuff void of OGs, surely DT can too? Yes, in the same way The Simpsons latest seasons are good compared to their legendary Season 2-10 run in the 1990s.
The Simpsons, of late, have returned their character-driven humour and heart-centric story roots. That is, Homer isn’t just a mean-spirited idiot actively trying to ruin things, dubbed ‘Jerkass Homer’ in the fandom. Instead, he’s a well-meaning buffoon, and the primary victim of his own flaws. Lisa is a know-it all, but is still an eight-year-old. Bart is a prococious ten-year-old brat again; they’re not mere vessels for shoehorned in gags and tired lines hawked during the Zombie Simpsons era. It’s thoughtful, tightly-scripted, laugh-out-loud Simpsons. But nowhere near as good as the original.
In a way, that’s what Endtime Signals represents; just like Iron Maiden can’t make The Number of the Beast again, DT can’t make Projector or Damage Done again. It’s a great, guitar-oriented DT fusing old school death metal (c.f. the tremolos on Unforgivable) and new-style Gothenburg goth-melodic death, the kind DT invented in the first place (the weepy One of Us Is Gone, led by electronics.) Some new twists are introduced, such as the panned hard-to-the front drumming (a nugget in Neuronal Fire.)
As a die-hard DT fan and just like a die-hard Simpsons fan, I’m extolling the merits of this record as a return-to-form. If anyone actually listens is anyone’s guess.
Cemetery Skyline - Nordic Gothic
Century Media (2024)
As I said in my best of 2024 post:
In a way, it was inevitable. We should be grateful for its inevitability. Spearheaded by Mikael Stanne (Dark Tranquillity, Grand Cadaver, The Halo Effect) and featuring members of Insomnium, The Man-Eating Tree, Dimmu Borgir, and Amorphis both past and present, this is like the Nordic (and gothic) Power Station, featuring Robert Palmer plus Chic and Duran Duran members in. Ever since 1999’s Projector, Dark Tranquillity embraced goth wholesale via Martin Brandstrom’s Depeche Mode electronics. Freed from shackles of melodic death, Nordic Gothic is pure pale light reflected in nightime clouds electro-goth beating with a blue and yellow Scandinavian heart.
The Halo Effect - March of the Unheard
Nuclear Blast (2025)
When I was a kid, melodic death metal was cool and edgy; it’s borderline dad rock now. As I mentioned earlier, Mikael is an actual dad of an adult daughter, for fucks sake. March of the Unheard is further away in time to The Gallery than that was to The Number of the Beast. Cynical types could level this as Dads getting the band back together to relive the glory days. Because in a way, it is.
All band members were part of In Flames at one point and could lay claim as the One True In Flames™. Jesper Strömblad is one half of the In Flames sound and pushes it twice as far, fingers crawling up and down the guitar as his rhythm section pounds big fuck off chords out underneath (Conspire to Decieve). It’s In Flames, baby! Fuck me, Detonate is all sorts of headbanging Colony/Clayman action brought back to life (notably Coerced Coexistence.) It’s the In Flames album we wish we’d gotten instead of Reroute to Remain. (Except 60% of this band wrote Reroute to Remain.)
It’s difficult to lend itself a distinct identity, being steeped in In Flames marinade. Does it matter? Not really, no. As a melodeath album its a cut above what’s usually produced today, and an A-tier In Flames album that just happens to have Mikael singing. I ain’t complaining.
Ulcerate - Cutting the Throat of God
Debemur Morti Records (2024)
Dissonant death metal is a genre now. Isn’t all death metal dissonant? I guess. However there’s something otherworldly about NZ’s Ulcerate, as if it’s coming in from a dark dimension parallel to our own. That feeling of alienation is palpale on this disc, like the liminal space of Sanctae Noctis at Dark Mofo. It was a nondescript shipping hall, draped in black curtains with a lone stage at the far end. It evoked that feeling of Twin Peaks’ Black Lodge - real and unreal all at once. Building on textures not unlike Agalloch or Pallbearer but as heavy hitting as soul-tearing riffery from Serpent of Old or (their arguable rivals) Devenial Verdict. If this is the furthest frontier death metal can reach, I’m glad we got there. Choice, ey.
Undeath - More Insane
Prosthetic Records (2024)
Whipping one’s head back from dark and brooding to borderline mosh-inducing fun is NYC’s Undeath, resurrecting the old school back from the … undead. Dead From Beyond showcases all their influences up front: Morbid Angel’s undulating lead breaks, Cannibal Corpse’s meaty bass, and Malevolent Creation’s freewheeling double-ass kicking drumming. Though they verge on Atheist or Death-like tech levels, they keep everything pretty grounded, with CC-style big fuck off riffs dominating tracks like Disputatious Malignancy (fuck writing that out for a joke) or almost kinda sorta Gothenburg pre-melodeath style (Dismember, Entombed, et. al.) creepy beef ala Sutured for War. It’s a genuinely fun listen.
Royal Blood - Back to the Water Below
Warner Records (2023)
Running a band as a two-man operation (think Death From Above 1979 or DZ Deathrays) means near total rock ‘n’ roll freedom these days. Fewer egos to stroke, fewer royalties to divide, and only one manager to pay off. Back to the Water Below is fuck music like Jane’s Addiction is fuck music. It’s music you fuck to, because it itself fucks. A high kicking back beat atop Mountains at Midnight anchors a silky, devil-may-care sliding riff. It heats up like desert rock and adds in all the leather jacket-wearing sleaze rock ‘n’ roll should still be notorious for. These days it really ain’t, but these lads are doing their darnedest to bring it back (sorry, Danko Jones.) It’s right proper English when you hear slight piano returns to britpop (Pull Me Through) and funk-inspired bops like Triggers. Pop it on, grab your girl, and feel the Gs.
