By John Bedard
I know melodic death metal is a very well established genre and that I myself have reviewed a lot of it, but every time I put on a new melodic death metal album, especially from a band I have not listened too before, it just feels like this absolute breath of fresh air. No matter how many years pass, the genre as a whole still feels so unique and inspiring as the day I first was introduced to it. Needless to say, I like melodic death metal a lot. So, with all that being said, how do Dark Tranquillity stack up with ‘Moment’? Well, they definitely don’t disappoint.
The vocals stay pretty heavy most of the time taking on more of a growl than a scream they are driving with a lot of texture. Occasionally, the vocals will open up with a softly sung style as the music moves out of the way to let this tone shine through. It is not overused making these softer segments feel really rewarding and something that you look forward to before moving back to that wonderful driving vocal growl that dominates the rest of the album keeping everything well grounded. This makes for a great evolution within the tracks and keeps your attention.
The musical style is very much the same. It never gets too heavy like many in the genre can but instead stays closer to the melodic side. Keeping itself very grounded you have a little more subdued style that moves between heavier rhythm segments and the softer segments with the occasional cutting lead. At no point does it feel like anyone element or segment gets in the way of any other. Instead, the music will open up nicely at times to let the vocals shine through and at other times the vocals will be pulled back to let the music have its moment before marrying back together in harmony. This makes the whole experience evolve wonderfully and keeps tracked from ever feeling repetitive.
If you can’t tell by now I loved this album. There is so much depth and power within every track. Often taking on this somber beauty emotional feel there was not a time I found where my attention would wander. To me, the best description I can offer is that the album emotionally drew me in. It gave me a feeling of connection to music that few can. As if I was involved somehow rather than just listening. You owe it to yourself to at least experience this album. You won’t regret it.
- ‘Moment’ is released on 20 November. You can get your copy HERE.
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