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• Representative Albums: "The Gallery," "Skydancer/Of Chaos and Eternal Night," "Haven"
• Representative Songs: "ThereIn," "Punish My Heaven," "Insanity's Crescendo"
Biography
Towards the end of the '90s, Scandinavian death metal -- or at least one branch of it -- began to evolve into a more accessible amalgamation of death-metal intensity, a bit of progressive-metal experimentation, and more traditional late-'70s/early-'80s British metal, with its catchy, groove-oriented riffs and twin-guitar lead lines. Although the style was hardly confined to one place, there was an especially fertile scene centered in the Swedish city of Gothenburg, and Dark Tranquillity was one of its most prominent practitioners. Formed in 1989, Dark Tranquillity honed their chops for a few years, and debuted on records in 1993 with the album Skydancer; their lineup consisted of vocalist Anders Freiden, guitarists Niklas Sundin and Mikael Stanne, bassist Martin Hendriksson, and drummer Anders Jivarp. The band shuffled its membership for the 1995 follow-up EP Of Chaos and Eternal Night; upon Freiden's departure, Stanne took over lead vocals, and was replaced on guitar by Fredrik Johansson. This lineup remained intact for the full-length The Gallery, issued later that year, which helped begin to build an international fan base. Follow-ups Enter Suicidal Angels (an EP) and the full-length The Mind's I appeared in 1997, marking a tightening of the group's sound into a more compact attack; in 1999, Dark Tranquillity departed the Osmose label in favor of a deal with Century Media, which was consummated with the release of the more gothic-flavored Projector later that year. Electronics manipulator Martin Brandstrom subsequently joined the group as an official member, and guitarist Johansson departed; bassist Hendriksson took over for him on guitar, and his spot was in turn filled by Michael Niklasson. Haven was released in mid-2000, continuing the less traditional approach of its predecessor.
History:
Dark Tranquillity is a melodic death metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden. They are one of the longest-standing bands from the original Gothenburg metal scene and one of the pioneers of the melodic death metal genre, along with In Flames and At the Gates.
Skydancer (1989-1994)
Dark Tranquillity was formed in 1989 by Mikael Stanne & Niklas Sundin who looked at their influences then decided to form their own Band, under the name Septic Broiler as a thrash metal band. Another reason for their formation was that they were bored so they decided to obtain the other three members Anders Fridén, Anders Jivarp & Martin Henriksson in which they all lived on the same street. Since its formation the band has had a fairly stable line-up. In 1990, the band recorded a demo cassette tape entitled Enfeebled Earth before they would change their name to Dark Tranquillity and change their musical style. It was followed by two more demos: Trail of Life Decayed (1991) and A Moonclad Reflection (1992) -- both of which were later remastered and re-released on Exposures - In Retrospect and Denial in 2004. In 1993, Skydancer was released, and Anders Fridén, Dark Tranquillity's original lead vocalist, left the band and later joined In Flames. Mikael Stanne, who formerly played rhythm guitar and provided backing vocals, then became the lead vocalist, and Fredrik Johansson was recruited to take over rhythm guitar duties.
The Gallery (1995-1996)
In 1995, Dark Tranquillity released The Gallery, considered a landmark in melodic death metal, which saw the band tightening their production details to a great extent, and showed that the new line-up was an essential change that furthered the band as a whole.
The Mind's I (1997-1998)
In 1997, The Mind's I was released, which saw a slight change in sound. Before the release of the band's 1999 album, Projector, Fredrik Johansson was asked to leave Dark Tranquillity due to his lack of devotion to the band. Martin Henriksson then switched from playing bass to guitar to replace Johansson, and the band added Mikael Niklasson on bass and Martin Brändström on keyboards and electronics. At this point the band also signed to Century Media Records. Until 2008, the band had remained stable in its line-up and its musical style; blending layers of rapid guitar lines with harmony-rich electronic keyboard washes and extremely precise rhythms underneath Stanne's abstract growled lyrics.
Projector (1999)
In 1999, Projector (later nominated for a Swedish Grammy Award) became the fourth output from the band, and saw a change in songwriting. While retaining growled vocals and their signature death metal sound, pianos, baritone soft vocals, and verse-chorus fashion song structures were now integral parts of Dark Tranquillity's sound.
Haven (2000-2001)
Year 2000 saw the release of Haven which saw the addition of slight electric keyboard sounds, but also abandoned most all of the clean vocals in favor of a slightly heavier sound.
Damage Done (2002-2004)
Dark Tranquillity released Damage Done, and was intended to be a step in a heavier direction, adding thicker guitar distortion, deep atmospheric keyboards, and abandoning soft vocals altogether.
Character (2005-2006)
Character was the seventh release from Dark Tranquillity, released in 2005, and was held in much critical praise. It featured the first music video released by Dark Tranquillity to feature the band itself, with the single "Lost to Apathy."
Fiction (2007-2009)
In 2007, Fiction was released, which in turn, saw a return of Mikeal Stanne's clean vocals, and the first female guest vocalist since Projector. Dark Tranquillity have recently toured with The Haunted, Into Eternity, and Scar Symmetry for the North America Metal For The Masses Tour. They returned to the U.S. during the Spring of 2008 with Arch Enemy. They have also toured the UK in early 2008 along with Omnium Gatherum. They are preparing for a live DVD to be released sometime in 2009. On the band's official website they announced that bass guitarist Mikael Niklasson left the band in August 2008 due to personal reasons with no hard feelings between him and the band. On September 19, the band found a new bassist in Dimension Zero guitarist Daniel Antonsson, who also was a guitarist for Soilwork. May 25, 2009, saw reissues of Projector, Haven & Damage Done.
We Are The Void (2009-Present)
In October 2009, Dark Tranquillity finished work on their 9th studio album, 'We Are The Void', scheduled for release in February 2010.
Members
Throughout their 20 years active Dark Tranquillity have had only three line-up changes and 4 of the original members are still in the band today, although only Niklas Sundin and Anders Jivarp have maintained their original roles as lead guitarist and drummer respectively.
Current members
Mikael Stanne vocals
Niklas Sundin guitar
Martin Henriksson guitar
Daniel Antonsson bass guitar
Anders Jivarp drums
Martin Brändström electronics, piano
Former members
Anders Fridén Vocals
Fredrik Johansson Guitar
Mikael Niklasson Bass Guitar
Session members
Robin Engström – drums (tour 2001)
Discography
Skydancer
The Gallery
The Mind's I
Projector
Haven
Damage Done
Character
Fiction
We Are The Void
http://www.darktranquillity.com/ - Official page
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