The Gallery

by

Dark Tranquillity

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Much like the title implies, Dark Tranquillity's sophomore effort is much like a gallery: it is a collection of various forms of art. The entire album - songs, instrumental performances, vocal performances, and the overall vibe - follows atypical stylings. Scandinavian folk is one of the more obvious influences upon this album. Songs are built in movements as opposed to more typical structures, adding a sort of classical feel to the music. _The Gallery_ has all of these qualities, and still manages to incorporate enough aggression and energy to be considered a heavy metal album.

The lineup here is composed of five musicians who are all highly talented at what they do. Fredrick Johansson and Niklas Sundin play nearlly all of the guitars on this album, save for most of the acoustic/clean electric parts, which are played by bassist Martin Henriksson. This is interesting, because later in Dark Tranquillity's career, Henriksson would replace Johansson on guitars. While the guitars are, of course, very prominent (Dark Tranquillity are a kind of metal band, after all), the drums and bass refuse to be lost in the mix. Henriksson plays crafty, often complex melodies which rather frequently push through even the heaviest guitar riffs. And drummer Anders Jivarp is both thunderous and intricate, managing to finely complement the band's heavier moments without creating over-emphasized bouts of double-bass/snare flurries which many a metal drummer will often overdo.

There are also several moments of guest work on this album. One of these is from the producer, the ever-hard-working Fredrick Nordström, who adds keyboards and piano to several songs. Frasse Franzén plays the timpani on "Mine is the Grandeur..." And of course, special guest Eva-Marie Larsson performs all female vocals on this album. For their first four albums (_Skydancer_, _The Gallery_, _The Mind's I_, and _Projector_), the band has had four respective guest female vocalists, each with their own highly unique styles. Eva-Marie performs the most out of all of these, adding her powerful voice to "Lethe," "...Of Melancholy Burning," and of course, the title track (where she makes an poignantly emotional and poignant performance).

_The Gallery_ is the first album to feature Mikael Stanne on lead vocals (he used to be a guitarist, before their former lead singer, Anders Fridén, left the band to front fellow Gothenburg band In Flames), _The Gallery_ sports highly elaborate lyrics. Gothic and cosmic imagery dominate Mikael's words, with a sense of dismal despair and tragedy throughout. It is with Mikael Stanne's voice that his lyrics truly come alive, and it becomes evident that the lyrics/vocals to this band are a far cry from those of the typical metal band. Mikael has an impressive range in his pseudo-death metal voice, ranging from snarls of fury to howls of pure despair; he is definitely one of the most emotional vocalists in a band of this nature. There is also a brief moment of his clean voice, performed as the climax of opener "Punish My Heaven," where he belts out the last two words of a nerve-shattering howl: "...it's the choice between heaven...AND HELL!"

The guitars are heavy, of course, but with a sort of dazzling, animated animosity which is atypical to many a metal band. For instance, after the intro melody to "The Dividing Line," there are several jagged guitar riffs which create an unmistakable metal vibe. However, even this song succumbs to Dark Tranquillity's brilliance, especially in the bridge, where the guitars howl a beautiful harmony. This band has mastered the art of being heavy for art's sake, so to speak.

And not all of the guitars are heavy, either - just listen to the intro to the title track, with the acoustic strums and clean electric leads. "Mine is the Grandeur...," prelude to album closer "...Of Melancholy Burning," sports three acoustic guitar tracks, all perfectly harmonizing their melodies in a Latin-stylized theme, accompanied by the thundering of timpani beats. This latter track is built upon a series of melodic leads, with a sweeping, yet delicate, theme which evokes a brooding feeling of tragedy, especially with Eva-Marie Larsson's uplifting vocal delivery creating an epic-feeling climax. There is also a brief acoustic guitar finale, both complimenting the song as well as its prelude.

On "Edenspring," the music starts as a relaxed bass melody (played over a scintillating cymbal rhythm) into a series of loud, fast-paced tremolo riffs, with a terrific, desperate howl from Mikael. During the bridge, the heaviness fades and a brief but effectively somber piano solo appears. Then a twin-guitar harmony spills in, weaving a delicate lead before the two instruments split back into the main melody.

"Lethe" starts with a five-string bass chord progression, played in a low-key fashion which carries a sort of dark, yet lyrical, vibe. Then heavy guitars roar in (harmonizing well with the bass melody, as opposed to completely obscuring it), and the song builds in structure from there.

To listen to the album is to behold Dark Tranquillity's true power. True as the title implies, this is Dark Tranquillity's _Gallery_ of darkly beautiful music at its best. _The Gallery_ is, without a doubt, a masterpiece.