Dark Tranquillity - Fiction

[Liu]

Dark Tranquillity - Fiction
Century Media

The undisputed kings of melodic death metal have returned once again with their eighth album. Moving onwards with the momentum of their last two albums, Fiction shows that the band still possesses their superb songwriting skill without sacrificing any of that trademark edge.

In truth Fiction isn't that different from the last album Character, which is perfectly all right since its one of the strongest in their entire catalouge. Basically cut from the same cloth, the songs in Fiction feature crunchy riffs coupled with melodic guitars and an appropriate use of spacey atmospheric keyboards. Blast beats are given room in mix but thankfully are used liberally as not to overwhelm the listener into senseless apathy.

The album takes a while to really get full steam, but once it gets going it just refuses to stop. Openers Nothing To No One and The Lesser Faith get things going to a good start, but the album doesn't hit its stride until the third song Terminus. It melds, almost effortlessly, brilliant keyboards with an aggressive body of riffs, bringing to mind the band's earlier works in The Gallery and The Mind's I. Blind At Heart is the real album highlight, getting my nod for the best song. This one is a hard hitting punch to the stomach, especially the very impressive guitarwork that accompanies the chorus. Blind At Heart is yet another example on how to make a really memorable song without having to resort to using the mainstream's tired mold. Inside The Particle Storm will no doubt go down as one of the band's most unique songs, heading into an epic territory that the band has never really attempted before. Empty Me is another furious trailblazer that re-visits the band's earlier releases.

Fiction marks the return of Stanne's clean vocals. I've stated that I'm not a fan of his clean voice on their past albums, though this time around the songs have been crafted well enough for it not to get in the way. Two songs get the treatment here - Misery's Crown and The Mundane And The Magic. The former has one of the catchiest melodies on the album while the latter has a duet with female vocalist Nell. I'll be honest, I have no idea who she is, but she sounds good, so thumbs up from me. The good thing about these two songs is that Stanne's regular death growl is still present, balancing everything out.

Rather than rest on their laurels, Dark Tranquillity continues to demonstrate that they are the true leaders of the genre. Fiction is another stellar release that deserves a spot in every melodic death fan's collection.


01. Nothing To No One
02. The Lesser Faith
03. Terminus (Where Death Is Most Alive)
04. Blind At Heart
05. Icipher
06. Inside The Particle Storm
07. Empty Me
08. Misery's Crown
09. Focus Shift
10. The Mundane And The Magic

Score: 8/10