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Dark Tranquillity: Projector

03/05/07 || The Duff

The album “Projector”, although criticized for being too accessible by some, turned out to be a perfectly suitable change in direction for the band that revealed its members capable of writing songs overall more stripped down and focused, without losing much in terms of what they had previously built up on earlier albums. This is still undeniably Swedish metal; although not as harsh as “The Gallery” and “The Mind’s I” (I’ve yet to listen to “Skydancer”), the band had chosen to side with a more emotive style (meaning less than in the “traditional metal” way of things) of melodic music that compromised little from its core appeal.

What initially sparked so much controversy was Mikael Stanne’s clean vocals. To be honest, they sound absolutely stunning on “Projector”. They resonate with a deep and passionate tone, and although I have a problem with the slight “pinching” performed before and after certain lyrics, causing a minimal but noticeable high-pitched squeak (“Auctioned”, for example), as well as the occasionally adopted American accent (“Day to End” – possibly the worst cut off the album), I find their occupying half the album entirely justified. They add something genuinely brilliant to the final product by displaying a variety of emotion when contrasted against the regular death metal roars (of which Mikael Stanne is certainly one of the best performers).

Of course, the riffs have all been diminished too; much greater attention has been paid towards the keyboards and the effect they can have when given a predominant position in the final mix. The only track that reminds me of the ferocity derived from albums released prior to “Projector” is “On Your Time”, a ripping track that closes things in the best possible of ways by showing that Dark Tranquillity still have what it takes to those screaming “sellout cocksucking bastards!” both high and low. Other standouts include the opener, “Therein” (didn’t like this one at first due to its upbeat opening), “Undo Control” (for the tasteful vocal tradeoff between Stanne and Johanna Anderson), “Auctioned” (passion-filled vocal performance by Stanne), “The Sun Fired Blanks” (one of my all time favorite DT songs) and the at times almost joy saturated “Dobermann”.

As soon as a band decides to branch out from their roots, they’re more often than not immediately branded as sellouts. Personally, I think this inferior to “The Mind’s I”, yet I rate it as my second favourite Dark Tranquillity album next to “The Gallery” simply because it’s that much more different to the first handful of albums. These Swedes have proven time and time again just how capable they are as musicians by maturing and diversifying their sound without losing the knack for writing entirely satisfying material; “Projector” was the early trend-setter for this band’s continuously evolving consistency, so go out and buy the fucken thing if you’re into present-day DT.

8 sellout cocksucking bastards out of 10.

Information
Released: 1999
Label: Century Media
Website: www.darktranquillity.com
Band
Mikael Stanne: vocals
Niklas Sundin: guitars
Martin Henriksson: guitars
Michael Nicklasson: bass
Anders Jivarp: drums
Martin Brändstrom: synth

Tracklist
01. Freecard
02. Therein
03. Undo Control
04. Auctioned
05. To a Bitter Halt
06. The Sun Fired Blanks
07. Nether Novas
08. Day to End
09. Dobermann
10. On Your Time

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