I wait with bated breath every time Dark Tranquillity announce a new album in fear that it will be crap or even worse, boring. As an unabashed fangirl, I know I will love whatever they write, but I desperately want it to be spectacular too. It is 27 years since the band released their first album Skydancer, and 11 albums later they still sound authentic and exciting, albeit more mature. There has been another line-up change from the previous album, introducing guitarists Christopher Amott (Arch Enemy, Armageddon) and Johan Reinholdz (Andromeda, Nonexist). They replace founding member Niklas Sundin who is pursuing his artwork as Cabin Fever Media and is also behind Mitochondrial Sun. Sundin has been behind the striking visual identity of the band, designing logos, album art and the visual accompaniment to their live shows. His artwork for Moment is a striking painting, and I’m looking forward to seeing the whole of the lost unreal landscape in the gatefold.
The first track on the album, Phantom Days, would not be out of place on DT’s previous album Atoma. It feels familiar in a lot of ways and it makes sense that it was the first track to be released from the album.
From then on, Moment becomes its own unique beast. Initially I found Transient quite jarring and discordant, but it very quickly grew on me. Mikael Stanne’s lyrics revisit the divide between faith and science that he has written about many times before, but from a different perspective. Understanding that the little bubbles we surround ourselves in reinforce our perception of the world and how conformation bias perpetuates belief.
Empires Lost To Time is the standout track to me. It reminds me of Dobermann from the 1999 album Projector. It has an unrelenting energy and the heavy, blissful riffs that they are so skilled at. Eyes of the World also has the flavour of older DT from the same period.
As someone who lives in America, Failstate has particular significance. The call to “resist the failstate” feels like something I should have been screaming from the rooftops for the last four years – to the tune of the apocalypse.
Mikael Stanne’s beautiful clean vocals make themselves heard on half of the tracks. Occasionally it feels unnecessary but creates contrast and depth in the epic Remain in the Unknown, and will be echoing in your head after the album finishes from the haunting In Truth Divided.
The overall theme of Moment is of is of journeys and the seminal moments that define them. For me, the defining moments of my adult life all have an accompanying Dark Tranquillity song. They are a versatile band whose music speaks to both the most painful and the most joyous experiences. Against the background of the pandemic, a defining moment that we are all sharing, this album has a perfect place.
(8.5/10 Abe)
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