DARK TRANQUILLITY - Construct

It’s a good thing we still have constructors.

On this scene suffocated by clichés and recipes for success turned sterile, trying to conceal their limitations with disgraceful unearthing of glories past, Dark Tranquillity continue their construction, apparently undisturbed. I keep waiting for them for the last few albums to have a misstep, which I find inevitable, because they’re only human. Swedish, but still human. I’ve had my suspicions - so they aren’t entirely tranquil - but no proof: they have made a few concessions to the trends in a few points, but not in the essentials; they have kept their integrity and, fortunately, their creativity. Construct confirms this.

On Construct, Dark Tranquillity recycles some parts from their own discography (Projector and We Are the Void, mainly) and some of other people’s discographies (Katatonia, Samael, Kreator, Paradise Lost, etc.), without taking a decisive step in any direction. The result is something that sounds vaguely familiar but still new. Something that is at least interesting on a first hearing.

You could say many things about Construct: that it is too melodic, too cheesy, too "gay", that it copies Katatonia and Kreator, that ... I don’t know what else you might say, but you certainly could. These things are arguable: I for one love the fact that it’s melancholic and electro-gothic and like how it builds on external influences. In fact I find that it does so with ingenuity, energy and emotion. But there’s one thing you can’t say, and that is that Dark Tranquillity are stuck. Or that they have sold their soul to the record companies. Dark Tranquillity have remained among the few constructors in the metal scene. Among those that not only keep the banner high, but try to raise it higher. It is true, they don’t take too many chances, but they don’t make big compromises either. They stick to their things, as they know best. This year, on Construct, they knew very well. Except the last song, which I found unbecoming, so I shaved off half a point from the score. Even so, such a construct is rarely heard.

Klawz Nota: 9.5