Three years after diverting their path into melancholic territories on the underrated We Are The Void, the Gothenburg pioneers return to more familiar terrain for album number 10. And in part, it’s highly successful.
There are moments – both fleeting flashes and entire songs – of their brilliant best, reminding you why a musical generation owes so much to them, In Flames and At The Gates. The central riff of The Silence In Between is rousingly dark, the purposeful melody of The Science Of Noise and the aggressive, minor-key thrash of Apathetic are all excellent slabs of melodeath, and at these moments, Construct is a genuine winner.
It is, however, a rather inconsistent beast, and partially this is down to the slower, more moody numbers that crop up frequently. There are some pretty melodies – Uniformity in particular – but they sap momentum and sound a little limp next to the more strident numbers surrounding them.
That said, the highlights are considerable enough to make you whip your hair around while humming the melodies. When they hit their stride, Dark Tranquillity can still shit all over most of the bands who rip them off, and there are enough of those moments on Construct.
