"Thirteen albums in and still no duffer." Melodic death metal veterans Dark Tranquillity show they're still one of the genre's best on Endtime Signals

One of the pioneers of Gothenburg's legendary melodeath sound, Dark Tranquillity continue to provide remarkable consistency on their thirteenth album

Dark Tranquillity press shot 2024
(Image: © Krichan Wihlborg)

You can trust Louder Our experienced team has worked for some of the biggest brands in music. From testing headphones to reviewing albums, our experts aim to create reviews you can trust. Find out more about how we review.

In a career spanning more than three decades, Dark Tranquillity have never released a truly duff album. They’ve split opinion a couple of times – particularly with the early stylistic shift of 1999’s Projector – but even that has become an essential part of the band’s back catalogue. 

One of the originators of the Gothenburg sound that defined melodic death metal in the mid-90s, they’ve since embraced new textures and influences while still retaining their core identity. Endtime Signals maintains the musical continuity, despite more major line-up changes that leave frontman Mikael Stanne as the sole original member. 

Newcomers Joakim Strandberg Nilsson (drums) and Christian Jansson (bass) are fully on point, though. The fresh blood may even have invigorated the band, with a few tracks thrashing out in a way they haven’t really done since their second peak in the mid-2000s circa Damage Done

Unforgivable was the pre-release single that got fans salivating, but Enforced Perspective and A Bleaker Sun also feature whiplash segments that you can already picture fuelling future festival pits across Europe and beyond. It isn’t all about the speed these days, however, and there are still plenty of the mid-paced and more tangential moments that have defined the band’s latter-day material. 

One Of Us Is Gone is a sombre, string-wrapped ballad dedicated to late former guitarist Fredrik Johansson. Not Nothing is a bleak slab of synth-led gothic metal that’s not too far from Mikael’s side-project, Cemetery Skyline, while Our Disconnect places driving drum fills and growled vocals against a more expansive movie score backdrop. 

It’s not a classic by Dark Tranquillity’s own high standards, with a few fillers letting the side down slightly, but Endtime Signals has enough standout moments to maintain their remarkable levels of consistency. Thirteen albums in and still no duffer.

Endtime Signals is out August 16 via Century Media. Dark Tranquillity play Islington's O2 Academy on November 5 with Moonspell and Hiraes.

DARK TRANQUILLITY – Not Nothing (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO) - YouTube DARK TRANQUILLITY – Not Nothing (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO) - YouTube
Watch On

Paul Travers has spent the best part of three decades writing about punk rock, heavy metal, and every associated sub-genre for the UK's biggest rock magazines, including Kerrang! and Metal Hammer