Character

Character is an album on which DARK TRANQUILLITY layered low-chugging guitars, mechanical rhythm and cold keyboards to build a space more sharply taut than ever. Pushing the sound established on Damage Done in a more aggressive, direct direction, it heightens the drive and density further. Speed and aggression stand out across the whole album, making it one of the most straight-ahead and ferocious in the band’s catalog. Mikael Stanne’s voice keeps the outline of words even within the ferocity, giving strong humanity to the inorganic sonic image. On “The New Build,” “Lost to Apathy,” “The Endless Feed” and “Mind Matters,” urgent riffs and melodic hooks act as one, and the craft of a structure that never sinks into darkness alone stands out. On “Out of Nothing,” “One Thought,” “Dry Run” and “Senses Tied” too, mechanical repetition and melodic tension mesh at high density, generating a breathless drive. Pushing aggression to the front while further refining a Gothenburg sensibility, it is a full melodic-death record that stays hard-edged without losing emotional heat.