Gothenburg melo-death heroes Dark Tranquillity have just announced their new album, the band’s 13th release in a history that dates back to 1991, the early days of the movement. This one is called ‘Endtime Signals’, and it follows the critically acclaimed ‘Moment’ from 2020. These guys were pioneers in creating what became melodic death metal, along with fellow Gothenburgers In Flames and At The Gates, with their 1993 debut ‘Skydancer’ breaking new boundaries with regards to speed, complexity, and brutal melody. Albums like 1995’s superb ‘The Gallery’ and 2002’s career defining ‘Damage Done’ put DT on the metal world map, and further releases such as 2005’s ‘Character’ and 2013’s ‘Construct’ have only deepened their groove in the history books.
‘Endtime Signals’ not only marks the 13th studio album of the band, but also their 10th album collaboration with their label Century Media Records. Building on the success of previous releases such as ‘Atoma’ (2016), which climbed up to #2 in the Swedish album charts, and the aforementioned ‘Moment’ (2020), which earned the band a Swedish Grammis award, the band is set to continue to redefine and deliver a top-tier musical experience with Endtime Signals.
The band shares about the album: “Welcome to the world of Dark Tranquillity once again. It’s been a while since “Moment” and we’ve gone through quite a lot in order to end up where we find ourselves today. But as we can reveal the first single from the upcoming “Endtime Signals” the feeling is that of pride, accomplishment and a fair bit of relief. “The Last Imagination” showcases one of many facets of what we feel is our most diverse album to date. Going back to what we fundamentally feel is the core of Dark Tranquillity, with a partly new line-up, has been a tremendous experience. It gave us the opportunity to re-evaluate and view what we have built from a new and exciting perspective. This resulted in a focused and intense writing period where we have discovered aspects of our music anew and taken certain elements of it further than before. Joakim Strandberg Nilson has delivered above and beyond in terms of drumming with Christian Jansson following through in fierce and precise fashion. This has driven the writing and recording process to feel challenging, different and inspiring in the best way possible.”
The band continues, “Thematically the album deals with where we are heading, what has truly and fundamentally changed in us and how we find ways to cope with it. It has been hard finding that spark of positivity lately and there is a sense of grief running through the course of the album. Not only in the sense of mourning what we have lost on a personal level but also where our sacrifices have taken us. “The Last Imagination” in particular takes this to its logical conclusion and talks of what we leave behind and how hard it is for us to grasp that our significance might not be what we imagined. The breadth of the album is something we have worked hard at and we believe that this first song gives an indication if not a full picture of what is in store. There is ferocious speed, grinding brutality and haunting melodies of devastating loss to come. This is us making good on our promise to ourselves and our continuing mission.”
The album release date, August 16, 2024, was strategically chosen. It is no coincidence that the album reveal collides with the infamous Summer Breeze Open Air in Dinkelsbühl, Germany and Dark Tranquillity‘s performance at the festival. As a special celebration for the reveal of their new album, the band will give a burning live performance, playing and partying into the release of ‘Endtime Signals’ live on stage.
‘Endtime Signals’ will be released August 16th via Century Media. Photo by Krichan Wihlborg.
Watch the visualizer video for their new single ‘The Last Imagination’ here: