Dark Tranquillity

At the Plates – Omnivore Review

At the Plates – Omnivore Review

“2024 is off to an interesting start for Steel! I grabbed the promo for Virginia’s At the Plates because it promised adventurous death metal, and I mistakenly assumed the album had something to do with lifting and gyming due to the moniker. I was wrong. At the Plates is a novel little act pushing a healthy eating theme and advocating for smart food choices.” Food for thought.

Æolian – Echoes of the Future Review

Æolian – Echoes of the Future Review

“It’s difficult to fully articulate why I feel so strongly about Spain’s melodic death metallers Æolian. I stumbled upon their debut album Silent Witness shortly after its release in 2018, and while I saw lots of potential in their aggressive take on melodeath, Silent Witness ultimately left me unimpressed to the point that I ended up passing over their 2020 release The Negationist. So when Æolian’s name appeared within the promo sump, why did I feel such hope that this time, this time Æolian would nail it?” Hope and reality.

Sigir – Rainmaker Review

Sigir – Rainmaker Review

“Us metalheads have an above-average reverence for classic bands, I feel, but the genre is doomed to die without ample young blood. Finland, officially the most metal country in the world, is fertile ground for such saplings to sprout, and Sigir is among its freshest crop. After a previous project named Ritual of Terror never made it off the runway, three of its members found a new guitar player and plowed on. Rainmaker is their debut, the first full-length any of the foursome ever released, promising a fresh take on black-infused melodic death metal. A bold claim from a troupe of greenhorns; can they live up to it?” Making it rain (blood).

Grand Cadaver – Deities of Deathlike Sleep Review

Grand Cadaver – Deities of Deathlike Sleep Review

“2021 saw the birth of Stockholm HM-2 worshipping Swedeath act Grand Cadaver, composed of veterans of notable groups like Katatonia, Tiamat and Dark Tranquillity. Their Into the Maw of Death debut was a loving tribute to the early days of Entombed and Dismember and had more buzzing than a landfill in an Arizona summer. It brought nothing new to the well-trod d-beat death community beyond star power, but it was competent and aggressive enough to make for an entertaining spin, and the presence of Dark Tranquillity’s Mikael Stanne on vocals was reason enough to check it out. Now this group of super troopers are back with second release, Deities of Deathlike Sleep and the formula remains the same.” Corpus delicti.

The Halo Effect – Days of the Lost Review

The Halo Effect – Days of the Lost Review

“Longtime readers of the AMG Diaries will know my opinions regarding so-called “supergroups.” All too often these star-studded vanity vehicles promise much and deliver little, generally falling way short of anything truly super. With this jaded but entirely realistic worldview, I approached the debut from The Halo Effect, the project composed of Dark Tranquillity’s Mikael Stanne and four former members of In Flames. That lineup makes The Halo Effect a supergroup for Swedish melodeth purposes if nothing else, and on Days of the Lost, they largely stick to what they know best, dropping an album’s worth of material that sits roughly halfway between the members’ main acts.” Heroes and halos.

Darkane – Inhuman Spirits Review

Darkane – Inhuman Spirits Review

“I like Darkane. The veteran Swedish outfit has always struck a particular chord with me, especially on their more consistently ripping offerings, such as underrated debut Rusted Angel, and gems like 2002’s Expanding Senses, and 2005’s Layers of Lies. Despite falling into the shadows of their more recognized contemporaries, Darkane’s gnarly, melodic and hooky blend of thrash and melodeath, amply bolstered by chunky modern metal grooves and symphonic touches, offers a damn good time when the band is in the zone.” Rusted angels of darkness.

Burned in Effigy – Rex Mortem Review

Burned in Effigy – Rex Mortem Review

“Melodic death metal is a strange beast for me. It’s one of those genres that almost always sounds good on first listen, but once the novelty wears off, I rarely find myself enamored enough to hang around. I recently joked that Amon Amarth is the only melodeath band I actually like, and while that may not actually be true, the sentiment illustrates what I need in order to like an album of this particular genre. No thanks to sad-boi, contemplative versions of the style; I need riffs and aggression in my melodeath platters.” Burning in elegance.

Unanimated – Victory in Blood Review

Unanimated – Victory in Blood Review

Unanimated is a historical oddity of sorts. Emerging from the Swedish death metal scene in the late 80s, they were one of the first bands to play what we now think of melodeath. Their 1993 In the Forest of the Dreaming Dead debut hit the same year as Dark Tranquillity’s debut and At the Gates sophomore platter, but Unanimated’s music was darker and creepier with a strong black metal element winding through its twisted core. Though the debut has gone on to become a minor cult classic, the band was quickly left behind as their contemporaries garnered all the fame and attention. There was a gap of some 14 years between their second and third release, and now after 12 years, we get their fourth outing, Victory in Blood.” Transcending obscurity.

Grand Cadaver – Into the Maw of Death Review

Grand Cadaver – Into the Maw of Death Review

“Sometimes I forget why I seized a particular promo, as weeks and even months can pass between wading into the primordial muck to retrieve it and finally sitting down to marinate in the righteously poached product. When it came time to get cuddely with Grand Cadaver’s debut full-length, I had no real sense of why I took it beyond the cool name and the vague “death metal” tag emblazoned on its filthy outer shell. As the music washed over me I was greeted with the oh-so-familiar buzzing of classic Swedeath, but as the vocals assailed my ear sockets, I felt an immediate pang of recognition.” Old corpse, new maggots.