There are precious few acts that have truly encompassed
the true definition of the Gothenburg melodic death metal sound like
Swedish act Dark Tranquillity. Over the last seventeen years, the sextet
(comprising of vocalist Mikael Stanne, guitarists Niklas Sundin and
Michael Henriksson, bassist Martin Niklasson, keyboardist Martin Brändstrom
and drummer Anders Jivarp) has continued to bewilder and amaze, with
2005's 'Character' (their seventh full-length release to date) only
reinforcing the band's revered stature within the melodic death metal
scene.
With their first tour of Australia due to start in as
little as two weeks, I caught up with a relaxed Mikael Stanne at home
in Sweden to find out just how excited he was about the prospect of
travelling halfway around the world to play to a whole new audience,
his reactions towards the overwhelming success of 'Character' and just
how the song writing sessions were coming along for their new album.
"We've actually been home for the summer, which means
we've been home for the last four months. In that time, we've been focussing
on writing the new album. So far it's been fantastic! It's just been
a lot of rehearsing and writing, and it's been really chilled out. We're
finishing it up right now. We have a few more days work left to do before
we leave on tour on Tuesday, but we figure everything will be finished
in the writing sense before this weekend. It's going to be cool. We
have twelve songs that are fantastic. We just have to put the finishing
touches on them, and then they'll be completely ready to head into the
studio, which we'll do when we get home from this three-week tour. We'll
spend about two months recording the album. I think it's going to be
an unbelievable album. It's definitely going to be very different from
what we've done before because it's all over the place. It has all the
aggression, intensity, passion and melancholy that we're known for.
The songs feature a whole range of emotions that I love writing for.
We loved creating these songs. We'll just have to see how it turns out
when we put it on tape and it finally gets produced onto a little plastic
disc."
Stanne's enthusiasm for Dark Tranquillity's new material
is certainly a good sign that the band are destined to release another
stunning masterpiece, especially given the expectations of fans following
the release of 'Character'.
"There's no pressure on us to produce something that
will be better than 'Character'. We try not to think about stuff like
that. We know what we like. When we are satisfied, we know it will be
a good album, at least to us. That's what really matters when it comes
down to it. 'Damage Done' (2002) was really successful for us in reaching
out to a bigger audience, particularly in the US. There was some kind
of pressure then to come up with something more commercial sounding
that would really open us up to a completely different crowd. Some people
were expecting something a little more accessible, but we weren't comfortable
with that at all. That would have meant the end of this band. That would
have finished our creativity and the fun would have been taken out of
our writing. So we decided to make a really difficult album. I think
'Character' was really kind of progressive in a way - almost technical
and not as straight forward as perhaps what most people wanted to hear.
I think 'Character' tended to take a few more listens to absorb. That
was one of the things that we really wanted to achieve. There are so
many albums that you listen to and think are amazing initially, only
to forget about them after the tenth listen. That's boring. The kind
of albums that I listen to, and go out of my way to buy are the ones
that will stay with me for a long time, and ones that I will keep listening
to for years and years. That's what really matters to me. Music should
be timeless, not just catered towards a certain audience for a certain
time. So it really was a conscious decision on our behalf to make 'Character'
an intricate album that needed time from the listener to appreciate.
Provided that they had that time and patience, they were rewarded I
think. When we finished recording the album, we really didn't think
the album was going to sell that well. We didn't know what people were
going to make of it. But the album turned out to be our biggest seller
yet! (Laughs) So what the hell do we know?"
In regards to direction of Dark Tranquillity's new album,
Stanne is quick to reassure concerned fans that it will still sound
like Dark Tranquillity of old, but with another step forward as well.
"No matter how hard we try to make something totally
different, it still all comes down to six guys in a room writing together.
So whatever comes out, it's still going to be Dark Tranquillity. We
don't know anything else! (Laughs) We try to extend and explore as much
as we can. We really tried to make different songs this time around
and not just an overall theme or feel to the album like we have done
in the past. We really aimed for very different sounding songs. This
album will be as different as 'Character' was to 'Damage Done' but I
guess there are also a lot of similarities as well. There are a lot
of songs that cover the same premise that was shown on 'Character'.
Overall, it's much more diverse. Some are really slow, while others
are really fast, while some are really emotional and the remainder are
really aggressive. We really pushed the individual songs as far as we
could. It was really interesting and challenging for us to work like
that. Usually we try to squeeze in a lot of things to each song to make
them interesting but this time we focussed on the feel of the song and
went from there. It's going to be really interesting to put it together,
not to mention the whole running order, which I'm sure is going to be
crazy! (Laughs) I think overall, this album is going to be a harder
album to really get into than 'Character' was."
Much like their recent efforts, Dark Tranquillity plan
to produce the album themselves, with Tue Madsen secured for mixing
duties.
"We will still be producing the album, but we have
Tue Madsen mixing the album, which we think is really cool. He will
be a part of the recording as well, or at least certain aspects of the
recording sessions. I'm not entirely sure just how involved he will
be, but he will certainly be mixing the entire album. We're going to
do most things ourselves. We have our own studio, where we'll be recording,
so hopefully it will be a really relaxed environment, and we can have
that creative vibe where we can just hang out and record just whatever
we feel like. We'll then have Madsen come in and put it all together
and give us a great sounding album."
As mentioned earlier, 'Character' has since gone on to
sell more than any other Dark Tranquillity release, with tours alongside
Opeth, The Devin Townsend Band and DevilDriver in the US over the last
twelve months the contributing factor.
"Those tours were fantastic. Touring with Opeth was
obviously a highlight because they're one of my favourite bands, and
they're really good friends of ours. It was really cool, because they
have a huge crowd, and everyone is really open minded about the music.
A lot of those people were willing to take in our kind of music. You
could clearly see every night those people who were opening up to our
music and eventually buy our album on the way out. You could literally
see how the audience was growing with every show in the US. That was
fantastic. We also did our own headlining shows in and around those
tours as well, and it was on those tours that you really got to see
the passion of the crowds. That's what it's all about in the US. Touring,
touring and more touring. It's about being there for people. We could
clearly see that. When we got home from the US, we would get the statements
from our label (Century Media Records) telling us that we had sold a
few more thousand copies of the albums. So it was really great to see
that first hand and help make that happen."
With all the positives surrounding Dark Tranquillity's
rise in prominence over the last couple of years, I was curious to find
out if there was anything that Stanne could point out as a negative.
"No. It's pure perfection all the time! (Laughs)
No seriously, we kind of put ourselves down all the time. We are pretty
self-deprecating when it comes to our music and our whole career. We
feel that whatever we do is good for us, but we always question who
else out there is going to enjoy it. And with that kind of attitude,
every positive thing that comes along is fantastic. We can travel the
world and play shows with our music. We never take that for granted.
We don't have high expectations about anything. We make the most out
of what we have, including putting on the best shows and making the
best albums that we can. The rest tends to sort itself out. Whatever
happens is a positive thing. It's just a bonus to us. We write songs,
and that's what it's all about. Touring and all the rest is just a great
bonus."
One of the bigger positives for the band in recent times
is the announcement of their first tour of Australia, which is due to
start this month.
"We've only done like two shows in the last four
months! So we can't wait for this tour. And the fact that it's a tour
of Australia is amazing. It's about time right? (Laughs) We have been
offered to come down there many times in the past, and it's something
that has almost happened a couple of times too. But for some reason,
all the plans fell through. It's usually because of money, logistics
or plain timing. Something has always prevented us from coming down.
It's been on the top of our 'To Do' list for years and years now. We've
really tried hard to make it happen but now it's finally happening.
I still find it hard to believe. It will only be when I'm on the plane
that I will finally believe it. Up until that point, it's still just
a dream. I mean, Australia is literally on the other side of the world
for us so it's really weird for us. Going to another country is always
special and interesting. Friends have told us so often just how wonderful
their time in Australia was, so we can't wait. None of us have ever
been to Australia so it will be something new for all of us. I can't
wait. I'm hoping to go out to the coast and do some fishing, or even
just go swimming. Hopefully we'll get to see some of the country, but
we probably won't have that much time to see things or hang out. Even
if that is the case, it's enough to be going there to get me excited."
As for what fans can expect from a Dark Tranquillity show,
Stanne ensures that the experience will be like no other, if just from
his own perspective.
"People can expect us to do a lot of different songs
from all our different albums. It's going to be a really intense and
passionate show. We're just going to put everything on the line. There's
going to be a lot of sweat, tears and blood. It's going to be a long
show, and a lot of fun. To me, one of the greatest things in the world
is to play to a completely new audience. I love playing to people who
have yet to see us perform before. I love seeing that look of anticipation,
and hoping that I can live up to that. I love that challenge. It's one
of the best feelings ever. I revel in the challenge of converting Dark
Tranquillity virgins to our cause! (Laughs) It's kind of rare that we
get the opportunity to do that. We've been all over the place and most
of the places that we've played a second time around features a few
people that have seen us before. Australia is totally fresh and this
tour is definitely going to be the highlight of the year for us. I can't
wait."
I would like to thank Mikael Stanne for his generous
time, and Andrew Haug at Century Media Records for making the interview
possible.
For more information on Dark Tranquillity, check out -
http://www.darktranquillity.com
© Justin Donnelly - justindonnelly@ozemail.com.au
