Music review: Dark Tranquility - Skydancer (1993)

Yes, even a hipster like me can appreciate some Gothenburg melodeath, but only the very beginnings that still showed that youthful "first album energy/audacity" often bordering on progressive. This select club contains at least At the Gates' The Red in the Sky is Ours (deserves a review by itself) and In Flames' Lunar Strain/Subterranean.

I'll try to be brief: I think Dark Tranquility hit something quite magical with this first LP that (like At the Gates) they never managed to recapture afterwards. The good points are numerous and complementary:

• The extremely clear production, like those dry cold, sunny winter days.
• A raucous, raspy voice like few others; the contrast with the "pretty" music can be goosebumps-inducing at times.
• A start-and-stop, chaotic style that clearly reminds of ATG.
• Twin guitar leads that sometimes sound like they were given to us mortals by the heavens.

The whole package (incl. the title and cover art) has a certain mystical, awe-inspiring je ne sais quoi similar to that something even a grown man can feel when looking at a starry sky. Let me put the "celestial" adjective on it and state that the only other time I caught a glimpse of it was in Blut aus Nord's Memoria Vetusta II: Dialogue With the Stars.

Now for the criticism: tracks 4, 5 and 8 are definitely weaker than the rest, with too much blastiness simply not playing their strengths well; and three tracks is a lot, here. I must also say that 45 minutes of such a sharp production can be quite draining, but that's not something you can "fix" without also losing the magic.