Review by Chris Pratl on March 23, 2017.

Perplexion. Total perplexion.

My first exposure to Dark Tranquility was way back in 1996 with the Enter Suicidal Angels EP and I thought it was brilliant, thereby leading me to The Gallery, The Mind’s I, and Skydancer, all of which I found equally good. When I hear the term “melodic death metal” I think of some emo kids in the mall playing two chords and screeching into microphones at ear-splitting volume. It’s sad but true. DT had once owned that particular subgenre and kept it somewhat pure and unsullied, but I’m still not sure what to make of We Are the Void to be perfectly honest. It’s a good album to listen to, but I would think that aside from the vocal delivery the “melodic death” tag no longer applies here. My only fair comparison is Metallica’s Load: it’s a fine album in and of itself, but not a Metallica record, plain and simple. I think the same goes for We Are the Void. I’m sorry to say this is as close to mallcore music as one can get without flopping one’s hair into only one eye.

On the surface it appears that DT has progressed, yes, but there’s progression and then there’s the foregoing of your own self, which has happened here. As I say, the album sounds pretty good for some “groove metal” that is somewhat enjoyable and well-crafted within its parameters, but as far as a Dark Tranquility CD it’s short of that former acceleration and flexibility that made them so good once upon a time.

The songs are well-structured, nicely played, and abound with somewhat memorable, albeit transparent melodies. Still, it’s very difficult to render this album high praise simply because the transition from one sound to another is almost too drastic. If not for the vocals a couple of the tracks actually sound radio-friendly, even power metal with heavy keyboards and melodies more akin to Nightwish or Rhapsody than the band that once issued “Zodijackyl Light.” I must admit the keys on this album utterly killed me! They are far too prevalent and I keep imagining power metal bands all over the place, a very unpleasant occurrence for me.

I hasten to use the term pedestrian as I seem to use the word a bit when describing something not up to par with a band’s ability or past achievements, but this release is so commercially-geared it’s almost saddening. The track “Her Silent Language” sounds like a bad Bauhaus-meets-extreme-vocals hybrid to be taken seriously. In my opinion it reeks of a go-with-the-flow mentality, one that should never have been realized considering the band’s past successes. The closest track to the old feel is “I Am the Void,” which manages to blast the ears like a sledgehammer, but right as you’re getting into the feel of Dark Tranquility the way they deserve to be heralded the keyboards come in and dismantle the aggressive emotional knot just as quickly.

While musically brilliant in its own way, We Are the Void spans too far an emptiness to be called a simple void. The leap here is more like an infinity journey that doesn’t fare well for the long haul. 

Rating: 4 out of 10

(Originally written for http://www.metalpsalter.com)

Review by Felix on December 26, 2022.

Whenever I hear the first tones of “A.I.R.”, they catapult me back into the mid-eighties. My metal buddy and me were guests of an English family and “Spreading the Disease” was more or less brand new. Metal buddy had it put on tape and so we were able to listen to it. Analogue times! Moreover, thrash metal heyday, what a great combination.

Did I say thrash metal? Well, is there really a connection between songs like “Lone Justice” or (parts of) “Armed and Dangerous” and the aforementioned genre? “Spreading the Disease” is a border crosser. The almost somersaulting “Gung-Ho” blows the silk pillows out of every poser flat-sharing community. Neckbreaker like “Aftershock” and “S.S.C. / Stand or Fall” point into the same direction. Nevertheless, one cannot fully compare this work with “real” thrash classics that mostly have the word “blood” in their title. But that’s no problem. “Spreading the Disease” plays in its own league and has reached the classic status as well. That’s no matter of course from my point of view, because I never was an Anthrax fan. I don’t like a lot of their outputs, but this one – as well as two or three further full-lengths – is truly great.

Anthrax show a lot of different facets on this album. “Lone Justice” remains the only mediocre offering. It is not a stink bomb, but it doesn’t come to the point. So what; its ambivalent impression is wiped away by the liveliness of tracks like “Aftershock”, The insanely rasping guitars, the up-tempo beat and the “Shock! Shock! Shock!” or “Hey! Hey! Hey!” back vocals do not fail to achieve their effect. Even Joey Belladonna, the singer who definitely never slept in a thrash metal cradle, pulls all the stops. Usually following a very melodic approach, he goes more or less crazy in view of the intensive guitars and the irresistible drive of the composition. A great opener of the B side – and a worthy neighbour of the A side’s closer. “The Enemy” with its simple yet captivating drum intro and its combination of a dense heaviness and a tragic undertone does not leave me cold. The lyrics about the Holocaust are done without cheap gimmickry (“He is the solitary man, whose prejudice is spread like a plague across the land”) and fit perfectly to music. Moreover, the song reveals an unexpected dynamic in the end and thus, it has become my hidden champion of the album.

No doubt, “Spreading the Disease” has its own character, inter alia due to the slightly weird yet mega-catchy “Madhouse”. Okay, one can compare the thrashing eruptions with the early songs of Metallica, Exodus or other pioneers, but it is not easy to find an album with a similar overall picture. I mean I liked the album right from the beginning, although it did not follow the pure thrash dogma and believer me, I was narrow-minded. By the way, I still am. But I don’t want to write about me, but the album. Less furious tracks like the riff-driven “Medusa” or the muscular opener make even today some youngsters look old. And no matter which track you like or hate, one thing is for sure: all songs shine with their coherent configuration. And there is another very positive detail: the solos make sense. They are not just there or annoying, no, they enrich the songs with somehow intelligent tone sequences.

From today’s perspective, perhaps the mix does not fully convince. I know albums that sound more organic than “Spreading the Disease”. It has a little computerized touch, but to be honest: after more than 35 years I cannot imagine the album with another mix. Given this fact, one can also say that the output is perfectly produced – it’s in the eye of the beholder. Anyway, “Spreading the Disease” is a fantastic full-length. Love it or move into the madhouse.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10