Review by Adam M on July 8, 2026.

This was a different kind of album for the band because it was slightly more subdued.  It is very atmospheric and moving music that, while not one of the best albums by the band, shows them trying something innovative and succeeding at what they do.  There is not anything overly phenomenal to be found here, but the music is moving and emotional.

The musicianship is solid with emotive guitar playing and good vocals that really hit the spot.  It is a solid album that has a lot of passion and emotional performances from the outfit.  Fans of the band’s other material will like it, but so will fans by stuff like Amorphis because it attempts to be more avant-garde and interesting.

The music has an issue of not being as commanding as their previous material and this is a problem because it is not as powerful as their other works.  It is still very interesting and a new type of listen for the band that attempts to be different and succeeds.  There is very little to dislike here and it remains a staple in their discography.

This is a great album with good production values and has a good atmosphere that really sets the mood nicely.  There is very many great moments and not much to dislike as the band shows their more emotive side quite nicely.  Fans of the band’s other material will like it and so will those looking for a more subtle melodic death metal work.

Rating: 7.2 out of 10

Review by Death8699 on January 15, 2019.

When melodic death is played right, it comes in the form that Dark Tranquillity plays here on this Projector release. A big Depeche Mode influence that Mikael Stanne portrays in his vocal efforts. Of course there's variety, he mixes clean vocals with raspy ones according to the music. When you hear the clean guitar bits, he's singing in a very melodic tone. I can say that he actually sings with such passion. He does mix clean vocals also with the distorted guitars by Fredrik Johansson and Niklas Sundin. There's a female vocalist that contributes some to this release as well by the name of Johanna Andersson. What an outstanding voice!

The songs are true melodic death to the core. There's a mixture of clean tone guitars like I previously mentioned mixed with heavier melodic riffs. The songs themselves are so well played to perfection. There are not really many guitar solos, just an array of melodies that are so amazing it's captivating to hear. Mikael's vocals augments the guitars and piano as well. Talk about an amazing vocalist! Well he has so much variety it's unbelievable. Every single song on here deserves mention. This band really hit a gemstone which Projector is. The metal really flows and the clean vocals almost outweighs the hoarse tone. Don't expect anything too fast on here because it's just not here. Each track is slow paced and even one song called "Day To End" features a heavy synthesizer that dominates the track along with the clean vocals.

Dark Tranquillity copies no one on Projector, it stands alone in sheer dynamite. Especially with melodic death freaks like me, it never grows old. An album that was so well mixed, nothing is left out. All of the instruments are heard and heard with vigor. The crunch tone distortion from the guitars features riffs that are original and innovative. No weak points on any of the songs.

This band really was creative in this offering and probably in my opinion their best work, surely surpassing The Minds I. I'd have to say that it surpassed both older and newer releases by far. Amazing work by all musicians in terms of the songwriting. A true Gothenburg band that surpasses all of what I've heard from this band. If you want true melodic death metal the way that it should be played, pick up Projector because there aren't any albums that feature this highest standard of musicianship whatsoever.

Rating: 10 out of 10