Metal.
Specifically Swedish Melodic Death Metal.
At least 20 (maybe 30?) years ago, this sub-genre of music was emerging as a force, particularly in/from the region around Gothenburg, Sweden. So much so, it became distinctly identified as “that Gothenburg sound.” Twin guitars, growling vocals blended with clean, smooth ones, thundering bass/drums. Sure, written with those descriptives it might not sound compelling, but it certainly was sonically its own thing.
At the time, my introduction to this style came primarily through the band In Flames. They served as an opening act for a slightly bigger U.S. band at the time, and they definitely made an impression. The album of note at that time is the much-revered Clayman.
Fast forward twenty years. 3/5 of the Clayman-era In Flames (IF) lineup join talents with original In Flames vocalist Mikael Stanne (currently of Dark Tranquility, aka DT) and later-era In Flames guitar alum Niclas Engelin to create The Halo Effect and deliver Days Of The Lost.
The band has been teasing this release for months via each musician’s social media, music videos released to YouTube and just a couple months back a free, streamed rooftop concert (pre-recorded). They, of course, had no problem building a frenetic fan base and garnering performance slots at many of the major summer music festivals throughout Europe. Not bad for a “new” band with only ONE release to their name.
There is no surprise at the overall content and sound of this collection of tunes, given the pedigree of the performers. The album is a solid blend of IF and DT while not simply being a lazy, uninspired rehash of former glories. The pre-release singles, Shadowminds, Days of the Lost, Feel What I Believe, The Needless End, and (on album release day) In Broken Trust served as a solid introduction to what the band was doing. Certainly, production quality has improved a tremendous amount over nearly three decades. While it doesn’t necessarily sound as raw and aggressive as, say Colony or Whoracle, it seems to relate most closely to post-Clayman era IF, while melding well with DT’s recent efforts on Atoma and Moment.
To be fair and honest, In Flames stopped drawing my attention years ago, sometime after Sounds Of A Playground Fading. I initially wrote off Dark Tranquility after seeing them open for Opeth many years ago. Thankfully, my metal-minded nephew drew my attention back to them not that long ago, and I’m not mad at that.
The album opens with first single Shadowminds, a great introduction that sets up the rest of what will follow. Again, this sounds like the best blend of both predecessor bands.
Days Of The Lost, the title track, could have easily been the album opener, as well. It seems to be the epitome of that “classic” Gothenburg style with the opening twin guitar harmonies that jump right into a rapid-fire rhythm under the verse. Then, after the guitar solo, a nice bridge transition into recapitulating the chorus before running to the end.
The Needless End – this seems a bit more DT, to me, as it’s a BIT more “melodic.”
Conditional – a deceptive intro that bursts right into more driving rhythm and guitars. The verses are straight-up headbangers for sure before offering a bit of respite at the chorus.
In Broken Trust – after the first few listens, maybe the least notable track. Subject to change, though, with future replays.
Gateways – another DT-sounding effort. This is good right from the get go, and I imagine it’s appeal will deepen. There’s a break/solo about a minute from the end. It’s honestly hard to discern if it’s guitar, synth, guitar-synth or some production effect. It’s interesting if not oddly placed.
A Truth Worth Lying For – great opening lick! Again, another great example of the alchemy these players have to churn this out of their collective pasts.
Feel What I Believe – again, turning the twin guitar harmonies on to open the track is fantastic! As one of the early singles, this song has lost none of its energy at this point, and is, again, another great example of the Melodic Death Metal/Gothenburg sound and why (I think) it is/was so successful.
Last Of Our Kind – an unusual intro of strings followed up by a more driving rhythm. One almost has to wonder if the track is a hint at trying to recapture/recover a “sound” that has been diluted, or has drifted from the original over time. Almost as if the band is identifying themselves as the ones keeping the fires lit? But, maybe I’m projecting…
The Most Alone – this sounds like a leftover DT tune, but…so what! It’s well done and has that under bed of interwoven guitars. I’d say it’s one of the “slower” tracks and curious that it’s the closer.
All in all, this release definitely lived up to the hype, delivering fresh sounding tunes with a classic source. Having followed the original bands and their progress to this point with this project, it genuinely seems they are having fun. This is a solid offering and I would anticipate it being very successful with the broader metal fan base.