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Nov 28, 20227 min read

Dark Tranquillity - The Gallery (1995)

𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…



On November 27, 1995, Dark Tranquillity released their second full-length studio album The Gallery via Osmose Productions.



It was the first full-length release to feature Mikael Stanne in the position of lead vocalist, and the first release featuring Fredrik Johansson, who was recruited to take over for Stanne’s guitar duties.



In 2004, The Gallery was re-released with a slightly different cover art and five cover songs as bonus tracks.


Bonus Tracks for the 2004 Re-issue:

12. Bringer of Torture (Kreator cover)

13. Sacred Reich (Sacred Reich cover)

13, 22 Acacia Avenue (Iron Maiden cover)

14. Lady in Black (MERCYFUL FATE cover)

15. My Friend of Misery (Metallica cover)


Background:

As stated in the introduction, The Gallery marks Mikael Stanne’s debut as Dark Tranquillity‘s frontman, following the departure of Anders Fridén in August 1993, and the release of the bands debut album Skydancer (after Anders Fridén’s departure, he joined fellow Gothenburg band, In Flames).



Personal Thoughts:

As Dark Tranquillity’s first release to feature Mikael Stanne on vocals, The Gallery is the embodiment of what we all know as the Gothenburg sound. Stanne’s projection of emotion on the album, was at the time unprecedented. Not only was his presentation very creative, it was both exceptional and unique. Compound his caustic mid-range growls, and his use of spoken word on tracks like Lethe, Stanne’s impact was like the “shot heard around the world”!


With that said, Stanne is not solely responsible for the albums greatness, or the genre-defining performance. Anders Jivarp, with his blazing beats, Martin Henriksson’s canorous bass-lines, and Niklas Sundin’s unorthodox riffing are incredibly effective in making The Gallery the legendary release it is today. — E.N. Wells



On April 13, 2010, my friend Chris Dick wrote an article for Decibel Magazine (issue #66) detailing The Gallery’s production along with the impact the album had upon the unsuspecting Metal World. Rather than delving any further into the album with my opinion, I figured I would share what Chris had to say about The Gallery since his words are more profound than anything I could muster.


Here is an excerpt from that article:

“Contrary to popular belief, the New Wave of Swedish Death Metal—also known by its acronym NWOSDM or synonym The Gothenburg Sound—wasn’t a cohesive movement. There was no collective push—locally, nationally or internationally—to scream louder, play faster or sound heavier than Death Metallers 244 miles away in Stockholm. The Gothenburg (and adjacent suburbs) scene was really bunch of bored, if musically-inclined, kids who got together to discuss, listen (and party) to and eventually play the Metal similar to but evolved from their heroes.


Things have a way of starting in threes. Though Dark Tranquillity, Hall of Famers At The Gates (Slaughter of the Soul was dB’s second induction) and In Flames were and still are representative of the NWOSDM, there were others—pre-At the Gates outfit Grotesque, Death Metallers Ceremonial Oath (proto-In Flames) and young bucks Eucharist (from Veddige)—involved in the creation and Progression of Melodic Death Metal. NWOSDM was distinct from its Stockholm counterpart, as it as less inspired by early Death Metal and Grindcore. Instead, bands of the NWOSDM-style took cues from Thrash/Speed and Heavy Metal. Whereas At the Gates refashioned Dark Angel and Slayer riffs, and In Flames borrowed heavily from the Michael Weikath and Kai Hansen school of Rock, Dark Tranquillity fashioned their resplendent Death off of Iron Maiden, Sabbat (UK) and Kreator. The differences between all three bands couldn’t be greater, but they shared common traits. They were aggressive and overtly melodic.


Dark Tranquillity’s second album, The Gallery, is a singular entity. No recording at the time or since bears resemblance to its power and sophistication. The product of boundless (and slightly vainglorious) youth and a re-energized lineup (guitarist Mikael Stanne moved up to fill the frontman spot vacated by Anders Fridén and new recruit Fredrik Johansson replaced Stanne as the group’s second axeman), The Gallery features the blindingly fast and artful fingerprint of debut album Skydancer with noticeable refinement. The songwriting was tighter, the note choices smarter (and more economical) and the production (courtesy of then-nascent producer Fredrik Nordström) brawnier. Little did Dark Tranquillity know, but The Gallery, moored by stunners Punish My Heaven, Lethe, Edenspring and the title track, would be the sound of a few thousand ships—some more successful than others—launching.


The Gallery, perhaps like Slaughter of the Soul and The Jester Race, defined a group, a geographic location and a moment in time. It is truly peerless. As the Swedes say, “Välkommen till Decibel’s Hall of Fame.” — Chris Dick


(Chris Dick, Decibel Magazine)


More Information:

The song Punish My Heaven was preceded by the track Yesterworld from the A Moonclad Reflection demo and later on the Yesterworlds compilation album.



On the band's live album, Where Death Is Most Alive, vocalist Mikael Stanne has stated that the song Edenspring is about drinking.



Live Performances:

Live versions of songs on The Gallery have been recorded for the band's live albums: Punish My Heaven and Lethe are featured on the Live Damage album. Edenspring, Lethe and Punish My Heaven are featured on the Where Death Is Most Alive album.



When the band plays songs from The Gallery live, they tune down to their usual D♭ tuning, rather than E♭ tuning, which was the tuning for this album and Haven.


• Punish My Heaven has been played very often since its release.


• Lethe has also been played often since the release of The Gallery - Most of the song's intro is cut out. During the band's earlier tours, the intro has been played on Bass. However, the band has shifted to playing the intro on keyboards.


• Edenspring was often played during shows during the tours of The Gallery and The Mind's I. It returned to the band's setlist during the Where Death is Most Alive Tour.


• The Gallery was played in a few shows during the Projector and Haven tours. It returned to the band's setlist during the touring cycle for We Are the Void.


• Silence, and the Firmament Withdrew was played during many shows in the touring cycle for The Gallery. It was also in during a few shows during the Haven touring cycle. It returned to the band's setlist during the European Leg of the Construct tour.


• The Dividing Line was played in a few shows during The Gallery Tour.



Critical Reception:

The Gallery is considered a classic album of the Gothenburg style of Metal, along with At the Gates' Slaughter of the Soul and In Flames' The Jester Race, exhibiting the dual guitar leads, growled vocals and acoustic sections typical of the genre.


John Serba, writing for AllMusic, wrote that the album "is a transcendent work from one of the underdogs of the genre -- a bona fide masterpiece that helped further stretch the boundaries of Death Metal in the '90s."


This album was inducted into Decibel magazine's hall of fame in its April 2010 issue. Chris Dick, in the article accompanying the induction, stated that "no recording at the time or since bears resemblance to its power and sophistication."



The Death of Fredrik Johansson:

Former Dark Tranquillity guitarist Fredrik Johansson passed away on January 25, 2022 at the age of 48 after battling cancer. Vocalist Michael Stanne took to social media to honor his passing. The post read as follows:


“One of us is gone.“


“Fredrik Johansson passed away on January 25th (2022) after a three-year long battle with cancer.He joined Dark Tranquillity in ’93, right after the recording of our first album Skydancer. He replaced me as guitarist so that I could focus on singing, and with that he raised the bar and set the course for what we could do and wanted to be. His influence and passion had an absolutely massive impact. The first song that we wrote together was something we ended up calling Punish my Heaven, and with that we knew that we were on a path that we up until then had only dreamed of. Fredrik was mercilessly funny, sharp and highly intelligent, and would light up a conversation with his amazingly positive and quick witted commentary. But also, as easily, he would tear an uninformed argument or opinion apart with well articulated and thoroughly researched logic. His sense of humor and adventure would more often than not lead to epic excursions in stupidity and madness that I will forever miss.


Fredrik left the band in ’99 to focus on his family, yet he remained our biggest fan and our fiercest critic. His insights into the direction of our music was invaluable and knowing that he always listened and cared about what he had been part of creating meant the world to us.


A recent story, that speaks volumes about his personality, is when we launched the album Moment with a streamed concert in 2020. For weeks ahead of the release, Fredrik was on our Facebook page making sure that those who did not have access to a credit card or simply could not afford it would be able to see the show as well. By personally paying a ticket for those who weren’t able to, Fredrik made sure that no-one was left without. That’s who he was.


Having known about his cancer battle for almost three years and having dealt with the fact that this day would eventually come doesn’t make it any less real. We all still feel it. And we always will. Living without you in this world will be radically different and not even close to as interesting and curiously fun as it has been with you in it. On behalf of the entire Dark Tranquillity family, we love you Fredrik and we will miss you forever.


We start our US tour today and by playing the songs that Fredrik wrote and helped create we aim to keep his name and musical legacy alive. He was one of us and we love him.


“It is what it is, and what will be will be” as Fredrik used to say might serve as a reminder that our time here is nothing but temporary and we should make the most of the beautiful personal connections we have and treasure the people that we have surrounded us with. Tons of love from all of us to Fredrik’s wife and three daughters.“ — Mikael Stanne and all of Dark Tranquillity



Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells



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