Dark Tranquility - Lost To Apathy EP (Century Media)
UK release date: 15 November 2004
Sweden's Dark Tranquility have been going 15 years now and are hailed by their press bumpf as "melodic death metal pioneers". Lost To Apathy's twisting time signatures and swirling, parping keyboards over the traditional death metal formula of chugging guitars and growled vocals, show that this may well be the case. However, whilst effectively being Dream Theater with a less warbly vocalist is forgiveable, laudable even, being the band who obviously gave Cradle Of Filth half of their musical ideas, is certainly not.
The EP is completed by two remixes of songs taken from forthcoming album, Character, and a live track recorded in Poland in 2002. The remixes - in particular the heavy industrial edge of The Endless Feed - are interesting, even if a bit of obvious self-indulgence for Dark Tranquility's "electronics" expert Martin Brändström.
The live track, on the other hand, is anything but, with a woeful sound mix relegating any guitar crunch to a rustle, and vocalist Mikael Stanne sounding at one point like he's going to choke on his own phlegm. Good job that new album is a studio one...
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