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Rating: The Dark Tranquillity had just been born, after abandoning their first name, "Septic Broiler", and after recording demos heavily focused on the sonic violence of Thrash Metal. Starting from this demo, the band led by Anders Fridén (who would later go on to form the "twin" band In Flames), experimented with a type of music that was entirely new at the time, which would spread throughout Sweden during the '90s, rightfully placing both bands in history. Melodic Death Metal was born.
The four tracks that make up the demo are wicked and aggressive, yet also incredibly deep and melodic, and they foreshadow what will happen in the following years. The opening is entrusted to the brief minute of "Midwinter", a sort of melodic yet dark introduction, featuring wicked arpeggios and delicate keyboard lines. A sort of gateway to the band's future. The following track, "Beyond Enlightenment", is fast and precise, characterized (like the other tracks) by Fridén's raspy (yet still imprecise) voice, which ranges between cursed choruses and perfectly crafted refrains. The last spurts of Thrash are found in "Vernal Awakening", also characterized by a frenzied rhythm and an overwhelming sound wall. The solo in the final part is beautiful, and the riff work is excellent, a strong point of this track and all the other songs present on the demo. The final track, "Void Of Tranquillity", is the best part of the entire record, overshadowing the not always perfect voice in favor of a more complex structure and an ever-pressing rhythm that only stops in the final part, giving way to a melodic interlude that would later become the band's signature over the years.
An aggressive debut, raw yet devilishly intelligent and already incredibly mature; moreover, the quality of the tracks is not poor like most demos, a point in favor that enriches the work of the five from Gothenburg. The rest of the story is all uphill.
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