Construct
| Construct | ||||
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| Studio album by Dark Tranquility | ||||
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admission |
May 24, 2013 |
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| Label (s) | Century Media | |||
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Title (number) |
10 |
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running time |
42 min 18 s |
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Construct is the tenth studio album by the Swedish melodic death metal band Dark Tranquility . It was released on May 24, 2013 via Century Media .
Emergence
In April 2012, the band signed a new three-studio album deal with Century Media. Half a year later the band began work on a new studio album. The recordings should begin after a European tour with the band Warbringer planned for November and December 2012 , which had to be canceled. Before the band went into the studio in early 2013, they parted ways with their bassist Daniel Antonsson , who wanted to focus more on his own musical projects and his own studio. The bass was played by guitarist Martin Henriksson, who, according to singer Mikael Stanne, played bass for the first time since 1999.
Singer Mikael Stanne described the songwriting process for Construct for one of the most difficult in the band's history. All musicians had different views on how the new album should sound and it was difficult to find suitable compromises. In addition, the musicians got into writer's block, which Stanne described in an interview as a “frustrating and devastating feeling”.
“We felt burned out and felt too uninspired to create something new. But a lot of the material was produced during this time - we were just unable to put it together and talk about it. So the album became an elephant in the room that nobody wanted to talk about. "
In contrast to earlier albums, the songs were not written in the band's rehearsal room , but in the studio . According to Stanne, the musicians got a better overview of the new songs and could quickly change the arrangements if necessary. This way of working has saved the band a lot of time. When it comes to songwriting, the band placed more emphasis on simpler melodies . The songs were written by guitarist Niklas Sundin , keyboardist Martin Brandström and drummer Anders Jivarp. Singer Mikael Stanne used more clear vocals again.
The band was looking for a different sound for the new album. In an interview, Niklas Sundin stated that the new material was "much more sound-based and based on different moods and atmospheres". For this reason, the musicians wanted a producer who was “interested in the fine details in the sound”. So Construct was mixed by Jonas Bogren in Fascination Street Studios in Örebro instead of by Tue Madsen as before .
publication
The American version of the album also contains the songs Immemorial and Photon Dreams . The limited box set contains the album in digipak , a 24-page booklet and a bonus CD with the two bonus tracks of the American version. In addition, the album was released as a record with a 7 "single .
For the song Uniformity one was music video rotated. The director was Patric Ullaeus . According to Niklas Sundin, it should be a "rock solid band video with no extras or plot" and shows the band playing the song in the rehearsal room.
background
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The lyrics on the album deal with disappointments and profound experiences of human existence. More songs deal with communication and that people should always be honest. In the song Apathetic , singer Mikael Stanne dealt with writer's block during the making of the album, which initially led to frustration for him before he fell into depression . By writing the lyrics he was able to get out of this situation. The experiences from this time are reflected in the album title.
“A construct is a creation of thoughts that becomes real when you believe in it. Trust and the blind belief in something play a role as well as skepticism and the idea of a rational way of thinking. Rationality is usually more appropriate than blind trust. […] I am frustrated by a lot of things, but when I write them down, go to the studio and scream my heart out, I feel better. "
When writing his texts, Stanne considered the motivations behind human actions and observed his friends, family and himself.
reception
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Reviews
Construct was voted album of the month by the German magazine Metal Hammer . According to Katrin Riedl, Dark Tranquility “was able to firmly underpin its specialty and importance in the Gothenburg scene”. If you give the album time, “a profound and convincing work unfolds”, for which Riedl awarded six out of seven points. For Ronny Bittner from the German magazine Rock Hard, “Mikael Stanne & Co. act much bolder, darker and more powerful” than on the previous album. Bittner praised the "oppressive atmosphere", the "hard grooves" and the "varied songwriting" and awarded eight out of ten points. Nils Macher from the online magazine Powermetal.de, on the other hand, criticized the album's "smooth" sound. The guitar riffs in particular sound “tame and degrade themselves to background noise”, for which the maker gave seven out of ten points. Anton Kostudis from the online magazine Metal.de was disappointed , for which the ten titles offer "hardly anything of the energy and dynamism of days gone by". Since there were no moments of surprise or “innovative guitar work”, he gave five out of ten points.
Chart placements
Like its predecessor , Construct reached number nine in the Swedish album charts . In neighboring Finland, the album reached number 15. In Germany, the album entered the charts at number 37 . The album reached number 68 in the Swiss charts. For the first time an album by Dark Tranquility reached the Austrian album charts and climbed to number 67.
Individual evidence
- ↑ DARK TRANQUILITY Re-Signs With CENTURY MEDIA RECORDS. Blabbermouth.net , accessed April 5, 2018 .
- ↑ DARK TRANQUILITY To Release 'Zero Distance' EP In North America, Begin Work On New Album. Blabbermouth.net, accessed April 5, 2018 .
- ↑ Andrew Bansal: Dark Tranquility Vocalist Mikael Stanne Talks New Album 'Construct', Touring & More. Metal Injection, accessed April 20, 2013 .
- ↑ a b c Katrin Riedl: The elephant in the room . In: Metal Hammer , June 2013, page 48
- ↑ a b Ronny Bittner: The darn ten . In: Rock Hard , May 2013, page 10
- ↑ a b Ronny Bittner: The fear in you . In: Rock Hard, June 2013, page 40
- ^ A b Anne: Interview with Niklas Sundin (Dark Tranquility). Neckbreaker.de, accessed on May 17, 2013 .
- ↑ Dark Tranquility in the Swedish charts. Swedishcharts.com, accessed November 18, 2013 .
- ↑ Dark Tranquility in the German album charts. (No longer available online.) Musicline.de , archived from the original on July 21, 2009 ; Retrieved November 18, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Dark Tranquility in the Austrian charts. Austriancharts.at, accessed on November 18, 2013 .
- ↑ Dark Tranquility in the Swiss Hit Parade. Hitparade.ch, accessed on November 18, 2013 .
- ↑ Katrin Riedl: Dark Tranquility - Construct. Metal Hammer. Retrieved May 17, 2013 .
- ↑ Ronny Bittner: Dark Tranquility - Construct . In: Rock Hard, June 2013, p. 88
- ↑ Nils Macher: Dark Tranquility - Construct. Powermetal.de , accessed on May 17, 2013 .
- ^ Anton Kostudis: Dark Tranquility - Construct. Metal.de, accessed on May 23, 2013 .
