Dark Tranquillity released their second album, “The Gallery”, on November 27, 1995 via Osmose — and established themselves as one of the three pillars of the Gothenburg sound, alongside At the Gates and In Flames. John Serba of AllMusic called it “a transcendent work from one of the genre’s underrated names — a genuine masterpiece that helped expand the boundaries of death metal in the ’90s.”
Country: Sweden
Genre: Melodic Death Metal
For fans of: At the Gates, In Flames, Insomnium
The listen
It is the first record with Mikael Stanne on vocals, after he previously played rhythm guitar. Recorded at Studio Fredman with Fredrik Nordström, “The Gallery” combines the twin guitars of Sundin and Johansson with growling vocals and the acoustic moments that became a trademark of the genre.
“Punish My Heaven” opens with absolute intensity and became one of their best-known tracks, while the title track “The Gallery” brings Eva-Marie Larsson’s atmospheric vocals into one of the record’s most moving moments. “Lethe” and “The Emptiness from Which I Fed” show the band’s dark, melodic depth, and the instrumental “Mine Is the Grandeur…” leads into the epic close of “…of Melancholy Burning.”
In 2004 it was reissued with a different cover and five covers as bonus tracks — among them Mercyful Fate’s “Lady in Black” and Metallica’s “My Friend of Misery.” The influence of “The Gallery” is enormous: together with “Slaughter of the Soul” and “The Jester Race” it laid the foundations of melodic death metal, and in 2014 Decibel magazine inducted it into its Hall of Fame.
Tracklist
1. Punish My Heaven
2. Silence, and the Firmament Withdrew
3. Edenspring
4. The Dividing Line
5. The Gallery
6. The One Brooding Warning
7. Midway Through Infinity
8. Lethe
9. The Emptiness from Which I Fed
10. Mine Is the Grandeur… (instrumental)
11. …of Melancholy Burning
See also
In Flames & Trivium: European tour in 2027 · SEV LEZU – Blood Conscript
