Hard to believe, Dark Tranquillity, one of the originators of the ‘Gothenburg Sound’ (aka The New Wave of Swedish Death Metal), are 27 years old this year. Their 11th full-length album, Atoma, perfectly marks the group’s silver anniversary. Its center is one of diversity and energy. Overall the album represents a more colorful Dark Tranquillity. For long-time fans, Atoma is best represented by a single word: urgency. As expected, there’s heft-physical and emotional-behind the music. Dark Tranquillity did enlist Studio Gröndahl’s David Castillo (Katatonia, Soilwork) to mix the record and Jens Bogren to master, Atoma, by contrast, was mostly done close to the vest.
