成立于1989年冬天的DARK TRANQUILLITY其原始成员包括Anders Friden (主唱),Mikael Stanne (吉他), Niklas Sundin (吉他), Martin Henriksson (贝司), Anders Jivarp (鼓)。乐队早期的小样EP包括:"Trail of life decayed" demo/EP 1991 ,"A moonclad reflection" EP 1992 ,"Tranquillity" cassette EP 1992 ,由于都是限量发行,这使得今天再能找到这些原始录音变得弥足珍贵,比如A Moonclad Reflection在黑市上 的价格就已经开到50美元,是原来的十倍。
Dark Tranquillity is a Gothenburg metal band from Sweden. They are the longest-standing band from the famed Gothenburg metal scene and one of the inventors of the Gothenburg sound. Starting in 1989, they have had a fairly stable line-up from the start, unlike many bands from the genre. In 1994 Anders Fridén, Dark Tranquillity’s original lead vocalist, left the band and joined In Flames a year or so later. Mikael Stanne, formerly playing rhythm guitar and doing back vocals, then became the lead vocalist, with Fredrik Johansson taking over the guitars. Mikael Stanne also recorded vocals with the band In Flames. However, contrary to popular belief, he was never a full member of that band; he was a session vocalist and sang to help out the members of In Flames.
By the 1999 album Projector (later nominated for a Swedish Grammy Award), Johansson had left the band. Henriksson switched from bass to guitar to replace him, and the band added Michael Nicklasson on bass and Martin Brändström on keyboards & electronics. They also signed to Century Media Records. Since then, the band has remained stable in its lineup and its musical style, blending layers of rapid guitar lines with harmony-rich electronic keyboard washes and extremely precise rhythms underneath Stanne’s abstract growled lyrics.
From 1995 to 2002, all of Dark Tranquillity’s recordings were produced by Fredrik Nordström; however, Character was self-produced by the band (although it was mixed at Nordström’s studio).
According to the official site, Dark Tranquillity has finished recording their newest album with producer Tue Madsen. Working titles include “Blind at Heart”, “The Lesser Faith”, “InsignifiCunt”, “The Plunge” and “Where Death is Most Alive.” The album is due for release in April.
Guitarist Niklas Sundin wrote the lyrics for two In Flames albums, “The Jester Race” and “Whoracle” and contributed with lyric translations for the “Colony” album.