Swedish melodic death metal pioneers DARK TRANQUILLITY and Finnish melancholic progressive metallers AMORPHIS will join forces for a U.S. tour this summer and fall. The trek, which will feature support from FIRES IN THE DISTANCE, will kick off on September 3 in Richmond, Virginia and conclude on October 6 in New York City.
DARK TRANQUILLITY comments: “We are incredibly thrilled to announce that we will be coming to the U.S. right after the release of our ‘Endtime Signals’ album. We will be co-headlining with our awesome friends in AMORPHIS and with us on the bill we have the most excellent FIRES IN THE DISTANCE. This will mark the first leg of our touring cycle for the album and we could not be more excited to get to play these new songs for you guys as well as some old and semi-new stuff we have planned. The set will be ever changing and always exciting. Tickets are available May 10th. See you guys soon!”
AMORPHIS comments: “We are more than excited to announce this tour with our brothers from Sweden, DARK TRANQUILLITY. It’s been a while, and we certainly miss our North American fans. It will be a one-of-a-kind Scandinavian death metal package with both bands performing in a headliner status every night. We’ll blast through the continent like a storm; so see you all there and let’s have a metal night to remember.”
Sep. 03 – Canal Club – Richmond, VA
Sep. 04 – Hangar 1819 – Greensboro, NC
Sep. 06 – Center Stage – Atlanta, GA (AMORPHIS headlining date)
Sep. 07 – Conduit – Orlando, FL
Sep. 09 – White Oak Music Hall – Houston, TX
Sep. 10 – Trees – Dallas, TX
Sep. 11 – The Rock Box – San Antonio, TX
Sep. 13 – Nile Theater – Mesa, AZ
Sep. 14 – Brick By Brick – San Diego, CA
Sep. 15 – Echoplex – Los Angeles, CA
Sep. 17 – DNA Lounge – San Francisco, CA
Sep. 18 – Goldfields Roseville – Roseville, CA
Sep. 20 – Hawthorne Theatre – Portland, OR
Sep. 21 – Rickshaw Theatre – Vancouver, BC
Sep. 22 – El Corazon – Seattle, WA
Sep. 24 – Metro – Salt Lake City, UT
Sep. 26 – Marquis Theatre – Denver, CO
Sep. 27 – Bottleneck – Lawrence, KS
Sep. 28 – The Cabooze – Minneapolis, MN
Sep. 29 – The Forge – Joliet, IL
Oct. 01 – Opera House – Toronto, ON
Oct. 02 – Fairmount Theatre – Montreal, QC
Oct. 03 – La Source de la Martinière – Quebec City, QC
Oct. 04 – The Middle East Down – Cambridge, MA
Oct. 05 – Baltimore Soundstage – Baltimore, MD
Oct. 06 – Gramercy Theatre – New York, NY
DARK TRANQUILLITY‘s new album “Endtime Signals”, will be released on August 16 via Century Media Records.
Notably, “Endtime Signals” not only marks the thirteenth studio album of the band, but also their tenth album collaboration with Century Media Records. Building on the success of previous releases such as “Atoma” (2016),which climbed up to No. 2 in the Swedish album charts, and “Moment” (2020),which earned the band a Swedish Grammis award, the band is set to continue to redefine and deliver a top-tier musical experience with “Endtime Signals”.
In March, DARK TRANQUILLITY released the visualizer for the LP’s first single, “The Last Imagination”.
“Welcome to the world of DARK TRANQUILLITY once again,” the band said. “It’s been a while since ‘Moment’ and we’ve gone through quite a lot in order to end up where we find ourselves today. But as we can reveal the first single from the upcoming ‘Endtime Signals’, the feeling is that of pride, accomplishment, and a fair bit of relief.”
The band continued: “Going back to what we fundamentally feel is the core of DARK TRANQUILLITY, with a partly new lineup, has been a tremendous experience. It gave us the opportunity to re-evaluate and view what we have built from a new and exciting perspective. This resulted in a focused and intense writing period where we have discovered aspects of our music anew and taken certain elements of it further than before. Joakim Strandberg Nilson has delivered above and beyond in terms of drumming, with Christian Jansson following through in fierce and precise fashion. This has driven the writing and recording process to feel challenging, different and inspiring in the best way possible.”
Discussing the album as a whole, the band offered: “Thematically. the album deals with where we are heading, what has truly and fundamentally changed in us and how we find ways to cope with it. It has been hard finding that spark of positivity lately and there is a sense of grief running through the course of the album. Not only in the sense of mourning what we have lost on a personal level, but also where our sacrifices have taken us. ‘The Last Imagination’ in particular takes this to its logical conclusion and talks of what we leave behind and how hard it is for us to grasp that our significance might not be what we imagined.
“The breadth of the album is something we have worked hard at and we believe that this first song gives an indication if not a full picture of what is in store. There is ferocious speed, grinding brutality and haunting melodies of devastating loss to come. This is us making good on our promise to ourselves and our continuing mission.”
“The Last Imagination” stands as a beacon of DARK TRANQUILLITY‘s unparalleled artistry: The band delves into the depths of the human experience and reflects on the impermanence of life, with a profound lyrical narrative and captivating melodies. This single challenges listeners to confront the finality of their stories, unheard and untold.
Accompanying the release, Niklas Sundin, former guitarist and longstanding collaborator of the band, has crafted captivating visual elements, including the visualizer for “The Last Imagination”.
The album release date, August 16, was strategically chosen: It is no coincidence that the album reveal collides with the infamous Summer Breeze in Dinkelsbühl, Germany and DARK TRANQUILLITY‘s performance at the festival. As a special celebration for the reveal of their new album, the band will give a burning live performance, playing and partying into the release of “Endtime Signals” live on stage.
AMORPHIS‘s fourteenth studio album, “Halo” came out in February 2022 via Atomic Fire Records.
Produced by Jens Bogren, “Halo” was previously described in a press release as “progressive, melodic, and quintessentially melancholic heavy masterwork.”
As had been the case with AMORPHIS albums in the past, “Halo” featured the imaginative and poetic storytelling of renowned lyricist and “Kalevala” expert Pekka Kainulainen.
Two years ago, AMORPHIS guitarist and founding member Esa Holopainen told Westword that the band is “not as radical” as it once was.
“Back in the day, I think we did too much of what we wanted to do,” he said. “For us as musicians, we needed to do that, because we never wanted to get stuck in one form. Today we blend all the new nuances and influences pretty nicely into our music. Even though there’s a lot of different elements from different genres and the musical world, even from ethnic music, I have to say, we’re pretty good to blend all of those elements into our music without sounding too different.”