The Gallery (album) explained

The Gallery
Type:	studio
Artist:	Dark Tranquillity
Cover:	The Gallery album cover.jpg
Released:	27 November 1995
Recorded:	April–May 1995
Studio:	Studio Fredman, Gothenburg
Genre:	Melodic death metal
Label:	Osmose
Producer:	Dark Tranquillity, Fredrik Nordström
Prev Title:	Of Chaos and Eternal Night
Prev Year:	1995
Next Title:	Enter Suicidal Angels
Next Year:	1996

The Gallery is the second studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band Dark Tranquillity, released on 27 November 1995 by Osmose. It was the first full-length release to feature Mikael Stanne on vocals, as he was previously the rhythm guitarist.

In 2004, The Gallery was re-released with a slightly different cover art and five cover songs as bonus tracks.

Songs

The song "Punish My Heaven" was preceded by the track "Yesterworld" from the A Moonclad Reflection demo and later on the Yesterworlds compilation album.

On the band's live album, Where Death Is Most Alive, vocalist Mikael Stanne has stated that the song "Edenspring" is about drinking.

Live versions of songs on The Gallery have been recorded for the band's live albums: "Punish My Heaven" and "Lethe" are featured on the Live Damage album. "Edenspring", "Lethe" and "Punish My Heaven" are featured on the Where Death Is Most Alive album.

Live performances

When the band plays songs from "The Gallery" live, they tune down to their usual D♭ tuning, rather than E♭ tuning, which was the tuning for this album and Haven.

• "Punish My Heaven" has been played very often since its release.
• "Lethe" has also been played often since the release of "The Gallery".
  • Most of the song's intro is cut out. During the band's earlier tours, the intro has been played on bass. However, the band has shifted to playing the intro on a keyboard.
• "Edenspring" was often played during shows during the tours of The Gallery and The Mind's I. It returned to the band's setlist during the "Where Death is Most Alive Tour".
• "The Gallery" was played in a few shows during the "Projector" and "Haven" tours. It returned to the band's setlist during the touring cycle for We Are the Void.
• "Silence, and the Firmament Withdrew" was played during many shows in the touring cycle for The Gallery. It was also in during a few shows during the Haven touring cycle. It returned to the band's setlist during the European Leg of the Construct tour.
• "The Dividing Line" was played in a few shows during The Gallery Tour.

Critical reception

The Gallery is considered a classic album of the Gothenburg style of metal, along with At the Gates' Slaughter of the Soul and In Flames' The Jester Race,^[1] exhibiting the dual guitar leads, growled vocals and acoustic sections typical of the genre.

John Serba, writing for AllMusic, wrote that the album "is a transcendent work from one of the underdogs of the genre -- a bona fide masterpiece that helped further stretch the boundaries of death metal in the '90s."

This album was inducted into Decibel magazine's hall of fame in its April 2010 issue. Chris Dick, in the article accompanying the induction, stated that "no recording at the time or since bears resemblance to its power and sophistication."^[2]

Personnel

Dark Tranquillity

• Mikael Stanne − vocals
• Niklas Sundin − lead guitar
• Fredrik Johansson − rhythm guitar
• Martin Henriksson − bass
• Anders Jivarp − drums

Guests

• Eva-Marie Larsson − co-vocals on "The Gallery", "Lethe" and "...of Melancholy Burning"
• Kristian Wåhlin − cover art

Notes and References

1. http://heavymetal.about.com/od/heavymetal101/p/melodicdeathmetalprofile.htm "Melodic Death Metal"
2. Web site: Dick. Chris. Dark Tranquility "The Gallery". Decibel Magazine. 26 January 2015.