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Allmusic |
[2] |
Projector (stylized : projector, or on the reissue, p.r.o.j.e.c.t.o.r.) is the fourth full-length studio album by the melodic death metal band Dark Tranquillity.
Lineup Change
In January 1999, with the album recorded months prior and its release months ahead, Fredrik Johansson was fired by the rest of Dark Tranquillity, due to Johansson wanting to focus more on being a father, meaning also he couldn't tour with the band and leave his family anymore and he wanted to keep a day job as oppose to difficulties of the music business. There were mutually no hard feelings between both parties, but with all of Johansson's reasons, the band still saw it as a lack of commitment to Dark Tranquillity as well. The album marks the last new release with Johansson. With difficulties always finding a new guitar player, a switch then occurred in the band when Johansson empty guitarist position was then taken the band's bassist Martin Henriksson, who was a little bit reluctant at the time to do the switch, due to his belief of being an average guitar player, but still went on to do so. To take Henriksson's bassist position, the band hired Michael Nicklasson and lastly, since the album included a lot of piano, keyboards and electronics and the band wanting it to become an integral part of the band's later sound, the band also hired an additional full-time member, Martin Brändström as their first keyboardist ever to complete the new lineup to tour for the album. With the lineup, they played live bonus tracks of the reissue of this album and filmed a music video for "ThereIn".
Style
It marked a departure for the band renowned as one of the founders of the Gothenburg Sound. Eschewing much of their trademark dual-guitar passages and death growling, Dark Tranquillity's Projector album featured some piano and clean guitar parts akin to that of gothic metal. The album was also the first to include vocalist Mikael Stanne on clean vocals; Stanne delivered some of the lyrics in an operatic baritone, far removed from his typical metal growls. Because of its massive deviation from the band's previous efforts, Projector was met with mixed opinions by longtime fans, but it also attracted a fair amount of new listeners.[citation needed]
Track listing
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1. |
"FreeCard" |
4:31 |
2. |
"ThereIn" |
5:55 |
3. |
"UnDo Control" |
5:10 |
4. |
"Auctioned" |
6:06 |
5. |
"To a Bitter Halt" |
4:48 |
6. |
"The Sun Fired Blanks" |
4:17 |
7. |
"Nether Novas" |
6:14 |
8. |
"Day to End" |
3:08 |
9. |
"Dobermann" |
4:38 |
10. |
"On Your Time" |
5:37 |
Release history
The limited edition digipak, which includes the bonus track "Exposure". However, there were problems with the pressings because not all the digipaks include "Exposure" and there are some traditional releases that include the track. The Japanese version of the album has different cover art and includes a booklet with more photos and biographical information. The 2009 reissue has digitally remastered audio.
Date |
Note |
August 10, 1999 |
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November 25, 1999 |
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May 25, 2009 |
Reissue |
Credits
Dark Tranquillity
- Mikael Stanne − vocals, lyrics, image editing, music (8) and layout
- Niklas Sundin − lead guitar, music (1, 3, 6, 9), cover artwork and inlay
- Fredrik Johansson - rhythm guitar, music (5, 6, 10)
- Martin Henriksson − bass guitar, music (1-3, 5-7, 9, 10) rhythm guitar (UnDo Control (Live) & ThereIn (Live))
- Anders Jivarp − drums, music (1-4, 7, 10)
- Dark Tranquillity - arrangements
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Production
On "ThereIn" (Live)
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Additional Musicians
- Fredrik Norstrom - keyboards, piano, arrangements (6)
- Johanna Andersson - co-vocals (4)
- Michael Nicklasson − bass guitar (UnDo Control (Live))
- Daniel Antonsson - bass guitar (ThereIn (Live))
- Martin Brändström − keyboards and electronics (UnDo Control (Live) & ThereIn (Live))
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References
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| | | Studio albums | |
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| EPs, Splits, Promos, MCDs, Demos and Singles | |
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| DVDs, Live and videos | |
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| Compilation albums | |
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