Review by luajaz for Dark Tranquillity - The Gallery (1995)

I like to see death metal grow into different places because it is a genre I sometimes find a bit monotonous and lacking in variety, and I can commend the effort in this record as there are passages I do like and find beautiful and it has a overall melancholic, dare I say gothic vibe that I enjoy. That being said, there is way too much here I don't like at all, so I can pretty much say it is not for me. I find the vocals pretty annoying and the neoclassical influences coupled with the power-metalish composition style give me a very pretentious impression, and a feeling that this is somewhat disconnected from what I feel metal should be. Also, what is up with this clean ass bass? This is the first time a death metal record has a very audible bass and I don't like it. It's also a pretty long endeavor, but fortunately I didn't get tired of it as there is enough variety in interludes and intros and what not.

Well, to summarize, I see this is a classic, but it's a classic in a style I dislike. Can't really see me coming back to this in the near future.