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 Dark
Tranquillity are one of the founders of the Gothenburg
sound, alongside At The Gates and In Flames. And unlike
their contemporaries, they did not break up or go off
in a direction that riled their much of their original
fanbase; they stuck with it and grew as artists, changing
their sound slowly over time while still remaining faithful
to their roots.
Now
on their second U.S. tour in support of the "Character"
album, Dark Tranquillity has been leaving a trail of pleased
audiences in their wake.
Phil:
First of all, I've got to ask what it's like going from
being the direct support act to the opening band on the
tour?
Mikael:
We would prefer to be the direct support, but it's kind
of cool because you get to set up all the stuff and you
get to have sound checks, so it's better that way. And
also, actually, every night people have actually been
in. Usually that's a problem for opening bands and I don't
think that we've opened a show say in ten years, this
is the first one we've done touring in the opening slot.
But it's alright, people are in there and enjoying it,
so it's fine.
Phil:
I heard there were problems at the Edmonton show where security
were really slow getting people in there.
Mikael:
It wasn't that bad, actually. There were enough people
in there; we were happy.
Phil:
We had one member of our message board complaining about
that, he said he missed half your set because security was
slow and then he saw you guys bowling after the show.
Mikael:
Oh! (laughter) That was a crazy day, crazy place. Ever
been there?
Phil:
I've not been up to Edmonton; the only places I've been
to in Canada are in B.C. Alright, now how does this compare
to your previous U.S. tours; the one with Nile you did about
three years ago and the one you did with In Flames and Sentenced
before that?
Mikael:
The first one obviously was a lot of fun, we went with
In Flames and it was just two weeks and it was just crazy.
A great first experience of being here, so that was cool.
The Nile one was pretty good, but it was kind of a different
crowd, it was more of a Napalm and Nile crowd, but it
was good, too. Then we did Soilwork; that was much more
our crowd and this one is fantastic. This one is by far
the best one we've done, actually. We're playing so many
places that we haven't been and everything's so smooth
and works out great. We're just really, really comfortable;
we love it.
Phil:
Are you playing the same set every night or are you varying
it out?
Mikael:
We are varying it, but sometimes we do the same. We also
do headlining shows whenever Opeth has a day off or when
they do their own shows; tomorrow we headline in San Francisco.
Phil:
Okay, the next question, I've always wondered about this,
why is "Tranquility" in the band name spelled with two L's?
Mikael:
That's how they spelled it in old English literature,
like Shakespeare and stuff like that. That's where we
were influenced from when we started the band.
Phil:
Okay, 'cause I was thinking that it was more of the Megadeth,
Def Leppard school of thought.
Mikael:
No, no. It can be spelled either way and it was just they
way that we learned the word when we were starting the
band. It's more like old English.
Phil:
Okay, now the U.S. reissues of "The Mind's I" and "The Gallery",
were they at all inspired by the insane prices the Osmose
pressings were selling for on eBay and other such places?
Mikael:
Yeah. I mean, we knew they were really hard to get, people
were trying really hard to get the albums and they weren't
available and Osmose, they kind of aren't really doing
that much anymore, so it was hard to even get them reprinted,
so Century Media bought the rights and then released them.
It was only supposed to be for America, but they were
released in Europe as well. I think they're great; I love
it - it's a much better release.
Phil:
I remember going to downtown Portland to 2nd Avenue Records
and just picking up "The Mind's I" for something like thirteen
bucks and then three weeks later I see a used copy selling
on eBay for like forty-five bucks; I'm thinking to myself,
"fuck, I'm in the wrong business."
Mikael:
Oh yeah. (laughs) Oh well, we never see any of that money,
anyway.
Phil:
Okay, given that Dark Tranquillity are one of the pioneers
of the Gothenburg sound, what do you think of the direction
that a lot of the bands are taking it these days?
Mikael:
I think it's interesting and of course it's kind of flattering
that bands are influenced by our kind of music, but the
again, I'd rather hear original music; that's what I love,
that's what I care about and that's why we started, 'cause
we wanted to make something that no-one else has done,
you know? Music is art and you don't want to copy, so
it's sad that people are copying a little bit too much,
but then again, a lot of people are taking it in a different
direction and it's kind of cool.
Phil:
Yeah. I've always had this feeling a lot of duplication,
while imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, it does
kind of cheapen the originals.
Mikael:
Yes.
Phil:
You guys have managed to avoid that because you've always
gone in a more artistic direction than a lot of the other
bands.
Mikael:
Yeah, I hope so.
Phil:
Now, I read about your appearance on Swedish television,
talking about junk food. What specifically was talked about?
Mikael:
It's a new TV show in Sweden and we only have a few channels
and it's on the national one, which is the biggest one
that everybody gets in the whole of Sweden and it's a
metal show, one of my oldest friends is hosting it, so
it's pretty big news. It's really cool; we've never had
a metal show on there before. He wanted an angel, so we
said junk food, 'cause I love it! I'm really interested
in trying anything. So we went to my absolute favorite
hamburger place in Gothenburg and we just talked about
the best and the worst, you know, German dinner kabobs,
shitty White Castle burgers and stuff like that. (laughter)
It was just a fun thing, nothing about music at all.
Phil:
Now would that incorporate some of the European breath mints
I saw when I was over there where they have black licorice
in the middle?
Mikael:
What? Breath mints?
Phil:
Yeah; I think junk food, I think candy as well.
Mikael:
Ah! I'm not into candy at all; I'm into burgers and kabobs
and stuff like that.
Phil:
Ah, greasy stuff.
Mikael:
Yeah!
Phil:
Now, at the Feast of Burden, who would you invite and what
would you serve for dinner?
Mikael:
(grins) Oooohhh-ah! (pauses) Who would I invite? I think
I would have a Mexican fucking taco feast extreme with
extra everything! I mean, the biggest one! I would probably
invite the band and treat them to the biggest fucking
meal they ever had! (laughter)
Phil:
Okay, just one last question - a guy I know said he was
down somewhere in California, I don't remember what city,
for the In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, Sentenced show and
according to him, you got stranded after the show, separated
from everybody else, and ended up staying with him and his
friends. Now I have no way of verifying this, but I just
figured I'd ask about it.
Mikael:
(pauses) I don't remember. No, I don't think so. (pauses
again) I honestly don't know. Could be true; stranger
things have happened. I didn't stay overnight or anything
like that, that's for sure. Perhaps I went over to someone's
house, had a few beers and then went back to the bus or
something like that. Next time you talk, ask him for details.
(laughter)
Phil:
All right, thank you very much.
Mikael:
It's a pleasure.
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