Once, Dark Tranquillity’s line-up was a beacon of stability in a part of the music industry is not generally known for it. Over the last few years, multiple key members who significantly contributed to the songwriting process left the band. And yet, ‘Endtime Signals’ sounds exactly like one would expect Dark Tranquillity to sound. Guitarist Johan Reinholdz – himself a relative newcomer, debuting on 2020’s ‘Moment’ – summarizes the results of a few turbulent years.

“Last time, Anders Jivarp (former drummer) was involved quite a bit with the songwriting”, Reinholdz explains. “And now, he’s not in the band anymore, so it was mainly Martin (Brändström, electronics and keyboard player) and me doing the demos. Then Mikael (Stanne, singer) joined us later in the writing process. I did a bunch of demos that I sent to the guys, and Martin basically started sifting through the material, and picking out what could be interesting to develop further.

There is a lot of rewriting and going over the material a bunch of times with this band. It’s kind of the method that Dark Tranquillity has developed. That was kind of similar on ‘Moment’. Recording also was pretty similar, except we didn’t record the drums at Martin’s studio this time around. We recorded the drums at Fascination Street with Jens Bogren, who also mixed the album, supervising. So that was a bit different.

Otherwise, the recording was pretty similar. We did it at Martin’s studio, Rogue Music. But this time we used the clean signals for the guitars and bass, which were re-amped by Jens.”

A Bit of Initiative

Songwriting-wise, Reinholdz also contributed fairly heavily to ‘Moment’, signaling that there was a lot of trust in what he had to offer. “Yeah, that was great”, he says. “A bunch of those songs I have credits for on that album were kind of Jivarp’s and Martin’s songs from the beginning, but I got involved by adding and rewriting things. And then three of the songs were kind of my songs that the others also had their input on. As you say: I got a lot of trust, and I was thankful for that.

The first couple of years after I joined – 2017, 2018 – we were touring a lot. At the time, we weren’t really talking about new material. Being the new guy, they could of course had discussions that I wasn’t involved in. In 2019, it started to get around to: we have to make a new album. So I kind of took a bit of initiative.

They haven’t talked to me at all about wanting me to write, and I don’t blame them. I think it’s kind of natural that you’re going to have to start a bit carefully, pay your dues a bit, and be a bit careful in the beginning. And eventually, you can take more space and see if that is welcome or not.

But I took a bit of initiative, and I wrote a bunch of demos in 2019 that I just sent to the guys. Then they started writing, and then eventually, I kind of got invited to work on a couple of songs they had started on. That was how it started: I was invited to give my ideas on songs they had already started, which I think was a reasonable progression.”

Shoes to Fill

“It was a big shift for the band when you have two original members leaving, and both of them are guitar players that wrote a lot of the material. They were a part of creating a whole new genre, a movement, being a big part of this band. I think it was a huge loss. There were some shoes to fill. And I’m grateful for the trust they gave me.

I guess I play more solos than Niklas Sundin and Martin Henriksson. Even on my demos, I try to add some solos, because it’s fun to do. Of course, hey already had some solos. I can’t just go off like in my other band Andromeda, which is a prog metal band. They already had some hints of that musicianship, that more solistic guitar playing, and some prog metal influences on earlier albums. But I also understand that this is a different band than what I have done before, and I have to keep what fits this band in mind.

Martin Brändström wrote a lot of stuff on ‘Endtime Signals’, and we arrange a lot of things together. But I can’t deny that a lot of the riffing comes from me. I think that has been lacking now for a couple of albums, because Martin Henriksson and Niklas were kind of gradually fading from the band, both live and in the songwriting department. So there had been less riffing on some of the last few albums than on, let’s say, ‘Fiction’ or ‘Character’.”

Starting with Something Catchy

Reinholdz is fairly mindful of his guitar solos fitting the style of Dark Tranquillity. “I try to adapt a bit to this band by not going too much for jazzy notes that are off the scale and things like that”, he admits. “We try to make it pretty catchy, whilst still retaining my kind of style. Like I said: even on the demos I usually record some solos, and sometimes I keep some of the ideas from the demo solos when I record the real solos for the album, and improve the rest, and kind of build it part by part. Improvising, of course.

I like to start with something a bit catchy that maybe already has appeared in the song, like a hook or a little melody that I can start with, and then kind of build with some kind of dramaturgy, creating a little mini-composition. That’s what I kind of aim for: having a bit of tension and release, some hooky melodies, and some intense parts.

Live, most of the solos are pretty much played the way they are on the album. Some little things I might improvise. But in this band, I mainly try to stick to the script, because it’s not really the type of band in which you jam. When playing the old solos, Niklas’ solos, there are often strong melodies and things that really stand out of which I know that people will really want to hear them. I will keep those.

If there are parts where I feel I can add something, and maybe upgrade a solo, I will do that. How much exactly it is that I add really depends on how the solo is constructed or if there is room for improvement. Niklas had some great ideas in the solos for sure.”

Enough for One Lifetime

Equipment-wise, Reinholdz’s joining of the band went very smoothly. “It was very plug-and-play, basically”, he says. “They told me they work with Kempers. I had not tried that before, so I asked them what that was all about. ‘Oh, you can make it sound like any amp, and by the way: we have midi changes, so you don’t have to do shit.’ That’s great!

In fact, that’s what I always wanted, because I’m not really a pedal hipster who brags about his pedalboard with forty pedals, and stepping on them like a ballerina on stage. I am completely uninterested in such things. I rather just want to play and interact with the crowd. So I think it’s really great that I don’t have to think about the gear.

On the other hand, if the Kemper or the computer fails, we’re screwed. It’s vulnerable for sure, but usually it works out fine. If things go wrong, you’re kind of caught with your pants down. But as long as it works, I’m really thankful for it. We updated the sounds a bit lately. Mostly the distorted sounds, which had been a bit too sharp. They could be a bit more warm and round. Maybe we’ll do some more upgrades for the upcoming tours.

Since 2019, I have been playing Caparison Guitars. I was approached by an American guy who worked for Caparison who came to one of our shows in Bulgaria. He asked me to contact them if I was interested, and I did. They sent me a guitar to try and it felt great. I’m used to playing Ibanez, and to me, they were kind of similar in how they felt.

In Andromeda, I tried to get into playing seven strings for a while, because we had some things that were in A-flat dropped, but I never really got into it. It never felt comfortable, because I feel like I’m still learning how to play guitar on six strings. That’s enough for one lifetime. I don’t need seven strings to confuse me. If you tune down a guitar, and you have 24 frets, you have a huge range already. That’s all I need.”

A Great Boost

While Reinholdz had already recorded with Dark Tranquillity before, bassist Christian Jansson and drummer Joakim Strandberg-Nilsson debut on ‘Endtime Signals’. “Joakim is an old friend of mine”, Reinholds says. “We went to the music academy together, and we played in bands together in the past. He is a really accomplished drummer who can do everything. He can play very technical and fast, but he can also groove, and play with taste.

It felt really inspiring to know that we didn’t have to feel limited when we sat down to program the drums. Almost anything we wanted the drums to do, we could rely on Joakim to do it. He also contributed to that while we were doing demos. We would send them to him, and then he did his take on them, and said things like: this is not going to work for me, can we do this instead? Or: is it okay if I do this fill?

He contributed to making the drums better for sure. Both in arranging the drums as well as playing and recording them. It was definitely a great boost. The drums are the engine of the band, and the whole foundation. I usually say that the drummer and the frontman are the most important positions in the band. You have the foundation, and then you have the face. To me, both of those things are really top-notch in Dark Tranquillity.”

A Pretty Large Box

Some people don’t seem to realize how big Martin Brändström’s impact on Dark Tranquillity is. “Definitely”, Reinholdz nods. “He is our producer now, and has been for a couple of albums. I guess he has taken over a big part of the role that Martin Henriksson used to have. Because he was kind of the arranger that took other people’s ideas and turned them into songs.

And of course, all of the synths are a huge part of Dark Tranquillity’s sound. You have all the riffing on one hand, and all those layers of synths that create this vibe that is very specific to Dark Tranquillity. Also, there are a lot of harmonies, even in the rhythm guitar playing. That is all part of this band’s trademark.

I think the box we are operating in is pretty large. I mean… Sure, it’s melodic death metal, but there is also some really soft, atmospheric stuff, we can play really fast, and even some proggy stuff. It feels pretty liberating. Also, I’ve been a fan of the band since the first album, so I know what it’s all about.”