The Gallery (album)

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

The Gallery
Studio album by Dark Tranquillity
Released	November 27, 1995
Recorded	April–May 1995
Studio	Studio Fredman
Genre	Melodic death metal
Length	47:48
Label	Osmose
Producer	Dark Tranquillity, Fredrik Nordström
Dark Tranquillity chronology
Of Chaos and Eternal Night (1995) The Gallery (1995) Enter Suicidal Angels (1996)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Sputnikmusic	[2]

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,[3] 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."[1]

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."[4]

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Punish My Heaven"	Stanne, Sundin	Johansson, Sundin, Jivarp	4:46
2.	"Silence, and the Firmament Withdrew"	Sundin, Stanne	Sundin, Henriksson	2:36
3.	"Edenspring"	Stanne	Sundin, Johansson	4:30
4.	"The Dividing Line"	Stanne	Jivarp, Johansson, Sundin,	5:01
5.	"The Gallery"	Stanne, Sundin	Henriksson	4:07
6.	"The One Brooding Warning"	Stanne	Henriksson, Johansson, Sundin	4:14
7.	"Midway Through Infinity"	Stanne	Sundin, Henriksson, Jivarp, Johansson	3:30
8.	"Lethe"	Sundin	Henriksson	4:42
9.	"The Emptiness from Which I Fed"	Stanne	Henriksson, Sundin, Johansson	5:43
10.	"Mine Is the Grandeur..." (instrumental)		Henriksson, Sundin	2:26
11.	"...of Melancholy Burning"	Stanne	Henriksson	6:16
Total length:				47:48

Japanese bonus track

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
12.	"My Friend of Misery (Metallica cover)"	James Hetfield, Jason Newsted, Lars Ulrich	5:25

10" box

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Bringer of Torture" (Kreator cover)	2:20
13.	"Sacred Reich" (Sacred Reich cover)	3:12

2004 re-release[5]

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Bringer of Torture" (Kreator cover)	2:20
13.	"Sacred Reich" (Sacred Reich cover)	3:12
14.	"22 Acacia Avenue" (Iron Maiden cover)	6:05
15.	"Lady in Black" (Mercyful Fate cover)	4:22
16.	"My Friend of Misery" (Metallica cover)	5:25

Credits

Dark Tranquillity

• Mikael Stanne − vocals
• Niklas Sundin − guitar
• Fredrik Johansson − 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

References

1. Serba, John. "The Gallery - Dark Tranquility". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
2. Ward, Kyle. "Review: Dark Tranquility - The Gallery". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
3. "Melodic Death Metal". About.com. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
4. Dick, Chris. "Dark Tranquility "The Gallery"". Decibel Magazine. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
5. "Dark Tranquillity – The Gallery". Discogs. Retrieved 2020-10-14.