Dark Tranquillity finds metal's nuance.

Byline: Scott MCLENNAN

COLUMN: SCOTT MCLENNAN

For Dark Tranquillity, songs begin with an idea and a growl.

Bass player Martin Henriksson typically brings the musical ideas to his band mates and singer Mikael Stanne simply grunts, growls and barks in places where lyrics will eventually go. From those primitive roots, Dark Tranquillity grows ornately crafted metal tunes, songs that ultimately contain cinematic sweep and thrash intensity.

By the time Dark Tranquillity finished its latest missive, "Fiction," many of the growls were replaced with reams of menacing imagery and aggressive railing. And yeah, a few well-placed growls remain.

But the Swedish metal vets did not simply stick to formula in making "Fiction." While still firmly in the small but hearty ranks of melodic death metal, Dark Tranquillity tried a different tack on its eighth studio release.

"We tried to show different sides of the band from song to song," Stanne said. "Before, we made everything really interesting all the time. This time we said, `Let's be more loose.' The idea was to have the songs stand out from each other."

Thus "Fiction" has the feel of an old LP, with "side one" comprising thrash-based death-metal-type tirades and "side two" laying into the band's more melodic underpinnings.

Dark Tranquillity's brooding melancholy holds together the varied tunes, and with its identity intact, the band broke new ground, especially with how the band broadened the way it arranged each song. "Fiction" spans the maelstrom howl of "Nothing to No One" to the gothic swells of "Misery's Crown." Guitarists Niklas Sundin and Michael Niklasson, drummer Anders Jivarp, and keyboard player Martin Brandstrom join Henriksson and Stanne in the "Fiction."

"We listen to all kinds of stuff and we keep up with the albums that are out there. We can get inspired by just about anything, but we don't necessarily show in our music what may have inspired us. What we are creating is original. What got us into the whole scene was the originality. We may play metal, but not all of our ideas come from metal," Stanne said.

Dark Tranquillity's metal bona fides will be on display tomorrow when the band plays at The Palladium, 261 Main St., Worcester, with fellow Swedes The Haunted. The so-called Metal for the Masses tour will also feature Into Eternity and Scar Symmetry.

Dark Tranquillity emerged in 1993 among the architects of the "Gothenburg Sound," which blends soaring guitar anthems with brutal death-metal ferocity for a sonic brew that is both progressive and punishing. The band released "Skydancer" with original singer Anders Friden, who now fronts fellow "Gothenburg Sound' staple In Flames. When Friden left the band, Stanne switched from playing guitars in Dark Tranquillity to singing, and his first stab at the job resulted in "The Gallery." By 1999's "Projector," Stanne and crew were pushing the death-metal boundaries to include more clean singing and broader musical arrangements. In 2002 the band finally broke into America and Stanne said that was crucial for a couple of reasons.

"In the American market you need to tour a lot to build a fan base, but you see an immediate reaction in your sales whenever you play in America. In Europe we seem to play the same places every year. But in America every time we go back, the shows get bigger," Stanne said.

And American audiences tend to be more open minded, he said. Dark Tranquillity's American debut came when it toured with In Flames and Killswitch Engage. The In Flames crowd was naturally of a mind to catch DT. But getting in front of the metal-core crowd that backs Killswitch Engage simply allowed DT to mine fans from an unexpected source. In contrast, when Dark Tranquillity tried a similar approach in Europe in staging a recent tour with Chimaira, the audiences were not so accepting of the mix-and-match approach.

"In America, the fans seem more open-minded about checking out all the sub-genres in metal," Stanne said.

And with "Fiction," Dark Tranquillity made a record that mirrors its own interest in exploring the nuance of music's heavy end.

Two schools of comedy come to Worcester on Sunday. Veteran satirist Robert Klein performs at 7:30 p.m. in Tuckerman Hall, 10 Tuckerman St., Worcester, in a benefit for the New Jewish Academy. And redneck jokester Larry the Cable Guy gets going at 7:30 p.m. at The DCU Center, 50 Foster St., Worcester.

There is also top-notch folk music in the region this weekend. Steve Forbert pays a visit to The Bull Run, Route 2A, Shirley, on Saturday. Also on Saturday, The Green Rooster Coffeehouse in Worcester has Diana Jones and Jonathan Byrd, both winners of the prestigious New Folk Award presented at the Kerrville Folk Festival. The coffeehouse is located in the United Congregational Church, 6 Institute Road, Worcester.

Ritual Propaganda is at Ralph's Chadwick Square Diner, 148 Grove St., Worcester, on Saturday. Singuya headlines Saturday at The Lucky Dog Music Hall, 89 Green St., Worcester. Killer Queen plays Saturday at JJ's restaurant, Route 20, Northboro. Hard Drive is at Kas-Bar, Route 20, Worcester, tomorrow.

The Backstabbers will be at JJ's House of Blues, 395 Grafton St., Worcester, tomorrow. Harmonica player Chet Williamson, guitarist Dan Hunt, bass player Matt Brown and drummer Billy MacGillivray bring the swing to a dance being presented Saturday night by Greendale Christian Singles at The Greendale People's Church, 25 Francis St., Worcester

The Danelectros, featuring Bob Jordan, Rich MacDuff, Ed Fleming and Joe and Jeff Baskowski, is playing tomorrow at Delisle Goulet Post 92, 69 Worcester St., Grafton. The Prairie Oysters will be at The Blue Plate, 661 Main St., Holden, on Saturday.

In concert news, Van Morrison is playing The Opera House in Boston on April 30. Tickets range from $125 to $75, on sale at 9 a.m. tomorrow through Ticketmaster.

Keane headlines the Bank of America Pavilion in Boston on May 25. Tickets range from $39.50 to $29.50, on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday through Ticketmaster.

And Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are at The TD Banknorth Garden in Boston on July 5. Tickets run from $92.25 to $52.50, and go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday through Ticketmaster.

Ticketmaster can be accessed online at www.ticketmaster.com, and by telephone at 931-2000 in the 508 or 617 area code.

Scott McLennan can be reached at [e-mail].

ART: PHOTO

CUTLINE: Dark Tranquillity plays tomorrow at The Palladium.