NEON THIS WEEK
Dark Tranquility coming tonight
Back in the day, death metal used to boast all the melody of a yak fight. But that all changed at the hands of bands such as Dark Tranquility, who helped patent a new strain of extreme metal loosely named after the band's hometown of Gothenburg, Sweden. Along with fellow locals In Flames, Dark Tranquility leavened the guttural, dissonant aggressiveness that's long defined death metal with soaring, melodic guitar work indebted to New Wave of British Heavy Metal greats like Iron Maiden. The result was a sound that maintained the subgenre's aggressiveness, but made it slightly more palatable to a broader audience. Don't worry though, the band still hits like a clutch of bowling balls hurled from a cliff. See Dark Tranquility at 6 p.m. today at Jillian's, 450 Fremont St. Tickets are $16; call 759-0450.
-- JASON BRACELIN
