PERSONAL NOTE: It appears that Eva-Marie herself has read this page and commented here, which is quite awesome. Eva-Marie, if you ever read this again, e-mail me or something, don’t be a stranger :P

I like music. I listen to it all day. I listen to all kinds of music, classical, pop, rock, metal, whatever. Obviously, there many ingenious pieces, like the Swan Lake, Falling off the Edge of the World and Aerials, but they all pale in comparison (well, they don’t really pale, they’re just lesser) to Dark Tranquillity’s The Gallery.

I have not heard anything more beautiful than the voice of Eva-Marie Larsson singing

One lonely portrait
covers the love-starved canvas
in honour of the birthless rebellion
within me.
Every picture holds a tale
every shade tells of a thousand words.

The rest of the song is still a masterpiece, but this voice is sublime. It is with great sadness that I realize that the English language has been diluted and is no longer able to describe the beauty of these three things: The voice of Eva-Marie Larsson, the cloudy sky over a field and this chick from my university.

If you’re reading this, Eva-Marie, I want to tell you that I want to marry you. I don’t care what you are like, what you look like or whether you are married. As long as I can hear that voice, I will be happy.

Eva-Marie sings for a total of twenty seconds or so in The Gallery (the album) but they are without a doubt the best twenty seconds of all time. She also sings in …Of Melancholy Burning, but, although exquisite, is not as soulful as The Gallery. In case you’re wondering, she sings these words:

Flee from the safety of the sheltering sky
See all but logic so vengeance shall be
Mine is the grandeur of melancholy
burning, oh burning

I would not suggest that you listen to the song. Stanne (the main singer) is growling, as Death Metal singers are wont to do, and it takes a bit of getting used to. I used to be put off by it, but the opening to Insanity’s Crescendo (the first Dark Tranquillity song I listened to) was so beautiful and the music so melodic that I stuck around, and now I love it.

All their albums are excellent and have easily some of the best music I have ever heard, but The Gallery (the album) stands out. With such songs as Lethe, Mine is the Grandeur…, …Of Melancholy Burning, Silence; And the Firmament Withdrew and, of course, The Gallery, I cannot but fall in love with it.

Once again, Eva-Marie Larsson in The Gallery is the most beautiful sound I have ever heard. I will maybe update this when I hear my first child speak its first words. Stay tuned.