Year: 2021
Total Time: 45:09
Label: Century Media
It was the year of 1995, when AT THE GATES were putting their signature wide open on the creation of the swedish melodic death sound. “Slaughter Of The Soul”, with its furious yet primitive mood, was destined to become a trademark of the discography of an entire musical genre, absolutely popular and very important for the history of the metal music scene.
Many of the ambassadors of the swedish sound have tried over the years to evolve their sound, to “modernise” it and to reveal a different path, sometimes with (relative) success, and sometimes with (disastrous) failure. AT THE GATES, followed (including a long twenty year recording hiatus) a more conservative path, which the majority of fans accepted with respect. The newer “At War With Reality” and “To Drink From The Night Itself” kept the band in the game for good, and consistent with the times, the Swedes released “The Nightmare Of Being” in midsummer.
What’s new in their recent album is first of all the partial participation of the band’s guitarist Jonas Stålhammar in the compositional part of the album. Even from the first listen I can admit that the album clearly has a 90’s aesthetic that I like very much (the genre master Jonas Björler is responsible for this), and, although faithful to the swedish melodic model, it has for maybe the first time quite a wide range of influences and musical pluralism (a great example is the wonderful “The Garden Of Cyrus” with its intelligent baritone saxophone and its classical and post forms).
The album’s opening lead track “Spectre Of Extinction”, a collaboration between Björler and Andy LaRocque, sets the tone for an immediate assault. Thunderous rhythmic parts, melodic chorus, the definition of Swedish death metal, absolutely and without any compromise. The more atmospheric and melodic “The Nightmare Of Being”, “The Garden Of Cyrus” and “Cosmic Pessimism” are my favorite moments, they “de-flatten” (if I may use the term) the sound of AT THE GATES and it’s one of the reasons why I rate (provocatively in a good way) the album so high. On safer paths the ultimate swedish death metal track “Cult Of Salvation” could well have sprung from “Slaughter Of The Soul”.
I think that “The Nightmare Of Being” is a big step forward for AT THE GATES, who are now stepping very firmly, experimenting (in their own unique way), but also remaining steady in maintaining the ideal balance of harshness/aggressiveness and melody. And all these elements don’t seem weird to each other, but are perfectly integrated into the philosophy of the album. In my opinion, the new album sits two levels above its predecessor, and one above the very good “At War With Reality”.
So if “Slaughter Of The Soul” is an absolute 10/10, then “The Nightmare Of Being” attempts to look at it straight on with a timid, sneaky look, and that’s more than enough at the moment. A very pleasant surprise for this year.
Rating: 8,5/10
Editor: Kostas Kafritsas
Related Link: AT THE GATES – Facebook Page
