Whether either band likes it or not, the careers of At the Gates and their British colleagues in Carcass will always be connected. Both bands began their careers playing music much more brutal and less accessible than the melodic death metal they pioneered and ultimately became best known for. Both bands influenced an entire generation of heavy music, for better (Darkest Hour, The Black Dahlia Murder) and for worse (almost every modern metalcore band). Both bands spun off into more well known, but less essential groups (The Haunted and Arch Enemy, respectively.) Finally, and most importantly, both bands disappeared for nearly two decades, only to return with fantastic comeback albums. Much like Carcass’ Surgical Steel last year, At The Gates’ At War With Reality is a welcome return to glory days of early melodic death metal and a heavy album that feels vital in the here and now.
Carcass, however had the good fortune to be succeeding Swansong, a record that most extreme metal fans either simply don't care about or actively dislike. At the Gates are in a position of following up Slaughter of the Soul, the most revered melodic death metal album of all time. Expectations are impossibly high, but the Swedish veterans manage to come as close as humanly possible. The Spanish spoken word intro “El Altar Del Dios Desconocido” isn’t exactly how one would expect an At The Gates album to open, but it does a good job of setting the mood. From there, things explode...Punknews
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