Slaughter of the Soul

A contagious sense of profound grief sets in from the start. The main theme on 'Blinded by Fear' is one of these rare melodies that manage to be both utterly beautiful and simple. Its complement chug/hammer-on riff completes it with a balance just right. From the start, we get a feel for ultra efficiency: songs that'll be jam-packed with action, won't fart around, with every moment highly expressive and needing little time to unfold. The average track is around three minutes here. The profound grief experienced early is common throughout the album: rather than resorting to dandy melodic candy motivated by a poppy approach (as can be found around in the sub-genre...), this has more of an elegant styling to it centered around aesthetics of a solemn plainness. The album is melodic like what a marble statue from Roman Antiquity is to sculpture, an art form wrought in gracefulness and humility and cultivating restraint rather than opulence, with a classic quaintness at its core.

The excellently well-rounded and complete composition that is 'Cold' showcases an exquisite such example on its "chorus" ("I feel my soul go cold; Only the dead are smiling") and its lovely low/high harmony counterpoint. At The Gates use that Baroque minor scale for the entirety of this release precisely for that refined romantic effect; as if the riffs yearn. Otherwise the repertoire offers some of the more epic oriented excursions with the spectacular and ultra-tightly written title-track as a spearhead, while 'Under a Serpent Sun' between the grief and epic motifs displays a particularly intriguing blending of both. That tremolo picked theme will stay with the listener for a while. It appears to depict an ominousness, a grandeur, and follows up its first half with an expertly thought out resolution that takes a few listens to rightly appreciate.

Of course not all of it is without reproach. There are the more mainstream sounding bits, those thrash-blues parts that seem to be playing the role of comic relief from the heavy emotional component between the sadness or the emphatic epic bouts of riff. Along comes a 'Suicide Nation' to really chase away the depth in atmosphere and lighten things up. This became typical for that Gothenburg style, but fellow countrymen like Entombed were doing it prior. In this case, that track still has a verse riff and "chorus" in the same vein of carefully crafted melodies as on previous tracks, still expressing that graceful allure.

The great thing about the album is it doesn't settle for presenting two, three songs and then shit out useless clones of them. A track as late as Track 8 'Unto Others' is arguably among the top ones here, from front to back: strongly crafted classic melo-death with an excellent trem chorus, with the later developments a delight (and what fluidity in the riffing), and still that heavy grief like a romantic's heartache at the core of it all. That one is a proper ride. Later 'Need' presents its thoughtful (and sticky) poetic main theme, and in various forms: as riff, as a lead melody and finally as bells in solo to finish. Last but not least, listen to the outro track 'The Flames of the End'; simply: isn't that a really cool way to end the record?

To briefly address the criticism that this album started the trend of commercial melo-death metal: as an artist, you're not responsible for how you influence a scene. Just the way Metallica aren't responsible for Trivium and Carcass aren't responsible for the hordes of tedious goregrind clones. 'Slaughter of the Soul' isn't In Flames circa the late 90's, and this isn't pop. It was obviously way ahead of its time (including production, notably a gorgeous original guitar tone), definitional, and certainly written with much more maturity than anything previous in their discography.

Slaughter of the Soul is like really good fast food. Generally, the purpose of eating fast food is to save money, time, or the effort of making your own. It’s not very good for you, and while it might taste good in the moment, you typically feel like shit afterwards. It’s better to avoid eating it overall no matter how much you’re craving it; it never seems to taste as good as you remember from when you were a kid, back before you started having to worry about your diet.

Yet for most of us, there’s always that one fast food chain that there’s a soft spot for—whatever that place may be, you just don’t seem to get sick off it or filled with regret after eating the way you do from most places. For me personally, it’s White Castle (judge me all you want fellow Americans). The number of times that I’ve gotten the craving while drunk to get a few sliders from White Castle can’t even be counted. It always hits too, guaranteed to be the one junk food restaurant I’ll keep going back to.

I guess you could say that Slaughter of the Soul is my White Castle, my junk food craving. This is frozen food—pop it into the microwave and within a minute or two it’ll be ready for consumption. It’s not very high in protein and there’s way too many trans fats in it, but damn is it good. They used to be a respectable, healthy brand even, back in the days of Alf Svensson when all of the rif— I mean ingredients were organic and hand-picked from the farm. Harvesting such pure goods made for unique flavors, unlike any others in the Swedish melodeath scene.

For Slaughter of the Soul though, the cheapest and most convenient ingredients are used, for mass production and best value for your buck of course. These simple yet delicious riffs and compositions will reach far beyond the original customer base! The metalcore kids and genre tourists will find this very tasty; with so few ingredients at use there will be no confusing those poor newbies to our wonderful new recipe!

And of course, the recipe itself remains hardly unchanged throughout. ‘Blinded by Fear’ and the title track are two delicious appetizers to get things started, and can be cooked up in record time! Did you enjoy the simple, thrashy filling of the former’s main riff? Good, we’ll slightly alter the formula for the next portion. Let’s slow things down a bit, and truly savor the flavor of this title track riff. Do you like screechy sing-along choruses (“TEAR YOUR SOUL APARTTTT”)? Excellent, that comes with the kids meal for free. And those may be the best two bites of the meal, but fear not for the underrated deliciousness of fellow highlights ‘Under a Serpent Sun’ and ‘Suicide Nation’ are yet to come. The former boasts another easily digestible chorus to eat, while the latter gives an attitude-laden, bouncy riff with a slight kick to it to gnaw on.

While the first half of the album is genuinely delicious and easy to handle portions, the second half sees some of the drunk craving start to wear off. In the first half there’s many enjoyable subtle moments like the bridges in ‘Cold’ and ‘Under a Serpent Sun’ respectively and various (yet brief) acoustic passages to break up what would otherwise be relentless repetition. On the other hand there’s the stretch of songs starting with ‘World of Lies’ through to ‘Need’ which are all highly enjoyable, but there’s not much to differentiate them. The same quick, thrashy riffs are the main ingredient with a sprinkle of Tomas Lindberg’s high pitched shrieks on top for some added flavor; missing is the protein of the bass throughout the whole thing yet you can’t resist the fatty delight of the guitars and their hyper speeds.

Foodie metaphors aside, Slaughter of the Soul is a genuinely enjoyable album to me. However I’ve found that over time, due to the more simplistic and repetitive nature of a lot of these compositions this is not nearly as replay-able as earlier At the Gates material. It’s a very energetic record; clocking in at just over 34 minutes, there isn’t a risk of over saturation or loss of momentum because it keeps moving along at a brisk pace. Maybe a candy or sweet metaphor could work too—I feel like a little kid hopped up on sugar or something, and with the effect these songs have in a live setting (having experienced the entire album in concert a couple years back) it’s no big surprise as to the massive success and mainstream exposure the Swedes gained with this release. Slaughter of the Soul is simple and palatable; highly entertaining but relatively shallow in terms of writing. Still, you’d have to be lying to yourself at least a little bit if you said you didn’t enjoy the high energy performances at play here, even if objectively this is a step down from previous work.

When this came out I picked it up because it was compared to Death's Symbolic and Coroner, as well as had the moniker "avant-garde metal." Well, At the Gates were without a doubt an avant-garde band on their debut album, and you could make a case for any of their other releases before Slaughter of the Soul, but absolutely not here.

Slaughter of the Soul is where Alf Svensson's vital influence has been definitively purged. In his place you've got Martin Larsson and the Björler brothers pumping out the catchiest melo-death riffs that Gothenburg has to offer. To their credit, this is by and far the best of those Gothenburg riffs to ever live, but it's a devastating blow to the band's intelligent, progressive leanings that made them a sophisticated and acquired taste. There's really nothing that you need to dig for or hidden gems that reveal themselves to you on repeated listenings. No, you get the whole package straight up with no strings attached.

There are lot of good tracks on here. "Blinded by Fear" is a great opener that slams you into the wall from the get-go, "Suicide Nation" and "Under a Serpent Sun" both have some really good moments, and "Cold" features a beautiful solo from axe-master Andy Larocque. "Nausea" starts with this straight up death metal riff, adding a good dose of heaviness that the album needs. It's often the overly predictable melodic elements and melodic choppy riffing that grate on my nerves and cause a good deal of the songs to kind of flow by. The closest to "avant-garde" and most memorable happens to be the two instrumentals, "Into the Dead Sky" and "Flames of the End," both of which feature some quasi-industrial drumming and sound effects.

The production is the best they've had since Gardens of Grief, but is far from perfect. Thomas Lindberg manages to refine his screaming vocals, to the slight detriment of his usual out of control feel. Where highlighting some of the desperation in the lyrics, though, they work remarkably well. The drums have an especially robotic feel to them and the guitars are really jagged sounding--both characteristics that would rear their heads in modern "thrash" bands like Lamb of God and the dreaded metalcore subgenre (at no fault to At the Gates). The guitar sound is pretty good, in my opinion, and you can actually hear the multiple guitar lines (even if they are less interesting that what came before this album).

One could call this At the Gates' Reign in Blood, given the short run time and simplistic nature of the songs, but I'd liken it more to Metallica's black album. It's got the hooks and accessibility of Death's Symbolic and the simplicity of Coroner's Grin, much to the credit of those early ads and reviews. The refinement, though probably not unnecessary at this point, certainly gives the album the mass appeal that the masses craved. Dark Tranquillity and In Flames both had simplistic approaches to melo-death that At the Gates mercilessly trounced with this album, coming in both heavier than those bands and weaker than their own selves. Slaughter of the Soul is predictable and slightly unrewarding, but enjoyable nonetheless.

This album is undeniably a masterpiece, period. It bafflingly attracts an excessive amount of criticism for seemingly no good reason. Why? Perhaps because it served as a major influence on what later evolved into metalcore? So what? I don't see why that's a problem. Dismissing it or any metalcore solely based on genre categorization is a narrow-minded perspective. Only old-school, closed-minded metalheads adhere to such a ridiculous and childish mindset. Yes, it may have influenced core and modern metal bands that sometimes stretch beyond traditional metal boundaries. However, this is a 100% pure metal album with not a single moment deviating from its roots. While some may argue that it's underrated, I believe it's mainly Metallum where it receives disproportionate hate.

In my view, "Slaughter of the Soul" stands as the peak of melodic death metal. It encapsulates the super melodic essence of death-ish metal emerging from Gothenburg. Yes, I deliberately use the term "-ish" because, let's be honest, no album linked to this scene is 100% pure death metal. Most incorporate death metal as the foundation or primary influence, occasionally veering into excess melody, too much influence from Maiden, or elements of black or thrash metal. Yet, this doesn't diminish their unquestionable quality and importance. "Slaughter of the Soul" remains the best in this subgenre, alongside "Sweet Vengeance" by Nightrage and "Jester Race" by In Flames. "The Gallery" by Dark Tranquillity, sorry to say, falls into the overrated category.

Musically, "Slaughter of the Soul" leans slightly towards thrash and less death metal compared to its predecessors. It's more melodic but not in a soft way; It's serious, aggressive, and violent music. Its "fault" lies in being irresistibly catchy and easy to listen to from start to finish. You can't skip a song, and it's impossible not to headbang or air guitar. Every track is filled with tons of heavy, melodic, groovy, and distinctly Swedish riffs—pure metal magic. Tuned in B-standard (2.5 tones down), a classic Stockholm death metal tuning, The album skilfully integrates progressive and industrial touches here and there, introducing a unique and distinctive flavour to its overall sound. Tracks like "Blinded by Fear," "Cold," "Slaughter of the Soul," and "Under a Serpent Sun" are total headbangers and classics.

All the musicians, despite their youth, showcase an incredible amount of technique and talent. They're truly innovative and groundbreaking. Anders and Martin, in particular, are phenomenal, setting a standard for modern extreme guitar playing across the entire metal scene. Jonas, equally impressive in bass, remains true to the metal roots to this day. Adrian, hailed as one of the best drummers out there, absolutely crushes the drum kit in every single song. The energy, talent, and creativity he brings are truly remarkable. The extensive list of extreme metal bands he's been a part of speaks volumes about his mastery. As for Tomas, this marks one of the peak moments in his career. In my opinion, his performances in "Slaughter of the Soul" and "Sweet Vengeance" stand out. He hasn't always been consistently great in everything he's done, but here, he takes the lead in defining how an extreme vocalist should sound – extreme, violent, pissed off, and downright dangerous. You can practically hear his voice bleeding through the intensity of his delivery.

Lyrically, the album is both clever and dark. It adopts the classic death metal misanthropic style, but delves even deeper into themes of mental liberation from religion, open-mindedness, and breaking free from the boundaries of traditional thinking and living. Tomas, the main force behind the lyrics, brings a thoughtful and introspective touch to the misanthropic narrative.
The production by Fredrik Nordström is another highlight. Responsible for some of the best, darkest, and heaviest productions in metal, Nordström crafted the Gothenburg melodic death metal sound. While the album cover may not be the most aesthetically pleasing, it aligns with the lyrics and remains a classic.

"Slaughter of the Soul" stands as the best and, to me, the final album of At the Gates even after their initial split. While they reunited later, the albums released post-reunion deviate significantly from their glorious past, both in style and inspiration. Even live they are boring as fuck, unless they are doing old stuff.

In conclusion, I don't believe this album is truly underrated; it just seems to receive undue criticism here on Metallum, as mentioned earlier. If you haven't given "Slaughter of the Soul" a listen, I strongly recommend doing so. And if you've listened already and still find it mediocre, give it another shot with an open mind. For fans of extreme metal, it's practically impossible not to appreciate and love what this album brings to the table.

After Svensson left between Gardens and Terminal, Terminal Spirit Disease marked a more straightforward and less death metal-y sound, but this did not seem like a problem at first.... Until Slaughter of the Soul was released and all those problems seen on Terminal Spirit Disease were exacerbated and turned this album into a hot flaming mess that somehow manages to be hailed as a masterpiece despite being the hallmark of a bad album that is clearly inferior in every way compared to their predecessors.

This album is the most thrash adjacent of the 4 albums before their first breakup, this does not sound bad in a vacuum, but considering that their previous albums feature a more death metal sound, this album is nothing more than a watering down of their sound compared to past outputs. Another thing that marked the decline of this album is that they went all in on melodies and with such stripped off everything that can be associated with death metal, but guess what? THIS album is what the mallcore kids end up copying instead of something like their debut, so most melodeath for the next 20 years after this album came out does not resemble death metal at all, just angrier thrash metal that sounds like a poor Slayer imitation, if the lyrics are swapped to generic edgy teen misanthropic shit that only garner laughs from the common folk instead of something terrifying from a band like Dragged Into Sunlight or Xasthur.

Songwriting wise, every song sounds pretty similar, all the riffs and solos are pretty interchangeable, swap one for the other and no one could spot a difference. The ideas for the songs here are concerningly low too, 9 tracks and only at 30 minutes of run time, it is as if they are trying to stretch their ideas for as long as possible and 30 minutes were the best they could. But even when all songs sound similar, those that tried to implement something new into their sound, like Cold, clocked in at a really short song length which makes it even more irritating, its like they just half assed this new idea and just want to do nothing more than selling out their sound, if the simple and repetitive riffs that were spammed in this album weren't an indicator enough. The songs also follow a basic, done to death verse-chorus structure that opens with a chug, then a Gothenburg melodic thrash riff that repeats itself until the end, saving for solos that sounds so generic and uninspired that I rather listen to those riffs that repeat themselves.

Instruments/vocals/production wise (I'm tying all of these together because production problems will be involving those 2 as well), holy shit is this brickwalled to hell, the guitars sound monotonous (even during the solos), the bass is missing (maybe this album was what popularized the Newsted-ing of bass and bassists, at least Metallica knew that it was a mistake), the drums sounds... Okay the drums are actually fine, just triggered, or drum machine-y, but it has enough variety that keeps me listening to this dumpster fire. The vocals are really bad though, it's like Tomas fried his vocal cords before recording this album, and kept this tone for the entire album, making the entire thing really monotonous and boring, ironically including some clean vocals would have helped, unlike many bands that this album influenced would. Tying all these together would be the production, everything sounds so compressed, it genuinely felt like there is no room for the instruments to breathe and express themselves, like a corporate product, completely soulless like melodeath bands signed under Nuclear Blast (maybe this is why the album is named this way?). When they were signed to other record labels prior to this, it sounded more dynamic but somehow Earache just decides to brickwall this album to shit after signing ATG?

All this, can be traced back to Svensson leaving ATG, if he hadn't left, the songwriting could have been more diverse, the songs could have been longer (this isn't fucking grindcore 94 pop guys), hell the production wouldn't be so bad if he was still around. Overall, his departure was the point where the band began its downfall, even though it might not be obvious at first.

This album marked the point where melodic death metal began selling out to the mallcore kids, and it is evident by the fact that the same mallcore kids started bands that did a similar sound to this and not real melodeath like their debut. If you want an authentic melodic death metal experience, just check out their 3 albums before this, or check out Intestine Baalism.

If you see an ATG fan who hates Alf Svensson (more common than you think, especially if he's a fan of this album and everything after this) because of his more experimental approach to songwriting and composition, he's a mallcore kid and you have my explicit permission to kick his shit in.

Highlights: Under a Serpent Sun (where the 5% came from, a mid song in an album full of garbage)

I can roughly split At the Gates' discography into two parts: The Red in the Sky Is Ours to Terminal Spirit Disease, and then Slaughter of the Soul onwards. What caused this division? You could say it was the departure of Alf Svensson, but it's not entirely to blame. Svensson left after recording With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness, and there's still some more grandiose melodies and forward thinking on Terminal Spirit Disease (although the music is noticeably more straightforward). I present this reasoning for the sudden shift in sound: this is AtG's first (and so far only) album released on Earache Records. Now most death metal bands on Earache were in shambles when At the Gates hopped on, but knowing their previous output, they could be an exception.

Slaughter of the Soul is At the Gates' 4th album, and their only album released through Earache Records. This is also their last album before their breakup in July 1996. During the initial run of AtG albums, it was normal to expect a difference in sound between each album, usually a more melodic sound than the last. This album, however, is likely their most "thrashy" album of theirs. This isn't an unusual change (The Crown would go through a similar process a couple of years later), but it is something to note when coming in. This isn't any noticeably more accessible than Terminal Spirit Disease (which to be fair is very hard to do while still being death metal), at least in riffage. As for the contents of the album, well...

This album isn't irredeemable by any means. There are genuinely good songs here. But for the most part, Slaughter of the Soul is a textbook example of shite mallcore that prioritizes itself on appealing to people that never grew out of their daddy issues more than actually making interesting music. Every single one of its ideas was already either done better on Terminal Spirit Disease or would be done better by bands like The Black Dahlia Murder or Darkest Hour. Even if this album wasn't outclassed by what would eventually come, the previously superb riffage that would define past AtG albums is gone, replaced with watered-down chugging with interspersed "melodies" that bring about more of a Machine Head or even Slipknot vibe. It somehow drags in the 35 minutes it's given thanks to the hilariously low concentration of ideas on display here. There are 9 actual songs totaling 30 minutes of runtime, and you've heard every idea the album has to offer by the end of the second track. It's probably the single steepest drop-off in metal without any one explicable cause. At the Gates went from making master-class death metal to...this.

Some tracks do manage to escape the unyielding criticism I would have otherwise given this album. "Under a Serpent Sun" is probably the best song on the record, and along with "Suicide Nation" I would consider are the only songs that are better than anything At the Gates did beforehand. The rest ranges from almost tolerable ("Blinded by Fear", "Nausea") to complete hogshit ("Cold", "Unto Others", "Need"). The tracks are all stone-stupid ordeals that are played more mechanically than any dime-a-dozen tech-death band with zero emotion or life pumped in, playing away hopelessly on the border of accessible and aggressive without committing to either side (fans of latter-era Death should be familiar with this) and ending up all the worse for it. All the riffs follow a basic template of Open B chugging followed by some basic sugary-sweet Gothenburg melody. All of the songs are verse-chorus. All of the choruses on the album are huge and easy to sing along to, which wouldn't be a bad thing if they were executed with any skill or conviction. Any break from the chugging is a little widdly-woo solo that is a waste of talent from the guitarist playing it. The interludes suck too, they don't pass the "if it was the entire album, would I like it" test and they're downright pretentious in their execution. So what separates the two songs I mentioned above from the rest? "Under a Serpent Sun" has a cool intro and outro with a nice riff buried in the chug, but I honestly could not tell you for "Suicide Nation". Maybe there's a slightly looser/groovier feel, more of a contrast between sections. That song also probably has the best non-guest solo on the album, so that's also a factor.

This is about as close as death metal can come to selling out...without actually selling out. The instrumentals hold about zero actual death metal in them, which is not necessarily a bad thing. If Tomas Lindberg did all cleans here, people would probably hail this as Reign in Blood 2. While that would make the album better (Lindberg's vocal performance is fucking dreadful here), it still doesn't fix the core issues of the album, being the boring and samey nature of everything. Every riff on the album can be swapped out for another riff. There's a section in the middle of "Unto Others" that can be plopped literally anywhere in the album and it would have fit. The same goes for "World of Lies". Same for the title track, and "Need", and every other track on the album. You couldn't have done this with past AtG albums. It's so interchangeable and lifeless.

It doesn't help that the production suuuuuuuuuucks. This may be some of the worst production ever put to tape in heavy metal, there's about zero low end to everything and all of the rough edges have been smoothed over. Every performance, every aspect of this is "studio perfect". It's soulless. It's actually grating in its over-sanitation: guitars buzzing like a half-broken pair of dollar store earbuds, drum tracks triggered and quantized more than a Fear Factory album, bass tracks that might as well not exist, and Lindberg's obnoxious vocals dominating the mix. And of course, the entire thing is brickwalled to shit.

What do people see in this? Where is the vaunted melody? Where is the aggression? Where is the metal classic that everyone should listen to? And most importantly: How the fuck did the Björler brothers lose their god-given talent so quickly? And it's not like they would produce nothing but shit from then on, they'd form The Haunted after AtG disbanded and they would continue making great metal. This one-off turd is completely unexplainable in the otherwise flawless run that the Björler brothers had up to and including Revolver. Slaughter of the Soul has no riffs, no soul, no conviction of any kind. It just exists and is "catchy", so people like it.

If you enjoy low-quality riffage with edgy lyrics that you can blast in your room whenever you feel sad or angry (see also: Slipknot), this should be right up your alley. Those of us with taste, stick with anything else these guys did.

One of my first ever death metal albums, yet one of the only ones in its “melodic” sub-category that didn’t roll off of my shoulders over the years. Oftentimes, I blame that occurrence on the guitar tones, and At The Gates solidifies this by doing the exact opposite. The tones on Slaughter Of The Soul are truly one of the greatest features it has, amongst the regularly crushing trajectory and strong ability to stand out. Memorable rhythms are the best way to make most death metal stick, and it’s used to its full advantage with these working ingredients.

Unsurprisingly, there are a lot of soft sections weaved into otherwise burning hot chops. “Cold” has some of the strongest layering you can get, working in its calmer break as well as reeling in nearly isolated vocals for emphasis. The classic “Suicide Nation” knocks this out of the park as well, and the catchiness in the chorus of the title track and its clean solo delivery go hard every time. Presentation really makes a difference in this instance, which isn’t overlooked at all.

But even if you strip that away, Slaughter Of The Soul still hides somewhat progressive leanings and tricks that may hearken back to Human era Death or Atheist. The general flow and jumpiness of “Under A Serpent Sun” packs so much into such a small amount of time. Matter of fact, that’s a pretty good way of summing up the entire work. To the opposite end, simpler songs fill in the gaps wonderfully, boosted by the aforementioned tones, especially in the opener “Blinded By Fear.” There couldn’t have been a better way to start things.

For such a brief record under the umbrella of an oftentimes generic style, At The Gates manages to let me walk away appreciating their strongest disc every time I hear it over the years. I’ve always felt a lot of their career was heavily eclipsed by this masterpiece, which may cause for some more revisiting. In any case, you get your healthy dose of melody under some seriously mean tones, and interesting layouts.

Originally written for ToothAndNailed95.blogspot.com

Of all of the albums I've been wanting to review in like forever, none of them have made me rewrite it and delay it more than At the Gates's fourth studio album "Slaughter of the Soul". I mean, it's on my personal Top 10 Favorite Metal Albums of All Time for a reason. I've been listening to it back to back since the first time I've heard it, and I even have a lyric from the album as part of my signature on the MA forums. But there are two reasons why this took me forever to write a review for it. One is, similar to other albums, it was hard putting in the right words on how much I loved it. And another is, I'd had to explain its influence on the metalcore scene, and whether or not that should affect the enjoyment of this album. We'll get into all of that in a bit, but first, I need to set the scene here.

Melodic death metal is exactly what you'd think. It's death metal, but going on a more melodic route in the sound and composition, as well as taking major influences from traditional heavy metal. Dismember was the first to lay the groundworks of it with their debut "Like an Ever Flowing Stream", and Carcass was the first to go all-out with this new style in their fourth album "Heartwork". During this time, ATG had already released two albums that technically were melodeath, but still had some OSDM influences in them. Beginning in "Terminal Spirit Disease", however, is where things take a turn with the band. TSD is noticeably more melodic and harmonized than the previous two records, and though it isn't perfect, there was something about that sound that the band knew they could tap into even further. And this is where we get to 1995, with the release of their fourth studio album "Slaughter of the Soul".

The album opens up with the track "Blinded by Fear". The track starts off with some industrial noise that creates a low-tuned and tensed atmosphere, which is pushed even further with some banging. This goes on for 30 seconds before we hear a man talk about being blinded by the worlds within us, and it is at that point where the rest of the instruments kick in. The guitar riffs do sound similar to that of the previous album, in which they sound heavy, but also melodic in style. However, it is rather apparent that the melodic portion of the riff is more strongly executed and firm than in TSD, so the death metal style composition of the riff is less threatening and more easy-going in its sound. The drumming is also intense, but weakens itself a bit as a way to let the melodic riff lead in. While the blastbeats aren't the most threatening, the beat patterns are still played well enough to lead off the instruments. The bass is also great, as the bass play is perfect at mixing following along the guitars with laying a thick foundation. And this melodic-orientated sound in the opening track is presented in much of the first half of the album. The tracks "Slaughter of the Soul" and especially "Under a Serpent Sun" are the clear highlights, as the perfect mix of heaviness and melody make them not only the best songs in ATG's discography, but also the best songs in melodic death metal period. The second half of the album is noticeably more heavier and leans more towards that tradition death metal style, but is still melodic in sound, particularly in the tracks "Suicide Nation", "World of Lies", and "Need". And that's not even including that beautiful acoustic track "Into the Dead Sky", which is right up there with Lord Belial's "Forlorn in Silence" in terms of my favorite acoustic songs. SOTS not only has some revolutionary instrumentals in the melodic death metal genre, but they also officially bring At the Gates up from a good death metal band to an official leader in the melodic death metal genre along with In Flames and Dark Tranquillity.

But that's just one element on this album. Tomas Lindberg also does the vocals on this album, and they're a bit more controversial. Tomas's vocals nowadays aren't that good, and bring the new ATG albums down quality-wise. And even in his prime time, some people weren't really on board with his yelping vocal delivery. However, in a strange way, I feel like there really is no other vocal delivery that can enhance the tracks more than Tomas's style of vocals. To see what I mean, let's take a look at the album's magnum opus "Under a Serpent Sun". This track pretty much has everything I love about melodic death metal with its mix of heavy riffs and melodic melodies, and Tomas's vocals are perfect for it. The yelping brings in more pain in the more heavy riffs, whereas the emotional yells in his voice make the more melodic riffs more powerful. And let's be real here: We've all got a bit teary when Tomas shouted "Under a serpent sun... we shall all live as one!" for the first time. And that's just one song. In the rest of the tracks, Tomas's unique vocals bring in more emotion and power in the instrumentals, and make the melodic parts even better. And that makes his deteriorating vocals today all the more tragic, because if his vocals sounded this good back in 1995, then one could only imagine how they would've sounded like had his vocal performance got better.

Now, unlike most reviews I've done, I don't really have a whole lot to say about the lyrics. It's songwriting is simple, but also descriptive and worded well enough to tell good stories, and the melodic riffs and yelping vocals only further enhance these stories. Instead, I guess I will use this paragraph to talk about SOTS's influence in metalcore. Since the genre's inception, a lot of metalcore bands have taken much of their influence from At the Gates and especially this album. Hell, Bring Me the Horizon in particular had their album "Count Your Blessings" be half SOTS-inspired riffs and half breakdowns. However, a lot of people argue that this only affects the likeness of the album, as knowing it led to the creation of many core bands that many in metal scene don't like, that makes it bad. I would have to disagree. I mean, it's like arguing the Beatles's song "Helter Skelter" is bad for being an influence on Charles Manson's heinous beliefs. At the Gates didn't had the foresight of the metalcore scene in 1995, since at that point, the genre was still at its infant stage and was still mainly rooted in punk. And even if they did, I don't really think that would've mattered in the bigger picture, as the main intention was to be even bigger and better than TSD at the end of the day. It's future influences might be problematic for some, but for me personally, I don't think it affects the overall quality of the album in of itself.

So yeah, when you get down to it, At the Gates's "Slaughter of the Soul" was revolutionary in many ways. Not only would it perfect the melodic death metal sound that it, along with many other bands, tried to perfect, but it would be a kickstarter for the melodic death metal craze that lasted through the rest of the 90s as well as a good portion of the 2000s. Dark Tranquillity even released The Gallery nearly two weeks after SOTS, so the genre was basically destined to be huge. While there are many melodeath metal records I love, there is none that I love more than "Slaughter of the Soul".

Lovers on one side, haters on the other, Slaughter of the Soul became one of the quintessentially most controversial albums. First of all, because of the change in the sound of the band, which, after all, is a bit radical considering the compositions of the legendary Alf Svensson, since in Slaughter of the Soul the guitar riffs are characterized by melodic hooks and catchy rhythms, unlike the chaotic, strange and slightly dramatic sound of albums like The Red in the Sky Is Ours or With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness.

I'm not going to deny that At the Gates with this album is responsible for creating the metalcore cliche, because it's the same as defending the indefensible. Many, if not all, metalcore bands of the early 2000s took the Slaughter of the Soul formula along with their influences from little-known metalcore bands of the 90s to create a sound characterized by being at times extremely melodic. It is not bad that the sound is melodic, the problem is when it is overexploited to the point of exhaustion. If we judge from this point of view, even The Jester Race by In Flames is also partly to blame, but at least that album has something more of its own in its style, ironically In Flames would later allow itself to be absorbed with that style to the point that they would become an exaggeratedly melodic band.

Returning with At the Gates, they are a band that when I discovered it left me speechless. To this day I am still a devoted fan of The Red in the Sky Is Ours, not only because it is a timeless album, an undeniable masterpiece, but because it really broke the mold not only in terms of composition, but also in creating something unique in its style and that would influence many bands in the future. It is an album with a podium as high as you can imagine. With Slaughter of the Soul that doesn't happen.

Of the entire album I only highlight three songs, "Blinded by Fear" is an immediate and undisputed classic, the guitar work is memorable. "Under a Serpent Sun" is also an excellent and unforgettable song, where the guitars also stand out and the drums give it an extra edge, making the song even epic. And the last one to stand out is "Need" which is probably the most brutal song, so to speak. The drums are incredible and the rhythm sections stand out a lot, plus their closing gives it a different touch and complements well with the last song. But the other songs sound too similar to each other, as if they were filler. The least interesting song is the instrumental "Into the Dead Sky" which doesn't really offer anything great, it doesn't give me an emotional or melancholic feeling, it seems to me to be a piece composed almost at random and that they included at the last moment, on the other hand " The Flames of the End" if it has more reason to be, for its melancholic sound and for witnessing the end of the album and at that time, of the band.

I don't side with either of the two sides, it's not an excellent album and it's not a terrible album either, it's an album that stands alone as something enjoyable, almost bordering on mediocrity but it's At the Gates, I don't let to be fond of them for this album, which in the end is not terrible, but it borders on disappointment.

The most famous production in the output of At The Gates is a thing directly aimed at fans of Gothenburg sounds, according to the opinions that can be found on the Internet (and not only), it's one of their best albums that the quintet managed to create, extremely influential in this trend, etc. etc...Okay, I'll be honest, at the beginning it was so on my way with "Slaughter Of The Soul" it was not as it seems after the evaluation that was at the bottom, but with time I liked this album a lot (though not as much as "The Red In The Sky Is Ours"). So many memories from "once there", now general info about music.

Compared to "With Fear I Kiss The Burning Darkness" or "Terminal Spirit Disease", the music on "Slaughter..." has become a bit lighter, has a slightly different feeling, a much better sound (you will catch every detail) and it seems to be more consistent. There are also many more melodies and simpler music here than on previous releases, although...it does not disturb the high level of the music in any way. The whole thing offers a piece of excellent melo-death, which is neither boring nor overwhelming with melodies, it's made with common sense - and in such playing it is a real rarity.

The vast majority of works here revolve around the patents already known to them, but they develop the ideas from their predecessors in a more interesting way. Songs such as "World Of Lies", "Legion", "Blinded By Fear", the title track, "Nausea" or "Cold" can suit even those who do not listen to this music; the songs are simple, easily digestible, fairly quick (this time without blasts), with a bang and are instantly memorable. A lot of work (if not the biggest) is also done by the aforementioned production. It can be assumed that with a different sound, the disc would not kick as hard. In any case, the band managed to achieve a fairly sterile and pampered production, and a much more convincing release than some other melo-death bands later on.

But I don't quite like "Slaughter..." any softer or acoustic fragments. There are not too many of them and it does not take the edge off the music, but...even in such tiny doses it's difficult not to get the impression that it spoils more than makes sense (check for example "Unto Others"). To make matters "worse", we still have two not bringing anything clogging ("The Flames Of The End", "Into The Dead Sky"), although these can of course be clicked through without regret - both have a marginal influence on the rest of the album. To sum up, the general impressions of the "Slaughter..." are really good, the music is awesome and even any inaccuracies do not affect its reception weaker. After all, it was said to be one of the best At The Gates.

Originally on: https://subiektywnymetal.blogspot.com/2019/08/at-gates-slaughter-of-soul-1995.html

I still remember exactly when, on a dark November day in 1995, a buddy brought me my ordered "Slaughter of the Soul" CD and I listened to it for the first time. The intro alone with the spoken words and the following inferno "Blinded by Fear" completely blew me away back then and even today this album casts its spell over me and has lost nothing of its effect.Compared to the first two albums, "Slaughter of the Soul" is an unbelievable increase (although those two weren't bad either) and more than just a logical continuation of "Terminal Spirit Disease" (just listen to the solo on "Under the Serpent Sun").

The incredibly varied and catchy melodies, which are accompanied by the wonderfully venomous vocals of Tompa, are unsurpassed in my opinion. The compositions always seem completely thought out and are great structured, everything seems like from one cast. Despite the consistently high tempo, the songs remain comprehensible and accessible to the listener at all times. Each song on the album is unique, although the last two ("Nausea" and "Need") lose some quality. The rage with which Tompa screams the songs out of his soul is so palpable that you would like to roar along. Maybe to slaughter your soul.

Particularly cool songs in my eyes are "Under the Sperpent Sun" because of its incredibly accessible song structures, which, as already said, is underlined with felted out melodies, also the chorus is a "roar along" and the spoken words with the re-entering voice of Tompa is great composed; "Suidice Nation" started with an awesome scream and again very accessible melodies, partly the song is composed in minor, if I'm completely wrong, which creates an additional drama of the piece. "Blinded by Fear" of course can't be ignored, alone the force with which the track rolls over you and pulls you under its spell is remarkable. Oh, and "Unto Others" has such wonderful melodic passages that still give me goosebumps even after 25 years, simply an indescribably brilliant song.

"Slaughter of the Soul" is next to the first two In Flames albums ("Lunar Strain" and "Subterranean") and "The Gallery" by Dark Tranquillity the melodic death album that I would blindly recommend to everyone. After that, in my eyes, there was nothing that even came close to the class. However, there are a few points deducted for the two already mentioned pieces, which then fall a bit behind.

Unfortunately, At The Gates have disbanded on their zenith, as is well known, I often wonder what else could have come, if this had not happened. The previous albums that came after the reunion, however, do not convince me nearly as much as their first four longplayers. Too bad.

From the moment the guitars come crashing in on "Blinded By Fear", At the Gates are on a mission to make two worlds collide. The darkness and aggression of underground death and thrash metal (unrelenting fury and speed)..... and the structure of standard rock/punk music (short, melodic songs built around hooks).

Astonishingly, the Swedes managed to mold these constituent elements together so well that it sounded like something completely new itself. As with most innovators, they inspired many imitators who tried to emulate the formula (looking at you, American metalcore scene) with this album. But, to this day, I'm not sure I've heard another work that is as catchy - yet also as thunderously heavy and seething with anger - as Slaughter of the Soul.

It's amazing to hear the contrast. All of the songs are only 2 or 3-something minutes in length, and they just keep hitting - one after the other - of precise, catchy as hell, yet sinister, riffs, leads and delightfully memorable scream-along vocal refrains. Are you even a metalhead if you haven't screamed "THE FACE OF ALL YOUR FEEEAAARS!" or "SICK AND NUMB, BY FEAR I FALL!" or "I FEEL MY SOUL GO COOOLD!"??? In this way, it feels like a pop album because the songs are all so short, refined and catchy. But it's laid on top of a foundation of Anders Björler's guitar melodies, often tinged with haunting notes of sorrow and despair, which create a spine-chilling contrast with Tomas Lindberg's vocals, which are pure fire-spitting fury. There's no room for other emotions than these. It's pure adrenaline, rocket-fuel for catharsis via mosh pit.

Thus, I suppose Slaughter of the Soul can be seen as Melodic Death Metal's Reign in Blood. It is an album with a singular mentality and compact songs that are criticized as "repetitive" or "filler" by people who just aren't as impacted by the visceral feeling unique to the album. Personally, I love both.

I also love At the Gates' earlier work, particularly The Red in the Sky Is Ours, which is very different with its more unpolished, artsy and avant-garde approach to Death Metal, but you almost have to view this At the Gates as a completely different band from that At the Gates. Don't ignore this album because of any elitists who tell you that it's a sold-out or dumbed-down version of At the Gates. The band never sounded tighter or more aggressive than they do here, and simplifying their already-stellar songwriting down to only the most impactful components made for a historic and memorable album that will never be replicated.

Favorite songs: Blinded By Fear, Slaughter of the Soul, Cold, Under a Serpent Sun, Unto Others

On paper, this album shouldn't be bad and if anything, quite strong. Even as a complete change of style all the baseline ingredients that comprise it are perfectly fine and some might say they had been hinted at previously even during the Alf Svensson era. The musicians here we know are quite capable and the production at the least is crispy and clear. While calling this death metal would be a stretch, its combination of Slayer/Metallica esque tenacity and crunch with 80's Brit-metal melody a la Maiden and Priest is a perfectly fine idea even if the idea of what is functionally power/thrash wasn't anything new by 1995.

As the review score makes clear, none of this ends up working in practice.

Genres for all the whining and complaining heaped upon them as limiting constructs are incredibly broad ones that encapsulate a wide variety of sounds but what is important to note is that they evolved in a very specific way in order to make their components work. Death metal vocals for example work because to make it as simple as possible they are a very harsh form of vocalization for an equally harsh form of music.

As you might have figured that's mostly why this doesn't work at all. At The Gates are basically trying to satisfying both camps here but what they've created suffers from two major flaws.

The first one is that the component pieces conflict one another inherently and never resolve this.

The music while highly aggressive in terms of pacing is essentially lukewarm and highly static palm mutes over mechanically rigid drumming in what is functionally just more melodic-than-usual thrash but they try to dress it up in the classic Swedeath guitar tone and put shrieky semi black metal howls over it. The riffing is ultimately too sweet, too smoothed out of any harsh edges (something the tone fails to hide), and just not particularly heavy for all of its ultimately rote chugga chugga widdling but the pounding tempos try but ultimately fail to change this by virtue of having to support a fundamentally broken idea. The vocals then proceed to clash with this; if the guitar work is ultimately too friendly, then the again harsh vocals contradict them; they don't fit against guitar work that's ultimately closer to more aggressive strains of power metal than the kind of extremity Tomas' voice demonstrated it was better suited to, like trying to put deep fried seafood on caramel coated ice cream but somehow thinking it will work.

(This isn't to say that you can never resolve the divide that lead to extreme metal breaking from its relatively more rock adjacent predecessors but it requires highly specific configurations in order to give both sides of the coin the respect they're due. Lunar Shadow and The Chasm are good examples for heavy and death metal respectively and you could argue band like Martyr (Can) demonstrates this idea but for "extreme prog" just as well but that's an aside, back to the review.)

The second one is that even with what it has, it doesn't really pull off any of it in an even halfway convincing manner.

As someone who can enjoy all kinds of heavy/power/speed/thrash bands, even if you view the album as that instead of death metal, it arguably is even worse in some ways. For all of its vaunted melody, very little of it particularly stands out as much as it comes off as highly stilted, lacking a lot of the more explosive or colourful delivery you need to really make good on the flaunting of its sonic accessibility. While I'm not sure if we can say this is where the dreaded jugga-jugaa-weeee approach to gothen-metal necessarily started this album definitely goes out of your way to make you tired of it fast. A lot of the melodies themselves are mostly tacked onto similarly personality-free interchangeable chug rhythms that somehow make the most tepid of late 80's Bay Area styled thrash sound as spirited as Sadus or Blasphemer (Italy). I guess that's suppose to contrast the melodies and make them stand out more which is fine on paper but on that end, when they decide to show off it doesn't really amount to much either. Think of tiny snippets of the flashier parts of power metal arranged in incredibly stiff blink-and-you-miss-it blips and bleeps that suppress and actively work against any kind of more in depth expression possible.

Occasionally they'll pull out a few leads here and there; maybe a ringing notes with a slower moving voice underneath it or a somewhat catchy if underdeveloped solo here and there, but they're too little and oftentimes too sparse and under-written to really amount to much than the effect of passing by an eye-catching advertisement on a very long, empty stretch of road for a car ride you'd wish would just end already. It's almost as if the only point of them is to remind you that "oh hey, you thought that was nice? Too bad, back to the chugga." Yet even if you just stitched all of these melodies together and removed all the rhythm guitar, it would only be a marginally better album with how ultimately rote all of these patterns are. They're the sort of basic little snippets of fretboard jousting that results in the same kind of sterility as the dialed in riffing, equally stiff and constrained by the need for constant immediate-gratification high-velocity low-weight technique; highly flabby and often just kind of awkwardly hovering under a guitar tone that nearly buries it.

I suppose if you just want some sort of vaguely angry, dramatically melodic background music to put on while you make a Call of Duty montage or you're reading Christopher Hitchens and The Mind Unleashed comment sections in your room because your parents grounded you for swearing in high school then this album might work as background music. Otherwise, there are an absurdly high number of quality albums in either more traditional metal domains or the extreme ones that do all of the things that comprise this album better than it every will, whether they're contemporaries to it, its predecessors, or from far after its unfortunate rise to prominence as the chief icon of 90's Swede-metal's failures.

In 1995, At the Gates released their magnum opus Slaughter of the Soul to the world. It was an album that influenced numerous melodic death metal bands as well as a bunch of cookie cutter metalcore bands. But due to the sheer influence it had on many bands, one could ask as to why this album is widely praised. For starters, every song is among At the Gates' most well known tracks. All songs on Slaughter of the Soul are killer cuts with no skipping required.

"Blinded by Fear" starts Slaughter of the Soul which is a strong example of At the Gates' thrashy brand of melodic death metal. It is widely considered At the Gates' signature song and also a defining anthem of Gothenburg metal. "Cold" is another noteworthy highlight containing some of the coolest riffs on the album in addition to having a neoclassical guitar solo provided by Andy Larocque of King Diamond fame. "Into the Dead Sky" is a really well written acoustic instrumental which showcases At the Gates' versatility. A notable late album highlight is "Nausea" which is probably the fastest song on Slaughter of the Soul and has a wicked guitar solo to boot.

At the Gates knew at the time it was difficult to balance speed with melody but they made it happen. Tomas Lindberg's screams are as vicious and angry as the lyrics he wrote on Slaughter of the Soul. Anders Björler and Martin Larsson are probably one of the best guitar tag teams in death metal and they play some really wicked solos such as on "Under a Serpent Sun" and the title track. Jonas Björler's bass playing is also fantastic as songs like "Cold" and "Need" display some of the best atmosphere on Slaughter of the Soul. Adrian Erlandsson's drumming takes more cues from old-school death metal and annihilates the listener on tracks such as "Blinded by Fear" and "Nausea".

Although At the Gates began as an old-school death metal band, they truly developed their sound with Slaughter of the Soul. This album is nowadays considered the band's signature album and one of the best metal albums of all time. Slaughter of the Soul defined melodic death metal along with The Gallery and The Jester Race and is generally considered the best album within this subgenre of death metal. Heck, I could listen to this album a million times and it would never get old. This is coming from a guy who likes death metal. If you're looking to get into melodic death metal, whether you're a metalcore kid or a OSDM fanatic, this is a fantastic album for beginners.

At the Gates. The legendary Gothenburg metallers, considered among the fathers of melodic death metal, the innovators of the European extreme music scene, thanks to some really classic works of art, such as their immortal fourth opus. Indeed, few albums have had an impact as wide and resounding on the world of extreme music as At the Gates' "Slaughter of the Soul", and I'll tell you this: although it's certainly true that, at times, being an influential record doesn't justify certain albums being claimed as "legendary masterpieces", this isn't the case when talking about "Slaughter of the Soul".

In a CD of less more than just 34 minutes of duration, At the Gates deliver an unrelenting, yet catchy and melodic, musical assault, one to be praised and revered by all the future generations to come. The magic in here is plain for everyone to see: be it the inspired songwriting, the originality (at least, for the era the album was born in) of the compositions, the incredible atmosphere of the record, Fredrik Nordström's legendary production, the fantastic performances of all the band's members: each element perfectly complements the others, being exalted and contributing to the perfection of the mix.

The songs are the perfect example of what melodic death metal is meant to be: the band abandons the canons of traditional death metal, to venture forth and push towards new boundaries. As a result, the drumming is less technical and abandons some typical death metal beats, such as the blast beats; the songs' structures are simpler, with the tracks being simpler, shorter and more hook-laden. The guitars are tuned down to B standard, with their riffing being extremely melodic, rather than focusing on technicality, which is also true and clearly evident when talking about the solos, that aren't even present in all the songs.

There's a wider use of samples, of synth effects here and there, to create the atmosphere, thanks also to some excellent arpeggiated sessions; the most complex scales, such as, say, the arab scales, are abandoned, as well as chromatic scales and chromaticism. The whole approach tends to be simpler, to catch the attention of the listener thanks to the fantastic contrast between melodic, catchy guitar work and Tomas Lindberg's legendary harsh screams. A special mention goes to the frontman's trademark vocals, that prove to be really excellent and unique, a fundamental key to the success of the album.

Legendary producer Fredrik Nordström did one hell of a job with this record: the guitars sound heavy, a bit raw and fuzzy, their tone is full and powerful, but not overwhelming; the mix is just perfect, and really matches the dark and grievous atmosphere of the album and of Lindberg's wonderful, well-studied and pessimistic lyrics, dealing with themes of inner struggle, social issues, death, resulting much more introspective and self-related than traditional death metal lyrics.

The tracks are all top notch, starting with the legendary three-punch combo of "Blinded by Fear", the title track and "Cold", each one featuring absolutely memorable, diversified riffing and instantly unforgettable choruses; "Under a Serpent Sun" is distinguished by a gloomy tremolo-picked intro, while "Suicide Nation" and "Need" include some of the most beautiful melodies, the first one being probably the most aggressive song of the lot, thanks to the pounding drums, the aggressive riffing and the tempo changes, the second being absolutely melancholic, perfect to end the album. There are also two short instrumentals, serving as calmer and atmospheric moments that enhance the whole listening experience.

What else should I say? "Slaughter of the Soul" is a legendary record, whose wide impact and influence in the world of metal is matched only by its outstanding quality and replayability value. A must for any music lover, especially for fans of extreme music and melodic death metal in particular.

At the Gates is a melodic death metal band based out of Gothenburg, Sweden. Consisting of Tomas Lindberg(Vocals), Anders Bjoler(Guitar), Martin Larsson(Guitar), Jonas Bjoler(Bass), Adrian Erlandsson(Drums).

Slaughter of the Soul is masterfully crafted in design, both technically and lyrically, And through sheer talent At The Gates managed to create, or at least contribute to a new genre of music, melodic metal core. A hybrid of melodic death metal fused with elements of metal core, Without this album, bands such as Avenged Sevenfold, Killswitch Engage as well as Unearth and many more simply would not exist today if not for Slaughter of the Soul.

Slaughter Of The Soul is fantastic from start to finish and does not let off the throttle. It contains some of At The Gates best tracks and arguably some of the best tracks ever written in metal. Blinded By Fear, Slaughter Of The Soul, Under A Serpent Sun and Cold are some of the stand out tracks from the album. The album has also managed to stand the test of time and is amazing even in to date. Without giving too much of the album away I do wish to tell you about two of the tracks off this album, Blinded By Fear and the title track Slaughter Of The Soul.

Blinded By Fear starts off incredibly fast and doesn’t slow down. Anders Bjoler and Martin Larssons work on the guitars make it impossible for you to not bang your head to. With the blistering fast pace tempo they set, It is quite impressive that Adrian Erlandsson is able to keep up the pace and blast away. Last but not least you have to admire how remarkable Tomas Lindberg’s screaming is, He makes you feel the rage in his voice and makes you want to scream alongside him, while making it sound majestic as hell. Slaughter Of The Soul is a whole other beast to tackle. While the track does have a similar style to Blinded By Fear it varies enough to make it truly remarkable and stand out, which is exactly what you expect from the title track. Unlike Blinded By Fear where you feel synonymous with the fast paced drumming and the rhythm of the guitarists it’s the vocals that truly stand out. The screaming is at another level, Its so raw and anger filled, yet at the same time its graceful and poetic. It’s a hard feeling to explain, which is why I recommend you listen to it yourself.

At the end of the day Slaughter Of The Soul has everything a metal fan could desire. Amazing riffs, blistering solos, Pounding drums as well as screams to scare everyone on your block. If you have been living under a rock and haven’t heard this album I desperately urge you to give it a listen. It is widely regarded as one of the best albums out of any genre of music ever produced, It deserves that honor because every track is perfect. All in all, I would highly suggest listening to Slaughter Of The Soul.

The most common criticism that I hear levied against "Slaughter Of The Soul" is that it is too simplistic, and that At The Gates had shed the progressive tendencies of their previous albums and trimmed the fat to produce a leaner, tighter album. And while it is true that it is certainly a simplified effort, it pays off wonderfully, and proves to be an exercise in precision and brutality.

It's tempting to lump "Slaughter Of The Soul" in with other seminal Gothenburg albums like In Flames' "The Jester Race" and Dark Tranquility's "The Gallery", but "Slaughter Of The Soul" is a wholly different beast. Instead of the elegant guitar harmonies of In Flames or the progressive tendencies of Dark Tranquility, At The Gates opts for a straightforward, thrashy onslaught, which proves brutally effective, with a fast, heavy riffing style. Tracks like "Blinded By Fear" and the title track display the band's aggressive energy at it's best, combining aggressive triplet riffs, melodic harmonized solos, and Tomas Lindberg's tormented shriek. Lindberg sounds like a man possessed, with his frantic howl bringing a sense of desperation and agony to the album, bringing the lyrics to life. The melodic ferocity of the album continues on tracks like the jagged, Slayer-esque "Unto Others," and the crushing "Cold," featuring a gorgeous guitar solo from King Diamond guitarist Andy Larocque.

Clean interludes within the songs come frequently, such as the spoken word section in the eerie, foreboding "Under A Serpent Sun," and the aforementioned "Unto Others." The songs tend to be fairly short, with none of the songs breaking the 4 minute mark. This formula largely holds up throughout the rest of the album, with several short interlude tracks, "Into The Dead Sky" and "Flames Of The End," which provide a bit of respite when needed. The album boasts sharp, clear, production, with crushing guitar tone that lends itself to the breakneck speed and aggression of tracks like "Suicide Nation" and "Nausea." The bass is...there, I think. It has very few moments of glory, such as the beginning of the third verse of "Cold."

If you're looking for a concise, no-frills blast of melodeath, "Slaughter Of The Soul" is the album for you. It's an album that I always find myself coming back to, and one that changed the landscape of metal.

Let me just put it out there that I hate melodic death metal. This album, Heartwork and The Final Chapter were the only albums of this subgenre that were ever any good. I asked a music teacher what exactly defines "melodic" and his response was that a melody is just a series of notes, nothing more, nothing less. So the opening riff of Beneath The Remains is just as much a melody as the breakdown in Master of Puppets. One just might be considerably less singable than the other.

Strictly as a death metal album, Slaughter of the Soul is a failure. The lyrics are devoid of anything to do with death or morbidity, choosing to go for a more punk rock Van Morrison approach to lyricism. Granted, At The Gates' lyrics were always like this, but I can at least see where The Red/Burning Darkness fans were coming from when they say the band was a death-to-black metal transition waiting to happen. I also understand that like fellow 90s "revolutionaries" Pantera, this album would influence metal in all exactly the wrong ways, from the butchered Maiden harmonics to the puzzling drops in intensity to ballad like moments ala Master of Puppets. Even the vocals, which are mere hardcore/thrash raspy screeches, feel like they're subliminally telling weaker minded listeners to don basketball jerseys, get tribal tattoos and try to pass of fisticuffs as a form of dancing. Not to mention all the idiots who misinterpreted this album's thrash sensibilities (and yes they are there) as the way of the future. Killswitch Engange, The Haunted, Trivium and a whole hoist of other melodic paint chip fiends are the toxic waste mutant children of this album.

With all that being said, I can't call this album anything less than a classic. The songs are just too fucking good. Blinded By Fear, Need, World of Lies, Suicide Nation and the suicidal final art that is the anthemic title track are all brilliant slams of short and sweet punk-fused heavy fucking metal. Plus that production; that immense killer guitar tone. Like Slayer before them, the songs from the first two ATG albums might be better, but if they sounded this good and threw whatever atmospheric sensibilities to the wind those albums would be much more popular among extreme metal fans.

The flaws on this album are mostly what you've already heard. The interludes are pointless and slow the album's momentum down in it's tracks, and the riffs start to bleed together near the album's short running time. Plus, did we really that silly alternative breakdown in the middle of Cold, especially before a brilliant guest guitar solo from Andy LaRoque? For shame.

The best way to approach this album is not as death metal, or thrash, but crossover. I mean Lord knows it's practically what the Bjolers were trying to accomplish anyway, and it certainly succeeded in that goal considering the surprisingly wide appeal Slaughter of the Soul has gained over its two-decades-plus lifespan. Newcomers to death metal should definitely hold off on this one until they have a firmer grasp on the sub-genre and it's functional components, but if you want a kickass jogging mixtape, give it a whirl under the serpent sun.

People either love or hate this At the Gates album, I feel that it is greatly underrated and often blamed for the fact that the band broke up. They split up because they believed that they had reached their peak and wanted to leave on a high note. I believe that they were right in doing so because this is their high note. It is an amazing album. A lot of people say: "Well, even if they were at their peak why would they break up?" This is kind of a stupid question, in my opinion. It is just like sports idols who quit playing when they reach their peak so they can end their career with a good reputation. Often, that works, but unfortunately for At the Gates this approach completely backfired in some ways.

Some people agree that they broke up at their peak, while others think that they turned mainstream. Just because an album is popular does not mean it is bad. There are so many bands that have popular albums that are good. Many complaints about this album is the lyrical content and that it is either too depressing or boring. Life is depressing and most of the best music is fueled by pain. In the song "Cold" one phrase is "Only the dead are smiling" and "To rid the earth of filth." The lyrics for the whole album, although they deal with dark topics like suicide and death, are clever and meaningful.

The riffs are catchy as hell and will leave you with the incessant urge to mosh long after the album is finished. A criticism that many people have is that none of the songs are over four minutes long. I definitely can see where they are coming from and for someone's favorite track it might be nice to be a little longer, but it doesn't really bug me that much. Even though the songs are shorter than normal for a metal band, listening to this album is a journey with changing emotional tones and topics. "Into the Dead Sky" is a great example of an emotional switch in this album even though it is an instrumental. It does not feel like a filler song. The guitars are haunting and it, in general, is a sorrowful song. You can get a lot of meaning from it even with no lyrics. I know there are more instrumentals like that out there, but most of the time tracks like that seem to be greatly lacking. Just from the title "Into the Dead Sky" you could interpret it different ways. Like how when you die people say you go to the afterlife, but what if it is just into the dead sky?

My two favorite tracks on this album definitely have to be "Cold" and "World of Lies." The instruments in these songs work together beautifully and compliment the vocals, as well as the lyrical topics being dark, yet important. You can get a lot of meaning out of just a song title before you even get the chance to listen to it. As I have said before, people either love or hate this album. It should be approached with an open mind and if you do hate it write a review why. The worst is when people say they hate something just because. If someone writes a review stating why they aren't a fan of it for more reasons than just, well after it was released the band broke up, I'm sure many people would like to hear it. If you haven't heard it I definitely recommend checking it out.

Hating this album because of what came after is a bit like hating Hitler's mum for reproducing - a little stupid when one regards the implications of that statement. How were At the Gates to know what 'Slaughter of the Soul' would spark? Did At the Gates plan a grand sabotage of heavy metal with this album? Of course not, because 'Slaughter of the Soul' was the album that broke At the Gates up. This album killed the band because it was popular, there was a resultant demand for the Swedes to tour and release more quality material, which our man Anders Björler decided was too much to handle, fissuring the group and leading to their demise.

What remains for us to do is listen to this album and enjoy it. I say enjoy it, since there is almost no doubt that a lover of heavy metal should find something to enjoy on this album, and many metal lovers should also be utterly taken by what they hear. There are all kinds of ridiculous comments in the reviews below about MacDonalds and Coca Cola and being a "bad influence", but what makes this all of those things is simply that it exudes the sense of being the finished product, of achieving brand image before anyone else. And if you're still struggling for a word to use for something like that, it's "classic". This is a classic melodeath album, and a classic metal album, regardless of what people claim about the legacy due to the fact that it is more or less the blueprint of the genre. It may not be the first, it may not be the best, but this is the one you point to when someone asks you the question, "What is melodic death metal?" This is melodic death metal.

The second thing I would like to address is that this is a good melodeath album, perhaps even a great one. Yeah, 'Slaughter of the Soul' has really short, compact songs that play a little like pop singles if you're inclined to think of it that way, but, my fucking word, isn't it also a fantastic exercise in songwriting economy and precision playing? Stripped of the bloated grandeur and wayward ambition of the occasionally farcical classic metal or power metal or even thrash metal, At the Gates managed to capture death metal's spirit here because they allowed absolutely nothing to dilute the focus and strength of their brew - this is a razorblade held to the throat for a capacious 34 minutes. Not only the speed and fury of the songs, but also the viciousness of the guitar tone and the rattle and pound of the drums, make this as direct a route to musical release as you are ever likely to hear, the necessary wanderings of the instrumentals 'Into the Dead Sky' and 'The Flames of the End' the only exceptions, where we hypnotically contemplate the slow progress of a blood drop from the razor's edge.

The riffs are so streamlined and insistent that one looks not to death metal for their attack, but also to speed metal and thrash, while the hooks in the likes of 'World of Lies' (the opening riff, that huge chorus line) are brand new and nod to the groove scene so hard, it's a bonafide headbang. So rarely do we receive groove whiplash, it's worth taking note when we do. Nor is this merely an exercise in speed and fury and hooks, there are instances of every instrument contributing something worthwhile the mix, whether that be Adrian Erlandsson's astounding battery behind the kit or Anders Björler's vital lead guitar that sears most of the songs despite being limited to 20 seconds apiece. Another guy who quite clearly shovelled his soul into this record is Tomas Lindberg, who sounds mad and twisted and straining for escape not only on the likes of the classic "The face of all your fears" from the now ubiquitous 'Blinded by Fear', but on most of the lyrics on this album. At times, the band moves as one, as with the quiet interlude of 'Cold', the monumental swell into the blazing solo, then the drop out of the guitars to leave just Jonas Björler's bass gurgling on the blood in Lindberg's throat as he tears the line "22 years of pain/And I can feel it closing in" out of his body. And really, honestly, that's not the best song.

However, there is a mild criticism one could level at 'Slaughter of the Soul', which is that it seems a little limited or narrow in its scope. In the context, one could go either way regarding this, since there is less divergence here than on the other Swedish melodeath releases of a similar time, though compared to the bands that 'Slaughter of the Soul' supposedly influenced, there is a marked effort not to become predictable or stagnant both within songs and over the album as a whole. The first and most important point on this score must be the song length and album length, since discounting the two instrumental tracks, this release does not even total half an hour, which is certainly not long enough to become stale. Besides that, the versatility of the instrumentalists in a song like 'Under a Serpent Sun' is remarkable: the opening glowering of guitar in the background could come from a Primordial album or an atmospheric black metal project; then the trademark hooky riffs and brutish drumming cut in; following the restrained lead, the guitars cut two separate shapes, quick and sharp plus deep and looming; finally, the unnerving clean section and tense outro are a fine example of how to slow a song without releasing any tension. That's the thing really: the whole album is performed with outstanding tension and intensity, except for the necessary interludes. Not predictable, not cliched, not the end of the line. Still a landmark.

This void of passion in media product form represents a complete deterioration in composition and concept for this band: an obvious over-simplification to pander to the lowest common denominator. The "sell-out" album in a nutshell. The fact that the lead single "Blinded by Fear" was completely finished in a half hour during a rehearsal (according to the band) just goes to show how much effort was put into this recording, a far cry from their earlier Alf Svensson (ex-guitarist) spearheaded recordings. Gone are the progressive compositions that felt like reflections of scenes from a story in the form of sound, replaced by commercial metal techniques held in a radio song format. The fact that the promo pic used for this album shows the band sitting around a table drinking beer further shows this was nothing more than the byproduct of jaded alcoholics scheming to make quick cash on what was trendy at the time (the commercially successful routes Carcass and Entombed traveled with their vapidity might have influenced this decision).

Despite what the artwork might suggest, there is no grand scheme here as lyrics have taken a turn for the worst - sounding like a meme reiterated multiple different ways than a story. Shouting incessantly in a raspy voice about social ills, religion, and depression delivered through an angsty "Life Sucks!" manner. It's not unlike the ones Machine Head would later popularize with the song title being shouted ad nauseum for the chorus. The cliff-notes version to most of this would read something like: "life sucks - suicide, religion is bad - suicide, it's like nothing is really real man - suicide, suicide suicide, suicide, suicide suicide". Whereas their old lyrics had a place in the narrative of that albums concept, here they read like they took one idea and regurgitated it 9 different ways to "get it over with". I suppose these lyrics serve the function of this album well considering the drive-thru fast food restaurant television commercial jingle like nature of the music.

Everything has devolved. Nothing here isn't something that wasn't already done by more successful bands. The music has been reduced to bouncy and mechanical rhythm riffs with cheesy melodies. Warmed over "happy" rock harmony 101 generic heavy metal fodder is interrupted by staccato chugging patterns on the bottom end string as a tide over for the next recombination of notes from the same typical heavy metal scales. The only difference here from other bands that use similar techniques is the down tuning and guitar tone having a typical "Swedish" tone (which, despite having recorded a demo and album at Sunlight Studios, was something this band never had - another commercial move perhaps?). The way this music was written recalls Metallica's Blackened with added Iron Maiden inspiration appearing in the "catchy harmonies" and galloping riffs.

Everything is done in a verse-chorus format to the point of nauseating repetition. Here, it's obvious how this album influenced metalcore. "Mad at the world" verses, "sad at things" choruses, and happy "raise your fists in the air! HEY! HEY!" bridges with bluesy heavy metal solos show the same ideas being assembled into the same structural format. It's a formula that gets tiresome by the 3rd track, which features a guest solo by Andy Laroque that adds nothing to the song that the band themselves weren't already doing on the previous tracks. The only variation comes in the form of a few Pantera-esque mall grooves like those in World of Lies, Suicide Nation, and the end of the title track (band claims it was a Trouble influence); a heavy metal-ized parody of an early Dismember riff (Under a Serpent Sun) and a clean guitar break (Unto Others), but these are quickly thrown out for the same mindlessly formulaic repetition. A couple instrumentals also appear, one sounding like a hippie camp fire song (I was half expecting a drunken voice to yell out "HEY-E-EE-YEAH! UNFORGIVE-E-IN!") and another which sounds like a castoff from the Duke Nukem 3D soundtrack with it's repeating drone of midi synthesizer chords.

This is not even a good gateway album because the droning repetition, mechanical assembly line manufactured riff craft, and faked emotional appeals would make metal seem boring to the curious. There is no emotion wrapping itself around the riffs to fit the theme of songs (like how even the vapid Terminal Spirit Disease had), just mechanical processes toward mainstream recognizable "aggression" (like the shouting of "Go!" in the title track which recalls a Pantera level doofus mentality) and "bittersweetness". Here it is obvious that without the imagination of former guitarist Alf Svensson, At the Gates is a very typical band that makes very typical music dressed up in a way that would appear "unique" to the Machine Head fans who wouldn't know anything about death metal and has thus, been falsely declared a classic (Kerrang readers loved this album because of the marginal increase in quality over their typical Chaos AD listening habits). This media product is just that - a product, and a vapid one at that. No higher function than "get down and boogie/raise your fists" and thus no different from the wigger/dance culture mentality of music like Machine Head or Britney Spears in pandering to the lowest common denominator with their doofus mentality noise.

I strongly recommend seeking out their first demo/ep Gardens of Grief and The Red in the Sky is Ours album and steering clear of this album. A depressing display of wasted talent that is analogous to the vacuity found in everyday modern life and culture (done before Iphones and Facebook no less). Avoid this Necrolord cover (made stupid with the awful re-imagined logo that looks stolen from a Sega Genesis box cover) adorned platter of sonic diarrhea like the garbage it is. Hopelessly vapid.

There is nothing more but a continuous aura of melodic death metal that's flawless to me and also way underrated from my contention. If you respect this genre of metal, then I'd say that this is a monumental release that should've really impacted this genre collectively speaking. Not only do you get aggression, thick B-tuned guitar outputs, continuous spewing forward of shrieking vocal hatred and just a great ensemble of songs that are just original with awe-inspiring fury. It's one of those albums that you can play countless times and it never gets old. That's my absolute best way to sum up this release-monumental melodic death played perfectly.

The riffs are highly original and just plain brutal, but the vocals augment the music perfectly. The production quality, mixing, originality, atmosphere, aggression with utmost intensity-it's just all there. Nothing bad to say about this album, only respecting true melodic death metal and hoping that fans of this genre feel the same way about this release. It's one that stands on it's own in one of metal's melodic death metal hall of fame (if there was one). Faults are absent as the guitars are in unison with chunky riffing that just owns you. The whole experience of this album has you encompassed with revarity.

Musically speaking, the guitars are just loud, heavy, melodic, tremolo picked frenzies, gallops galore, and leads that shriek. The production is a bit raw, but like I said, it is well mixed with everything fitting together reigning this world in infiry intensity. There is a track on here without having an alore of riffing that just stays in your brain. The lead guitar work is a little bit absent, but not entirely. There are some outputs of fast tremolo picked frenzies in that department accompanied by heavy use of the whammy bar. The riffs are the main focal points here which is what I think that ATG wanted to stick with making the album most memorable by way of it's euphoric impact on the metal world.

Tracks that stand out to me the most if you're eager and haven't gotten this album by now are "Blinded By Fear", "Suicide Nation" and "World of Lies." However, the whole album is noteworthy and full of innovation. The riffs are done like no other release that I know of being into metal for almost 25 years now (my interest that is). Listen to the songs that I mentioned and if you're not convinced that there was a huge impact on the metal world when this came out. It's simply just amazing guitar work and metal music that you have heard like no other. Get it if you haven't already because it's just an onslaught of empowerment!

A good number of so-called classic albums don't fully reach such a state until long after their time, achieving a kind of cult classic status at first that eventually blossoms into an army of reminiscing minds of better days gone by. Some classics, however, achieve near instant success and become a genre staple right in the midst of things, and sometimes the band literally never recovers from it for some reason. These are the sort of albums that, regardless of the intent of the band, spawn a whole legion of imitators in fairly short order and brings about a genre revolution of sorts, and in the case of "Slaughter Of The Soul", this would be the signature sound that defined the Gothenburg scene and all its international imitators in the late 90s and so forth. And while imitation is said to be the ultimate form of flattery, it is also the key ingredient in market saturation that will eventually inspire a backlash in certain quarters, as can be gleaned from the healthy number of critics that this album has earned since the close of the 90s.

While most trend setting albums stand on a varying level of artistic merit, there is usually an over-emphasis on accessibility that will go with such a collection of songs that makes it vulnerable to heavy emulation, as well as shorten its shelf life. In the case of this album, the primary symptoms of this tendency are the usual down play of complexity and flash in favor of predictable song structures, along with a combination of brevity and repetition that makes for quick digestion. Apart from a few outliers, most albums will tend to employ a few shorter, catchy songs in order to wet the appetite before leading the listener down a maze of intricacy. But this album is more of a straight and wide path, albeit one that is nicely ornamented with a few beautiful melodic interludes and guitar shred breaks, like the occasional tree or shrub amid an endless landscape of tall grass. This isn't to say that the album is boring or lacking in passion, but it definitely wants for a little more than the occasional acoustic interlude gimmick or a few scattered sampled atmospheric sections to break up the limited array of riffs and progressions.

Perhaps the only thing that really deviates from the predictability of the arrangement is the vocals of Tomas Lindberg, which are loaded with rage and fury. His vocal style is a good bit more agonized than guttural, almost like a upper mid-ranged hardcore shout that has been painted over with a greater degree of darkness and intensity that gives it a superhuman character. Just about every American metalcore band that has tried to employ this style of toneless shouts usually ends up sounding comical or even gimp-like, and even this band's own home town compatriots In Flames' vocalist Anders Fridén struggled to really get this style down to the point that it sounded convincing, let alone exemplary. Yet at the same time, there is a bittersweet reminder of the deliberate limitation present on this album as generally mundane, thrash-infused anthems such as "Blinded By Fear" and "Under A Serpent Sun" are given that little nudge over the hurdle by the intense bombardment of emotion and anger coming from Lindberg's pipes.

In spite of the mix of grandeur and mundaneness, this album is pretty much worthy of the level of emulation that came after it, though obviously not every band that came after toting the "Slaughter Of The Soul" stylistic banner was really worthy of what they were carrying. Ultimately this approach to album construction standardized the melodeath style to the point that more multifaceted albums like "Skydancer" and "With Fear I Kiss The Burning Darkness" became a rarity, and latter 90s efforts out of Dark Tranquillity and In Flames would follow a similar model to this, all but to the point of continuing At The Gates' studio career since the band never recorded any new material since. At the same time, the level of exposure this album and the style it influenced reflect its vassal nature in regard to what happened in the style previously, including the band's own older efforts. Perhaps its unfair to wholly judge this album based on the excessive output of knockoffs, but hindsight is definitely a factor for anyone who has listened to anything in this style since 1996. It's a good album, and definitely a fun one, but it lacks the amount of depth to have a lasting level of staying power, which pretty well explains why there's always hunger for more albums of this sort.

This is one of those albums where you either blindly praise it and take its popularity and importance far too much into consideration or you despise it with every fiber of your being just because everyone else like it. OR you can do what I did and think for yourself and bring yourself to objectively say "I like this," or " I don't like this." Seriously though, if you really think about it, you should like this. Slaughter of the Soul is a fantastic album!

*Army of haters closes the page*

For those of you still with me, I'd like to point out that when you really think about it, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS THE GOTHENBURG SOUND!! Be honest, how many melodeath bands from Gothenburg are there let alone bands that people know or care about?! First three that come up, In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, At the Gates... and uhm... Dimension Zero, oh wait, that's Jesper Stromland and Glenn Lungstrom (pretty much In Flames). Uhm... Gardenian? Wait, not many people know or care about them. So, the three left that matter... they all sound completely different. In Flames had a lot of melody and those folksy acoustic guitrars, DT had a lot of really technical riffs, and At the Gates had the anti-religious, misanthropic brutality. Yet for some reason people seem to group these bands and pretty much any band that decides to abandon some of the death in death metal for melody (*sarcasm* How could they?!?!) into a category they consider "stereotypical Gothenburg bullshit." I sigh at these people. Onto the music.

As the band states themselves in the lyric book (in the DVD bonus rerelease version at least), they wanted to open this up with a really catchy thrasher. "Blinded by Fear" more than succeeds. The song is intense througout, has one creepy part, then explodes into one of the catchiest and to the point leads I've heard in a while. Plus, it's worth mentioning that the lyrics are incredibly memorable and flow very well.

This sort of thing happens throughout the whole album. The songs all have intensity, catchiness and well thought out riffs. Though, I will say that I think the intro riff to "World of Lies" is kinda stupid. Other than that, riffage is all good and each song is distinctly different than the others. On top of that, the leads are fantastic. Notable mentions other than the one mentioned earlier are "Cold" and the title track in the lead department.

Vocally, Lindberg is going all out here. Unfortunately, I think the vocals feel very produced. I know how great the vocals are out of the studio, and I think the extra production was unnecessary. So, basically the vocals are great, but thehy could have been just as good without the production.

The rhythm department is tight here. Drumming keeps a thrashtastic rhythm going and doesn't obnoxiously show off, which I feel far too many drummers do. And the bass manages to keep the guitars going strong while not trying way too hard to be in the front. Though, I must complain about the fact that it feels like bass doesn't add much to the composition of the music and stays as support more than it should.

The two instrumentals on the album are fanfreakingtastic. "Into the Dead Sky" is a perfect breather song and has some of the most beautiful acoustic work I've heard outside of Opeth songs. When the other instruments come into the mix, it comes together perfectly! And the closing track is creepy. Creepy in an atmospheric way. It's simple, yet it's meant to be! Quite possibly the best closer they could have come up with. I feel that it would be the perfect background music to watching the entire world crumble. Perfect moment that just makes me stare blankly at my hand thinking, "Whoah..."

Seriously though, this is probably At the Gates' weakest effort BY FAR. I don't blindly love this album, and no one should. But I don't blindly hate it because it's actually good! Seriously haters, get your heads out of your asses.

Get the bonus tracks version if you can. It's kind of a short album and the extras are awesome.

Folks, what we have here is arguably one of the most significant albums in all of metal, regardless of whether you love it or hate it. At the Gates’ swansong effort, Slaughter of the Soul, has been the introduction (and sometimes even the gold standard) for death metal for countless fans, while also being the inspiration and direct influence on much of the popular modern metal music scene as we know it. While setting the blueprint for what melodeath was supposed to be, this also influenced everything from metalcore, to deathcore, to modern thrash, and has had a smaller effect on most other subgenres as well. The thing is, Slaughter of the Soul not only popularized a certain sound, but as an album, it was one of the first extreme metal albums to really embrace the glossy, polished sound that has seemingly become a staple of popular metal as we know it, for better or worse.

I just spent an entire paragraph trying to sound unbiased. Be happy, because now I’m going to let the haterade flow! As anyone who knows my taste in metal might expect, I despise this album. This album not only had a huge influence in destroying the future of metal, but also sounds like mindless fodder for children on its own. It’s obvious how this album became the one that new fans of metal (particularly mainstream metal) latched onto immediately–it basically has the qualities of a pop album. This is a shallow, downright juvenile album that is the equivalent of over-sugared candy in the diets of metal fans everywhere. Sure, this album has the hooks, the catchy riffs, the melodic solos, and all of that nonsense, but in the end, it lacks substance. Simply put, Slaughter of the Soul has no depth at all, and ended up being the final blow to pure metal as we knew it.

Let’s look at some of the songs here. ‘Blinded by Fear’ is the first track, as well as the single from the album. The mere fact that this album had a legitimate single should be the first warning flag. With this song, we’re presented with the basic formula of a catchy riff over a blastbeat. Sometimes the riff changes, sometimes the drumming switches to double bass plodding. Also, there’s a melodic, short, unadventurous solo. Of course, that’s pretty much the formula for this entire album. Don’t get me wrong, this song is quite catchy, but it’s so utterly one-dimensional that it makes me sick to my stomach.

‘Slaughter of the Soul’ continues the formula, except this time having a really boring riff behind the vocals during the verse. This is another common trend on the album, leading me to believe that this is literally a pop album. Everything here is either incredibly guitar-centric or vocal-centric depending on the part of the song that it’s insulting. Of course, this is metal, so being guitar-centric should be good, except the guitar parts are utterly boring. We either have a stale riff, a wimpy lead melody, or a solo. How fun. There is no intricacy whatsoever, nor is there anything remotely interesting. The riffs are headbang-able, though, so if you want some mindless music to stupidly wave your hair to, then go for it.

If the tracks don’t start to blend together by now, then god (satan?) bless you. The main problem here is that everything is interchangeable. There is simply no cohesion going on, and that at any given moment, you could feasible trade out any riff here and put in another riff from the album. This is a significant problem in that it shows that nothing really builds off anything. There is no cohesive whole entity with which to listen to and understand the development of. Instead, this is pop drivel. Poppy, generic, melodeath drivel.

I’d like to give special mention to another track that simply bothers me, ‘Into the Dead Sky,’ an acoustic instrumental piece. As odd as it may seem, this track is the one that most exemplifies my gripes with Slaughter of the Soul as a whole. On its own, this is a nice little piece. There is nothing offensive about it in any way. However, it also doesn’t really do anything at all, feeling completely out of place, while also not adding anything to the atmosphere of the album (which is completely not-existent, by the way). I’d like to compare this to ‘The Scar,’ from their debut album, The Red in the Sky is Ours. ‘The Scar,’ even with its shit-tastic production value, does an excellent job of evoking a sense of emotion through simple layering and counterpoint, with melodies contrasting each other to create a very tense feeling throughout. There is nothing complicated about it, but it has its slight changes throughout, while also serving as an excellent gap between the last two songs. In addition, it maintains the air of bleakness that The Red in the Sky is Ours had.

In the end, this seems to be the main problem. At the Gates showed a great degree of creativity with their debut, crafting an interesting, decently complex, emotive album that had its own special kind of atmosphere, despite its utterly shit production. That album had character! Slaughter of the Soul dropped all of that in favor of some dolled up, plastic, dumbed-down version of that. Instead of winding song structures, we now have some of the most predictable metal you can find, complete with a sterile sound and utterly unconvincing performances from anyone, especially Tomas Lindberg, whose vocals were phenomenally charismatic on their debut (“KINGDOM! FUCKING! GONE!”), now sounding empty and purposeless.

But it’s not just that transition to sterility that makes this such a hated album in more purist circles. It’s more the fact that this is the album that has had the influence on so much modern music as we know it. If anything, The Red in the Sky is Ours had some interesting ideas that could have really been great for other death metal bands to work with (the violins, no matter how haphazardly placed they were on the album, were an original touch that could have been greatly expanded on in future works). Slaughter of the Soul is, if anything, a direct contrast to this creativity in favor of an incredibly streamlined and palatable sound to appeal to the masses. Well, it certainly did appeal to the masses, and metal suffered as a whole from it.

Written for http://thenumberoftheblog.com/

Everyone knows At the Gates, Gothenburg metal, and more importantly Slaughter of the Soul; so I won’t go into a long winded journey into the back history of such and just get on with why I think this is such an amazing album. Honestly, when I first heard this I wasn’t aware of the movement called “Gothenburg melodeath” and I wasn’t aware of all those wannabe bands, all those legendary bands selling out (In Flames) and those straying into odd territory (Dark Tranquillity), but I was aware when I first heard this… that something amazing had been concieved. This one one of my first extreme metal albums I remember hearing few years ago with much enthusiasm I remember enjoying this straight from the get go.

Now that I’ve become more educated and knowledgeable towards metal and the scene I understand how split the community has become towards this. Slaughter of the Soul has some of the best melodeath riffs, melodic harmonies that perfectly fit in with the atmosphere of misanthropy brought in by the ridiculously amazing vocals of Tomas Lindberg. Those who know me, know I’m a gigantic Lindberg fanboy, loving his performances especially in Nightrage and At the Gates, he’s by far the best harsh vocalist out there. Songs like Under a Serpent Sun, Cold and the stand out title track all stick out to be some of the coolest vocal performances ever. From the opening riffs to Under a Serpent Sun to the twisted yell into distorted Gothenburg riffing the song erupts into probably the highlight of the album with one of the catchiest choruses on here.

Everything about this makes this something special, from the stellar musicianship, the aforementioned vocals, to the slickened production all makes this highly memorable. The production gets a lot of slack I’ve seen here from being too clean, too crisp or something that is frowned upon by morons who need it to be a cheap production for it to be decent or something. I think the cleanliness and heightened production only aid to the memorability of the songs, which is what Slaughter of the Soul runs on. The songs here, every fucking one of them, are highly memorable. For days, I’ll have the riff to the title track playing in my head or importantly the awesome catchy as hell choruses and how it’s possible to sing along to every song on here; Tomas Lindberg once again makes it just something above what it should be by delivering the goods with raspy goodness that is harsh as shit but still clearly understandable.

The songs on here are all highlights, even the melancholic instrumentals that meander throughout the album being somewhat skipworthy, are still enjoyable. The solos here are just as good as it should expect, even though they aren’t especially out there or some sort of shred fest, they stick out like the solo in Cold, where the sweet effects or something build up the tension before spewing forth awesome shredding notes that are so melodic and fast that they go flowing in and out of the wind like free flowing rivers. Cold also has my favorite lyric/line from Slaughter of the Soul with the convoluted vocals of Lindberg ripping out, “Only the dead are smiling! Ohhhhh!” Blinded by Fear is the perfect opener, starting from the strange and eerie opening nosies and spoken word intro, to the blasting riff and once again, awesome vocals. I dare you not to be singing along, “THE FACE OFALL YOU FEAAAARRSSS!”, it’s so fucking awesome. Then right off the bat it leads into another highlight, the title track with the sweet low riff and the pause and the infamous… “GO!” the chaos ensues with riffer and headbanging madness. It’s so energetic and wonderfully brutal that it makes for such fun. There’s another song to sing along to, being probably the second best chorus to sing along to as well as the best main riff, at 1:23 mark. Yeah, try not to headbang motherfuckers.

I think Slaughter of the Soul is a monumental album in At the Gates career and the best Gothenburg release to date, finding it hard to discover a better, more energetic and powerful, and especially more catchy and memorable release. Everything about this is just simply awe-striking and it blows my mind how music can be so catchy and memorable sometimes. The performances here are just beyond all expectation, major props to Tomas Lindberg for being one of the best extreme metal vocalists out there and having such presence in every work he does. This is definitely essential to extreme metal fans, melodeath fans and more importantly, metal fans. Everything about this sums up what I enjoy in melodic death metal, it’s hard to find songs that are just so downright memorable in their own individual right, short or not… my only complaint is I wish this album wouldn’t end so quickly, but that’s nit-picking, so I suggest ignoring the haters and buying this album.

There are bands that have changed a lot their musical style during their career. Most of Swedish melodic death metal cult bands are among those and At The Gates is probably one of the best examples. They were the precursor of a musical orientation that exploded a couple of years later through Dark Tranquillity or In Flames. As these two disciples and plenty of others, they began playing melodic death metal and moved progressively to a more hard core/metal core oriented music.

Granted that Slaughter of the Soul is their last release before they split up, this album is the one that has the most metal core roots. Although I generally don't stand this kind of music, I must admit that it's in the case of At The Gates really well done. They are an exception and improved themselves as the best band in this musical evolution. At the opposite of some of their compatriots who have just lost their soul by playing an annoying noisy piece of shit without variation or interesting riffs, they crush our ears and blow our minds with this Slaughter of the Soul and its extremely recommended captivating violence.

The instrument that is the less audible is, as often in this style, the bass. However, that doesn't affect at all the quality of the cd and the bass is just enough present to reinforce the power and atmosphere created by the guitars, whose riffs are all excellent and whose cohesion is undeniable. The drums are pretty good too, perfectly alternating quick parts and heavier ones. The vocals are very harsh, maybe even a bit harsher than on the previous album Terminal Spirit Disease. In spite of this vocal and musical intensity, At The Gates did not just seek to play the most violent music they could do, there is really a melodic research and the quality of most of the choruses is incredible. If you have the opportunity to listen to this stuff, you'll understand how unforgettable are the choruses of songs like Unto Others, World of Lies, Suicide Nation or Blinded by Fear.

I first had the normal version of this cd, that means without the bonus tracks (there were 11 titles instead of the current version with 17 titles that is now the one we mostly find). The first edition length of 34 minutes would have been too short for a symphonic black metal or for a gothic/doom metal album, but it was just ok for the kind of music on Slaughter of the Soul. The six bonus tracks are, as often, less interesting than the rest of the cd and probably just a good way to make quick money. However, they remain quite good, before all the demo version of the excellent Unto Others, and they definitely don't reduce the quality of the album. Anyway, if you really consider them as worst than the rest, nobody obliges you to listen to them; so that they can only be positive.

To conclude, if there is one cd that marks an exception in all the albums of former melodic death metal bands who have integrated metal core influences in their later releases, it's Slaughter of the Soul. At The Gates was one of the best bands I've ever heard and this album is absolutely fantastic and shouldn't be compared to the mass of current shitty albums that are half way between melodic death and metal core. At The Gates were masters and they remained it until the end. The main difference between this album and the vast majority of so called similar releases results in the band's ability of creating a various music with crushing riffs and incredible choruses. Don't miss this masterpiece, it would be a sin.

There has been much already said about this album in previous reviews, and since I only review for this website, this review will not be particularly expansive. After reading the positive reviews for this album, I feel compelled to state that there are always at least three primary ways in which to rate an album. First, one can review the album on its own merits, as objectively as possible, such as on the basis of its musicianship, its production values, its lyrical content, the quality of composition, and so forth. Secondly, one can relate the album to other albums created by the same artist, so as to determine whether the artist is progressing or regressing. Thirdly, one can relate the album to the entire musical genre to which it belongs, to assess where in the overall scheme of things the album belongs. It seems that many people reviewing Slaughter of the Soul rate this album on the first criterion, while blissfully ignoring the latter two - and even then, there is a lot that can be detracted from the "own merits" criterion.

Certainly, the album is slickly produced, and the musical talents of At the Gates are on full display (though not nearly as impressive on earlier, more technical and ambitious outings), though lyrical content is bordering on what today would be known as "emo" and is hardly inspirational or thought-inspiring, while the quality of composition is highly suspect, given the pop song, verse-chorus-versus structure of every single track on the album. There is plenty of melody present, and every track is easily digestible, but much like bubble gum pop music, the allure fades away after a few listens. The only song that seems to hearken back to earlier times of grander composition is the opener, Blinded By Fear, and even this song could only be considered "average" by the standards of any previous work by At the Gates.

Part of what made At the Gates so appealing over the course of their career between Gardens of Grief and Terminal Spirit Disease was their originality (after all, the style developed on Gardens of Grief and The Red in the Sky is Ours had an influence on the rest of death metal) and the reasonably chaotic song structures that adorned every album in this period. Melodies were beautiful yet palpably unrestrained, and song structures, while clearly premeditated, seemed to flow with an organic energy characteristic of an untamed beast that was aware of its start and end point but chose to be completely wild in the execution of its journey.

On Slaughter of the Soul, the beast has been tamed, if not outright slain, and every song has a predictable and neat quality about it, very much like a lot of the nu-metal and pop metal that followed the album. That is to say, the listener could become quite familiar with the album by about the second track, and comfortably enjoy the rest of the album with a sense of expectation that was not likely to be challenged. The other major problem with Slaughter of the Soul is that there are moments on the album, including in the seemingly thematically sombre title track, where the mood is notably upbeat, thus belying the alleged spiritual intent of the album. There are perhaps hundreds of albums in death and black metal that purport to address the issue of suicide and death in general, and they create a mood that is significantly more appropriate to the topic than is to be found on Slaughter of the Soul. All of these factors contribute to the inescapable conclusion that At the Gates did not put forth all of their creative energies in the execution of this album, which in the final analysis remains an unfortunate swan song to one of the most important and most talented death metal bands to ever have existed.

Listeners of this album should listen to every other album by At the Gates - not only will you be pleasantly surprised by what is on display, but you will also be privy to some of the best of what the death metal genre has had to offer.

Slaughter of the Soul is an outrageous blasphemy against metal. It has more in common with a stale pop record than it does with an honest metal album. Why do people insist on holding this album in such high regard? What is it that they find here that is of such high quality? Nothing, but I bet the believers were fooled by the catchy hooks, ultra recursive songwriting and the absolutely laughable displays of “emotion”.

What’s most aggravating is that there are certain peoples whom honestly believe this is At the Gates best effort! Such persons should be laughed at, ridiculed, embarrassed, humiliated and de-trousered in public. At the Gates themselves should undergo similar punishments for betraying what they originally accomplished.

Prior to this sub-mediocre record, At the Gates pursued musical excellence. They didn’t settle for streamlined rock ‘n’ roll songs. They wrote what can be considered the most compositionally ambitious batch of songs in the history of death metal. Not only that, they were also artistically relevant. On Slaughter of the Soul, they apparently “matured”; meaning they figured that the best way to attract a metal audience is to write ultra-simple, easy to understand collection of songs. Gone are the complex compositions of old and along with any integrity. Gone is the ambitious attitude behind the beautifully chaotic masterwork: The Red in the Sky is Ours. In its place now stands the anti-metal position of “Oh, let’s just make music that every metal head can enjoy!”

Bearing that train of thought in mind, At the Gates crafted an absolutely mediocre album. It’s impossible to see why the hell people praise this crap. The band members are not particularly adept at their instruments, the songwriting is half assed, and the riffs are watered down thrash riffs. So what the hell is there worth praising?

There is only “catchy and “memorable” melodies; the same type that permeate many a pop band to be found here. Technicality-wise, the work featured here is not all that impressive. The guitar riffs are nothing more than straight thrashing that require nigh average ability. The riffs themselves consist of tremolo picking with basic melodies. Perhaps these riffs would be interesting if the notes chosen created some viable contrast, but that is not the case. Instead, each melody is awash in sappy sentimentality and cutesy stabs at novelty that it is difficult to take seriously. The drums and bass follow suit; absolutely average 1+2+1+2 rhythms played right behind the guitars. Maybe the musicianship would be more impressive if this was released twelve years before. Obviously, that is not the case. By around, or even before 1995, there were already many bands displaying a level of musicianship far greater than Slaughter of the Soul. Including, but not limited to, Atheist, Morbid Angel, Cryptopsy, Suffocation and earlier At the Gates (That’s Right!).

Perhaps the musicianship shouldn’t be taken so seriously. After all, many artists proved themselves worthy by overcoming instrumental deficiencies with powerful songwriting. Unfortunately, no such powerful songwriting is present anywhere on this album. The listener is instead treated to unspectacular rock ‘n’ roll arrangements that do little to deviate from traditional verse/chorus/repeat/bridge/verse/chorus structures, and much less innovate. The songwriting contains nothing more than catchy melodies carried by predictable, cyclical arrangements. This is also the same formula utilized by pop artists. Needless to say, there were plenty of bands at the time that dabbled in more complex compositions; including, but not limited to, Emperor, Gorgoroth, Immortal, Darkthrone, and Early At the Gates (That’s right!).

Slaughter of the Soul is a completely watered down version of At the Gates. Avoid it at all costs. There are far much better creations in the realm of metal. It is clear that At the Gates created this for the sole purpose of making safe, accessible, and inoffensive metal in order to garner more fans from the scene. Call it ‘light’ metal if you will. Or how about, At the Gates in light flavor! It’s At the Gates with all the distortion and aggression, but none of the challenging thinking required to comprehend it! Whatever you want to call it, I call it ‘Crap in the middle of the road.”

When was the last time you could recall staring at the face of hostility, only to be perplexed by the beauty surrounding it? It’s hard really to even conceive such a thought, since those two hardly go hand in hand. But maybe some of us have never been in a situation like that before, and therefore can’t comprehend it as well as another might. For instance, my father, who served in Vietnam, told me about a time that his base was under mortar fire. In-between the mortar rounds and explosions, he claimed that smoke mixed with the morning Vietnamese sun to create an inexplicable surrounding.

But At the Gates seemed to master this effect flawlessly.

“We are blind to the world within us…waiting to be born”

After 32 seconds of industrial noise and effects, those chilling words are passionately and calmly spoken on “Blinded by Fear” before you’re taken down the path of lunacy and depravity. This deranged portrait of life is known as “Slaughter of the Soul”, and you’re stepping square into its asylum. Tomas Lindberg’s seething vocals mixed with Larsson and Björler’s vindictive riffs are enough to make you collapse to the floor. However, with every lyric sung, every riff that is played, there is an undisputed presence of touching melody. The wonderful euphony of “Under a Serpent Sun” is more than a confession to the power of melody that these musicians posses. It’s no question that brutality and grace exist in harmony here, but it’s the brutal aspect that could be the selling points at critical moments. The title track is one of the most rip-roaring tracks on this album, complete with frothing vocals and searing guitars. And composing of one of the most ingenious audio clips ever used, “Suicide Nation” will send a chilling message within the first second as the sound of a shotgun being loaded is blasted into the speakers, only to be followed by maliciously crunched riffs.

“Children born of sin, tear your soul apart!”

On past albums, Lindberg had a bit more of “Death Growl”, and was certainly deeper. On here, however, his voice is a bit more rasped and stretched, making him seem even more desperate. And when Lindberg snarls, you know his giving it his all. He aims to leave his body void of all energy after every song, and it’s a wonder he got through a whole album with death by the cause of exhaustion. After listening to him put his body to the test on “Blinded by Fear”, he continues on his impressive performance throughout the whole album, notably again on “Cold” and “World of Lies”. Listening to him bark out “Suicide - jaws locked around your spine” on "Suicide Nation" will leave the vision of a man stripped of all hope.

Combine Lindberg with the experience of the guitar work, and a whole new world is opened. From the unrelenting “Blinded by Fear” to the acoustic based “Into the Dead Sky”, Larsson and Björler effortlessly put forth one of the most stunningly unique Metal albums. While the riffs they fire off on this album are a bit simpler and straight-forward than their past releases, they feel more completely written and thought out. And their solos, while short, are nicotine to the ear. “Cold” features a striking use of effects blended in with raw talent to envelop the listener and stamp its mark on the song.

While the work here is truly breathtaking, there are a few blemishes. For starters, since this isn’t as technical as their past releases, some of these songs border on being ripped off one another. This surely isn’t a problem in the beginning with the first 7 songs being completely distinguishable, but the last few, like “Nausea” and “Unto Others”, are hard to tell apart. And that being said, “Nausea” is probably the blandest track on here, as it becomes borderline hardcore punk with its overly simple riff base. And besides a shining moment on “Blinded by Fear”, the bass is still virtually non-existent. However, to cancel that out, Adrian Erlandsson does a phenomenal job on his drum parts. While it’s not anything that will drop your jaw, it’s more than solid. Adrian performs with pin-point precession, and never misses a beat.

This was the last album by At the Gates, and what a way to leave. The compassionate mix of brutality and melody that they created on “Slaughter of the Soul” has still yet to be matched within the Gothenburg genre. And besides a few hiccups here and there, this is their masterpiece. If you call yourself any kind of a metal head, I can’t stress to you enough how much you need this album.

Overall – 4.5/5 (92)

Recommended Tracks
Blinded by Fear
Slaughter of the Soul
Under a Serpent Sun
Suicide Nation

*For a better summary than the last real paragraph above, please obtain the track "Suicide Nation" and listen to the first second. Thank you.

There is an obvious dividing line in the opinions about At The Gates' classic album 'Slaughter Of The Soul'. Many people hail it as one of the few Swedish melodic Death Metal classics, but many At The Gates fans consider this album as an attempt to be too accessible. Let me point out, before I get to my own opinion, that both groups are right. 'Slaughter Of The Soul' is in deed much more melodic and accessible than anything At The Gates has ever done before, but that is exactly why I like this album so much. The debut album 'The Red In The Sky Is Ours' is just too noisy for me. That is the strongest division between "old" At The Gates and this album: the older albums are really melodic Death Metal, while 'Slaughter Of The Soul' has a lot of influences from the Thrash field and the likes of Iron Maiden. And those Thrash influences make this album an enjoyable one for me. Almost every riff you hear could, in a slightly less melodic form, have been on a Slayer album.

So what do we have here? The album starts out in the right way with 'Blinded By Fear'. The video to that song was basically my first introduction to At The Gates (forgive me, I was born in 1986) and I liked it right away. As much as I despise grunts and screams, Tomas Lindberg had something different, a more versatile grunt, which gave this song the right atmosphere. Things I loved right away as well were the guitar sound and the drumming. Plus, that main riff to 'Blinded By Fear' is just amazing!

The album continues in the same vein with the title track, which might just be even better and the same line is continued throughout most of the songs, which is my only complaint about the album; it could have used a little more variation.

Personal highlights include 'Blinded By Fear', the title track, the absolutely amazing 'Suicide Nation', the "slower" (which in case of At The Gates means moderately fast) 'World Of Lies' and that nifty opening riff to 'Under A Serpent Sun'. Another nice thing on the album is Andy LaRoque's guest guitar solo on the track 'Cold'. While not being one of Andy's best, it's definitely the most memorable solo on the album. It fits the song quite well; 'Cold' is one of the more melodic tracks on the album and really breathes a desperate atmosphere.

'Into The Dead Sky' is one of the few non-Metal moments on the album. It's a tranquil instrumental and I've always quite liked those. Especially on albums of Swedish bands. There's something with the way Swedes play the acoustic guitar...maybe it's just their musical tradition, but somehow, there's always wonderful melodies coming out of an acoustic guitar played by a Swede... The other non-Metal track is the closing instrumental 'Flames Of The End', which is a really, really strange one. It's an experimental, soundtrack-ish mood that sets the tension for something which is never to come. It sets a climax for something that just isn't there. Even though it is a good track quality wise, I think it's in the wrong place on the album.

After that, if you have the remastered version, there is a handful of completely useless bonus tracks. Among those, there are demos of two album tracks ('Unto Others' and 'Suicide Nation') which are vastly inferior to the album versions, if only because the tuning is different. The cover songs aren't that good as well, but something I have to note with that is that I hate cover tracks, so maybe some of you will like them.

'Slaughter Of The Soul' is an amazing Thrash album with just the right amounts of melody and aggression. I never cared much for terms as "classics" or "milestones", but when it was up to me, both would fit this album very well. Not one of the musicians did anything better before or after the album.

This is the album responsible for inciting a musical movement called The New Wave of Swedish Death Metal a.k.a. Melodeath, more so than The Gallery, Jester Race, or any other album out there. The melodic, yet crushing sound have become the signature of Gothenburg bands. The album has reached its influences into broad areas of rock/metal music, especially with American bands like Shadows Fall, Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage, etc. etc.

However, on the other end of the spectrum, this album is vilified and scorned by metal purists, claiming that the band has sold out from its original sound to create this pop-structured album. This album single-handedly produced a stream of copycats that has diluted the metal scene, which eventually destroyed the movement the band once owned.

Now, everybody has their own opinion about this album. But as far as I’m concerned, Slaughter of the Soul is simply one of the better albums released in the 90’s, one of the best guitar-oriented Metal albums ever, and easily one of the most influential albums in the current wave of Metal music. At the same time, Slaughter of the Soul is a flawed album that shows flashes of brilliance, only to leave listeners ultimately unsatisfied.

The songs are typified by an in-your-face attack, heralded by the sterling guitar work, a mix between brutal Death Metal and the vigor of Power Metal, and tight, active rhythm section. The vocals are a mix of Hardcore shouts and Black Metal screams. The album is appropriately produced by Fredrik Nordstrom, notable for his guitar-heavy recordings.

The guitars really stand out in this album, production-wise, as well as song-wise. Slaughter of the Soul boasts some of the most visceral riffs in metal music. ‘Cold’, ‘Suicide Nation’, and ‘World of Lies’ contain creative and powerful guitar lines with loads of melody that makes the music whistle-able, ala Heartwork.

In ‘Cold’, At the Gates has crafted a timeless Metal classic that will surely stand the test of time. The crushing intro which leads to the lurching mid-tempo riff is the stuff made for headbanging. The off-kilter bridge riff and the serene acoustic part, leading back to the bridge with an overlaying short, but sweet lead is excellent. And the chorus is damn infectious. A must hear for any Metal fans.

However, the problem with the album is that most of the songs follow a verse-chorus-lead formula that becomes predictable as the album wears on, which renders them easily digestible. The songs have the tendency to be powerful and memorable at one point, but after repeated listens, they lose their luster and impact. Another gripe with the album is that the band recycles chord progressions heard on previous songs. Nevertheless, this doesn’t discount the songs from its greatness, since all of them are performed with venomous intensity and urgency.

Overall, despite its shortcomings, Slaughter of the Soul is still highly recommended. My suggestion: buy the album, and make your opinion about it.

When one thinks about the creation and evolution of the melodic death metal sound, it really comes down to three bands: Carcass, At the Gates, and In Flames. Sure, in the early 90’s Entombed set the stage with their pioneering death & roll landmark Wolverine Blues, and Sepultura was busy reshaping death in its own proudly South American image, but these bands only opened the door; they never stepped through. Carcass brought the big hooks and the basic concept, At the Gates presented us with a new and exciting guitar tuning and the roots of the melodeath style, and In Flames… well, they really really liked Iron Maiden.

Slaughter of the Soul is really the first fully realized expression of melodic death metal’s potential, Heartwork for all its innovation still being defiantly underground at heart. This is the first death metal record where you get a sense of this potentially being mainstream, this sensation that this could become a new brand name in metal. I mean, previous to this only Cannibal Corpse and a handful of other Floridian mooks had made inroads on commercial success, but they were still creating too much of a racket with their Jurassic-era spoo. At the Gates, on the other hand, have some of what made Def Leppard stand out from the NWOBHM or Metallica from the rest of the thrashers, this sort of verve and confidence, an eye cocked toward the prize. Starting from this point, they became a separate entity from their shaggy, frostbitten contemporaries like Dark Tranquillity and Dissection and (after their break-up) began collecting the dues and boos that all innovators receive.

The really fun thing about picking up a record like this is that you get to hear both the ideas everybody and their bearded sun-fearing mothers cribbed and the ideas that were left behind, other paths that remain unexplored (see Priest’s first five records for tons of these). It seems a rule of thumb that almost all innovative bands are composed of players who refuse to sit still and play their music straight. Sometimes that means that their derivatives will reap the success, and other times it means that the watershed record will forever be held up as a superior piece of art. ATG falls somewhere in the middle of this range.

Slaughter of the Soul’s stunning guitar tone and garbled but intelligible caws are undoubtedly at the foundation of the modern sound, but the really cool thing is how much more variance you’ll find here than in the average Darkane record. The music is based much more strongly upon speed and thrash metal than death metal (truth be told, there’s hardly any death to speak of), with all sorts of black and Soundgarden and Pantera stuff overtop. The highly distorted guitars add the mechanized crunch that’s become so familiar through the works of Hypocrisy and The Crown, while the slightly more shrieky than usual vocals point towards the likes of Children of Bodom and Old Man’s Child. It’s a perfect example of how the initial influences of a form of music are slowly strained out with each successive imitation, the highly apparent Reign in Blood song structures and claustrophobic riffing disappearing in the successive generation just as Diamond Head’s overt Zeppelin affection was so mercilessly purged by Metallica and Megadeth.

The songs here are for the most part very short and to the point, four songs (if you subtract the long-ish intro to “Blinded by Fear”) clocking in at under three minutes. With the exception of the two instrumentals, each song seems calculated to get the pit moshing hard but smooth, the band wisely scraping away the more complex elements of thrash and glaring with a laser-eyed focus on the straight-forward ‘bang thy head’ riffery with an occasional Carcassian swinging hook to mix things up, dangling like a booger before the band sneezes out a compact flurry of riffage to segue back into the main thrust of the song.

The main problem with this is that many of the songs (particularly in the first half of the record) tend to blur together in one’s mind if they aren’t the ‘hits’ like “Blinded by Fear” or “Suicide Nation”. The album is also far too angsty for its own good, too much ‘nobody cares about meeeeee’ too little of the supposed philosophy the liners ramble about. Also, Tomas Lindberg may have discovered a new vocal style on this LP, but he also discovers the greatest weakness it has: it sounds like crap when it doesn’t have riffs under it. In “Cold” there is a break where he basically sits there screaming about how nobody loves him and, while I refuse to use the analogy most any other reviewer here would use, once you hear it described as such you can’t help but think of Tomas gargling back some of the white stuff while getting his angst on. Furthermore, the acoustic instrumental is beyond basic and the MIDI-sounding “The Flames of the End” wouldn’t sound out of place on the next Shadow of Death demo.

Still, the album is saved from the terrifying fate of the OVERRATED stamp by the nastier backwash that awaits on the latter half of the album, At the Gates apparently having satisfied their commercial jones and ready to show off the ugly, harsh side of their new baby boy, “World of Lies” kicking off a four-song blitzkrieg of neo-thrash with enough vitriol to strip the paint off of the walls. Three of the four are total Slayer worship, “Unto Others” in particular being a really mean piece of business, the sound of angry robots playing Tormentor while “Need” beats absolutely everyone to the ‘gothic Gothenburg’ punch.

Overall, I recommend this record to anyone who likes the less ornate Gothenburg bands out there, and for those thrash-heads who don’t mind that the tuning is slightly different and can tolerate the vocals of bands like Children of Bodom. I also have to say, in the strongest words possible, that anyone with a ‘scholarly’ interest in the evolution of heavy metal must hear this record at least five or six times in order to understand melodic death. For the rest of you out there, you won’t find many easier headbangs.

A word about the reissue: it adds six fine tracks including extremely intense covers of Slaughterlord and Slayer and a ballsy unreleased cut called “The Dying”. Some of this stuff is actually better than what you’ll find on the album proper.

Stand-Out Tracks: “Unto Others”, “Blinded by Fear”, “Nausea”

Apparently At the Gates “got bored” with their formerly complex and technical style of death metal, or they “progressed beyond” writing structurally difficult music, or they finally figured out that “the most powerful songs are the most direct ones”. You know the drill; you’ve heard it from other bands. As of this album (their final one) they just want to rock out and play some catchy music, and hey, who can blame them? They paid their dues, and I’m sure they had bills to worry about; who are we to judge them… uh, right?

Anyway, what we have here is the sound of older Swedish death metal crossbreeding itself back into rock music – franticly fast, hard rock-influenced riffing and scream-a-long vocals over basic thrash drumming. Fast, aggressive ear candy, basically. Indeed, when a death metal band's vocalist starts interjecting "yeah" and "do it" into songs, you might as well say farewell. If you’ve heard pretty much any heavily hyped release by a Swedish band to come out in the past several years, very little description should be necessary, because this thing’s fingerprints are all over what’s currently passed off as “melodic death metal”.

None of this is really brilliant, but now and again it’s at least as catchy and memorable as it’s trying to be, like on the first two tracks and “World of Lies”. Most of the rest of the album is kind of a blur, though, and as a whole it's woefully unambitious and not really worth the time it takes to sit through, not when there’s so much really good metal out there.

Nice guitar tone, though.

So imagine if The Haunted actually threw in more than one thrash riff per career, and didn't have that idiot of a hardcore barker doing vocals... well, you'd get this album. This is pretty much staple Gothenburg death metal, with some decent riffage every once in a while... unfortunately every once in a while it succumbs to the absolute wretched dynamic excesses that make Dark Tranquillity and the other mainstays of the genre so unlistenable. These two cardinal sins are: a) Drop the guitars and make the vocals the main point of the song, and 2) lots of overlong noodling without real riff intensity.

The first two songs are straightforward and solid, with even a nice thrash riff in Blinded by Fear popping up - then Cold is where the album reveals its true "melodic" character... there's the silly acoustic passage around 1.45 and then the solo over the really fucking boring midpaced riff right after that. Then, the end of Under a Serpent Sun has the vocals interlude. Yeah, if you like Gothenburg, you'll like this one.

Then there's the dumb interlude "Into a Dead Sky", which then returns us to the "usual" sound of fast not-quite-thrash riffage of Suicide Nation. The Haunted fans, listen up... this is your album right here. The song gets better as it goes on, but it is still very repetitive. Suicide, suicide, suicide.... great.

The good parts of the album - decent solos and when they have fast riffs underneath they are quite enjoyable, it is the midpaced wankery that really sucks, and man these guys are good at that too - apparently to graduate from Gothenburg University you have to take a degree in that. Even the fast songs kinda blend into each other - the verse sections are completely interchangeable.

But hey, it's a massive step up over previous At the Gates, which was just absurdly bad.

It's always a shame to see a band break up, and it's even more a shame when the band that breaks up is so damn good. Sadly, nothing can get At The Gates back together, but that didn't stop the Earache label from rereleasing the band's swansong, Slaughter of the Soul with some new tracks and unreleased material that makes one of the best melodic death metal albums even better.

Slaughter of the Soul finds the band at their peak form; guitarists Anders Bjoler and Martin Larsson trading off brutal riffs and excellent rhythm guitar, drummer Adrian Erlandsson showing off some excellent alternating patterns (that he still uses in Cradle of Filth), and vocalist Tomas Lindberg providing some excellent growling that is heavy, but clear enough that you can hear the rather excellent lyrics.

The re-release comes with liner notes by Tomas Lindberg, and although he offers a lot of interesting comments, it's clear that he dislikes some of the material on the album, and for the most part the tracks he dislikes aren't quite as original, or even as good as some of the standout tracks on the album. And like many melo-death albums, the potential for repetition does begin to set in after a short while, as a lot of the songs are structured similarly.

But Slaughter of the Soul is the best At the Gates album for a reason; everything is crisp, the production isn't too overblown, and the lyrics are quite good. There are a few bits of extremely original, almost Opeth-like breakdowns and mini-sections trying to get out during certain songs, but it's clear that the musical polish is when delivering the extremely refined melo-death sound. Under a Serpent Sun begins with some simple 4/4 riffing that shows holds for around twenty seconds before changing ever so slightly, a change that leads into an almost complete rhythm change as the song gets underway, alternating between these two sections with complete ease - and when the song breaks down into a brief spoken section underlined by some softer instrumentals, it really becomes apparent that the band knows what they're doing. Further proof of this is in the more concise title track, Slaughter of the Soul, which has a similar song structure but works with more efficiency at harmonizing guitar riffs, particularly during the guitar solo towards the end of the song. And anyone who hasn't heard the band's cover of Slayer's Captor of Sin needs to stop reading this review and download it immediately, as the band is talented enough with their rhythm guitar and overall speed to keep the thrash feel of original song while adding in their own subtle touch.

Slaughter of the Soul is one of the best melo-death albums from one of the best melo-death bands in the genre's history, and although much of the new material on the re-release is cheap filler, there are at least a dozen jaw-dropping moments that display such chemistry, you'll wonder why At the Gates ever disbanded.