At War with Reality

Man, the number of times I've decided to review this album and then not gone through with it is crazy. On the one hand, At War with Reality can surely be defined as the most interesting At The Gates reunion album, not only because the others have been pretty boring but also due to a few tactful changes to the former methods of the Swedes. Then again, the interesting elements of this 2014 effort might not be seen as so fascinating by every fan, particularly not those wishing for some return to the earlier death-oriented climes of the first 2 albums. You see, I consider the themes on At War with Reality more alluring than the music itself, and that's saying a lot for a line-up that contains 3 fifths of one of my favourite bands of all time, namely The Haunted. Not to mention Tomas Lindberg, THE melodic death metal vocalist. And...er, Martin Larsson, who has been important to At The Gates but not too much else.

Okay, I'll divulge my interest in the themes right away: South American writers, especially Jorge Luis Borges. Borges wrote mostly a kind of magical realism spliced with science fiction, twisting the fabric of our world with sly tricks of pen and tongue rather than actually outlandish concepts, so that one began to doubt the truth of reality within just a few pages of his extremely slim stories. Lindberg acknowledged the importance of these ideas to this album in interviews, but the song titles 'Death and the Labyrinth', 'The Circular Ruins', and 'The Book of Sand (The Abomination)' already stood out to me, as they are titles (either exact or mildly altered) of Borges stories. Tropes like labyrinths, recurrence, mirroring, and unknowability return in these works, here supplemented by parts from On Heroes and Tombs by Ernesto Sabato, a quote from which makes up the rather arresting spoken Spanish introduction to the album. The lyrics might well pass you by if you haven't read the narratives, but I gather the overarching point of At War with Reality was to point out how language can alter our reality, how truths are often multiple, and how the superficiality of the modern world threatens to drown out its meaning.

The modern At The Gates sound, however, is singular, and may be called superficial if you are feeling mean. I'm not one of those people who hates Slaughter of the Soul, even if I agree that we didn't need 1000 bands ripping it off for the following 2 decades, yet I guess that At The Gates stopped being a band that progresses when they reformed and made another album with an approximately similar style and a mildly different character. Conciseness is one thing that remained quite clearly over the 20 years the quintet was away, evident from the song lengths since only a couple exceed 4 minutes and also tangible in the velocity of the faster parts, which intersect with quite bouncy melodeath parts that you cannot fail to have heard on 'Suicide Nation' or 'Cold'. More peaceful moments exist alongside the rush of 'Death and the Labyrinth' and 'The Conspiracy of the Blind', with the rather soothing intros of cuts like 'Heroes and Tombs' and 'Order from Chaos' feeling like a new feature. Indeed, the album as a whole feels lusher than Slaughter of the Soul attempted to be (and probably lusher than it could have been regarding recording quality), employing a few strings and alternative tones to the beefy riffing mode of the guitarists, something which the band would expand on the following album. 'City of Mirrors' quite pointedly exists as a band-constructed interlude, utilizing the twin guitars to build up a melodic soundscape, not like the rather separate instrumental tracks from Slaughter, which I couldn't imagine At The Gates playing live.

Despite the minor innovations going on with theme and musical style, these veteran musicians cannot make At War with Reality a powerful listen. In fact, I feel the album loses out twofold, firstly because much of the content ceased to be startling many years before its creation and secondly because the listen possesses none of the urgency that made this an initially startling formula. Lindberg, although bringing more to the table lyrically than before, can't really translate his incensed yells to these theoretical topics, while the rest of the band offer up obviously competent ideas but fall short on memorability and any vestige of wow factor. The attacking style mostly exhibited here requires the musicians to be absolutely clinical - not much problem there - and also to get stuck in your head very quickly. I've listened to this album enough to know that nothing remains after I take my earphones out, even if it seems decent while I'm actually listening. That Anders Björler quit not just At The Gates but also playing metal more generally a couple of years later does not surprise me when reflecting on the compositions here, which he and his brother Jonas jointly wrote. Maybe playing together in At The Gates felt inspiring, but the writing sessions surely ran short on magic.

Thus, At War with Reality seems rather like a failure to me, not in the sense that it's redundant as a listen nor that it's essentially poor, more that in the context of At The Gates' career it didn't achieve very much. If you could imagine that this line-up had been a new band in 2014 and had shopped around labels trying to get signed, I reckon their biggest selling point would not have been overriding quality but instead their similarity to At The Gates. The concept could have provided pretty effective window dressing for a consistent and slightly more nuanced sound than the average Scandinavian melodic death album, though no one would have seen past the real reason for the existence of At War with Reality: a release for people who missed At The Gates.

Only 19 years after the release of "Slaughter Of The Soul" the reactivation of At The Gates was confirmed with the album. This should already be a big encouragement to check "At War With Reality", after all, the band did not want to record new music at first! In the case of this group, however, it was a good move, because the Swedes had a lot of time to refine the songs and carve them on the basis of more specific patents (and not, as in In Flames, based on newly-fashionable experiments).

Of course, there is no question of a great revelation or any breakthrough here, but it's difficult for me to call "At War With Reality" something totally unnecessary. The music contained on this disc is At The Gates in an edition directly aimed at fans of the long's, the whole thing is not surprising, and at the same time does not sound like a random cluster of their most famous patents.

In terms of composition, it's different here, sometimes it lacks the old flair, other times it is ravishingly like the old times. First, the old-school "Death And The Labyrinth" stands out with a bizarre intro, then a very typical for them title track and the best on the tracklist "The Book Of Sand (The Abomination)". The calmer "Order From Chaos", the faster and more melodic "The Circular Ruins", the (again) slower "The Night Eternal" or the most reminiscent of the fourth longplay of the group "The Conspiracy Of The Blind" also perform well in this combination. The musicians themselves also maintained the form from before the reactivation, although you can attach a bit to the vocals of Tomas Lindberg, because you can hear that the peasant's years are behind him, they are not fatal or unacceptable - they just fare weaker compared to those from "Slaughter Of The Soul". The most important changes to "At War...", however, are limited to production. In general, they dealt with it quite well here, it has not been changed in any direction, everything sounds clear, and at the same time it does not bring to mind modern, overloaded productions.

The review may suggest that the album is average at best. It is not so. I am glad that the return of At The Gates was reflected on the album, the music turned out to be quite good for them, it does not only use proven patents and - above all - can stay for longer. Obviously, this is not the same level as it used to be, but looking at all kinds of returns of some top players, the Swedes were surprisingly positive on this.

Originally on: https://subiektywnymetal.blogspot.com/2019/09/at-gates-at-war-with-reality-2014.html

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).

At the Gates make a triumphant return to the melodic death metal scene with a follow up to the band's massively successful 1995 Slaughter of The Soul. However heavy and masterfully written it may be, it fails to capture the magic and pure melodic death metal sounds of its predecessor.

At War with Reality starts off excellent with the title track, it sounds as if the band has found their sound they left with, before they went on a hiatus. The guitars shred your face off, The drumming is constantly pounding in your head, Put that alongside Tomas’s vocals and you have one hell of a metal track. Other stand out tracks include Order from Chaos and The Head of The Hydra. Overall the tracks work well with flow of the album and manage to capture that raw rage that At The Gates is well known for, Also working in the bands favour is the fact that the lyrics are very well written and add that extra layer that manages to create something truly memorable. However great the album is, It does have a few tracks such as Heroes and Tombs and City of Mirrors that fail to live up to the expectation. These songs just don’t feel as if they fit in with At War With Reality's ebb and flow. I found the speed of the guitarists doesn't always match the fast tempo set by the drums. Therefore, throwing off the vocals and knocking the album down a peg.

Even with those tracks, At War with Reality is still a classic Gothenburg metal album, Which is great thing if you know the bands that come out of Gothenburg, if not I will give you a few examples. Dark Tranquility, In Flames, The Haunted, Arch Enemy and Amon Amarth. In conclusion, At War with Reality proves that At the Gates can still play heavy, hard and angry. The old dudes still got it. I would recommend this album to any old At The Gates fan, as well as to any fan that enjoys metal.

I approached this album the same way (I assume) At the Gates approached writing it: with a little bit of caution. And mistrust as well.

Not that I wasn't hopeful, excited or hyped. AtG have been one of my favorite bands for years now, and they blew me away when I saw them live for my first time during their reunion tour. Actually this is probably the main ground on which I based my initial reluctance: a band with such a history, that contributed to the establishment of one of the most recognizable and eclectic genres in metal, coming back with a new record after a long hiatus, and almost twenty years after their previous output, the groundbreaking, excellent Slaughter of the Soul. We've all witnessed too many half-assed, worthless comebacks by historic bands that decided to take a dump on their past relics, leaving us all with a mixed feeling of contempt and disillusion, not to be concerned about At War with Reality.

Rarely have I been happier to say that my misgivings were all utterly, undeservedly placed. At War with Reality is excellent. It won't establish new untrodden paths in the landscape of melodic death metal, it may not be as sensational and pioneering as The Red in the Sky is Ours, but let's give Caesar what belongs to Caesar and praise this album, because it deserves praise beyond all doubt.

The sound and the songwriting pick up exactly where the band left off with Slaughter of the Soul. A heavy sound, enhanced by a top notch production, welcomes us after a interesting intro track. In fact, At War with Reality kicks off with a blast, delivering a strong and fast-paced riff with one of the strongest tunes here, "Death and the Labyrinth". The band's sense for melody isn't missing either, with this track as well as the others incorporating amazing melodic intermezzos, as well as some quasi-contemplative and calm sections, that give a little respite from the full-blown and stone-crushing violence of the heavier passages. This shifts in style, however, are presented in a perfectly blended and balanced mixture, never sounding artificial or out of place. A lot like Yin and Yang, it seems as if one couldn't be without the other, and that a drop of calmness must at all times be comprised in the ocean of overwhelming power, while on the other side of the coin, the stillness of the calmer bits always carries the foreboding of more violence to come.

The songwriting is seriously impressive. Changes in tempo are frequent and well played, the songs are never repetitive, each having a distinct feeling. This is accomplished in good part thanks to Lindberg's performance, which is amazing. He truly is a fantastic singer, and the feelings of anguish, fear and depression are transmitted in a bare, crude way, with an unprecedented level of conveyance. He manages to make you feel what the excellent lyrics he himself wrote really mean. I just got goosebumps by thinking of this right now, I'm not kidding. The musicianship of the Björler twins as well as the other performers involved is great as we all remember it from the glory days of the band. In fact, it may have gotten better. Erlandsson's drumming is powerful and distinctive, Anders Björler's playing is great, and his solos are melodic and tasteful as they've ever been.

Anyone who likes melodic death metal should definitely buy this record. It shines new light on a band that seemed forever lost, and I now find myself hoping for more records in the future. After seeing them live a couple of months back I definitely can tell that these guys are bursting with energy and liveliness, as this very album is, but only time will tell what will happen, and if they'll get down to writing once more. For now I content myself with the glorious At War with Reality, and my now half restored faith in comebacks.

"We are a burning darkness
Swamped by a thousand seas
Mute from fear, hollow and eternal
We sleep forever
The end goes on..."

Many reactivated legendary groups had members beating around the bush for years with projects that borrowed copious amounts of influence from their then-defunct bands—Luc Lemay of Gorguts sticking to Gorguts-like music with that Negativa group he was a part of, or the Autopsy dudes screwing around in a number of similar death metal bands, for instance. There was a semblance of unfinished business; it made sense to have certain bands return. Others shouldn’t have kicked the sleeping dog in the ribs, but hindsight is never 20/20. It all makes sense on paper: band X is excellent, so why not make a new album after Y amount of years? But suddenly that new album becomes a brown log floating among pristine rivers, and while some insist the turd-infested waters are certainly not turd-infested, you can’t help but see them cringe. They know that buoyant tube is no Babe Ruth.

Take, for instance, the tale of Duke Nukem Forever. Stuck in developmental hell for years, the fourth installment of the much-loved series was mired by updates and speculations that were aimless. Zero Punctuation mastermind Ben Croshaw created a wildly facetious video review of the game before its release to underscore the problems of Duke Nukem Forever seeing the light of day. He hilariously attested the game would fail to live up to expectations and subsequently poop the bath among its fan base due to the evolution of the gaming world’s industry and technology. Long story short, he predicted Duke Nukem Forever to be like telling a kid with BPD to find a drum of gasoline and kill a few hours. As foretold, results weren’t too hot.

At The Gates embodies the spirit of the ultimate sacred cow. From “The Red in the Sky is Ours” to “Slaughter of the Soul,” each and every release they created holds prodigious worth to specific schools of thought within death metal. Purists consider “The Red in the Sky is Ours” and “With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness” to be two of the few compositional zeniths of the sound (myself included), while “Terminal Spirit Disease” and “Slaughter of the Soul” were pivotal in molding the melodic death metal identity, and helped inspire a new generation of bands. How many groups have had that degree of influence on such a vast magnitude? Very few come to mind.

When At The Gates started touring again, the guys constantly shot down the idea of making a new album; they were cognizant of their legacy, and had no intention to tarnish it. The preserve-the-legacy thing was something to admire, really. One of my favorite bands, taking the high road; a clean slate, never to be ruined by that brown log floating in their pristine little pond. Much like the release of Duke Nukem Forever, I’m left wondering why “At War with Reality” exists. What else did At The Gates have left to prove, other than to make a new album just for the sake of making a new album? The whole idea just seemed redundant.

For one, the influence of “Slaughter of the Soul” has been violated and bastardized by hundreds of bands since 1996. Any criteria At The Gates used from their most renowned album would come up lacking and bare; the well had been tapped long ago. The odd rhythms and complex structures of Alf Svensson’s work in the band (jokingly referred to as ‘Alf the Gates’) were out of question, because (a) Svensson was not involved in At The Gates’ resurgence, and (b) the other members wrote off most of his work, often calling his twisting compositions of the group’s early era ‘pretentious.’ Also, members of At The Gates went on to form The Haunted, so there’s strike number three. It smelled like they were doomed from the start to unleash a product of mediocrity, nothing close to their former glories.

On the other hand, if they released an album that kicked ass, I would have gladly ate my words. But it doesn’t sound like that’s the case, because “At War with Reality” is dull. Not a colossal turd, but it fails to conjure the sense of innovation and mastery that At The Gates’ prior efforts captured effortlessly. It falls mostly under the blanket of The Haunted’s straightforward style of melodic death metal with some parts that might have had a place on a trimmed version of “Slaughter of the Soul” or “Terminal Spirit Disease.” As exciting as The Haunted, as insipid as The Haunted, and packed with a special fragrance that smells like The Haunted.

Maybe an album like this would have worked back in the late 1990s when this sound was still developing. The melodic death metal identity has long since been ravished by countless projects, but “At War with Reality” never got the memo; it kicks down the door to the party ten years too late. The integration of candid death/thrash metal riffs stripped out of The Haunted’s modus operandi makes a startling amount of these tunes uneventful from start to finish. The fact that these straightforward, predictable sequences are not just plentiful but the spine of the album shows the creative ingenuity of prior At The Gates opuses squandered for a corner-cutting songwriting template of little interest. They don’t bother to heave out a frenetic melodic death lashing like “Suicide Nation” or even a by-the-numbers replication of older days, but instead stick to bland mid-paced sections with bits of At The Gates-styled riffs and parts thrown in here and there. “At War with Reality” shows this once-great band playing armchair quarterback. Woefully humdrum and creatively bankrupt.

The biggest letdown is that few sections appear that actually sound like At The Gates, oddly. Tomas Lindberg’s barks, which thankfully have not changed one bit, appear to be the only part of At The Gates not to have its costs cut. “Death and the Labyrinth” and the title track act as the leadoff tunes by setting the stage, but they completely fail to make an impression. The aggressive use of melodic death metal to kick things off is like a street magician pulling a quarter out of a middle-aged man’s ear and expecting him to be amazed; these are second-rate copies of “Slaughter of the Soul” glued to The Haunted’s straightforward banality. I’m being generous by calling them mediocre.

The whole record is almost entirely devoid of memorable riffs, save for a few up-tempo bits (especially “Eater of Gods”) and a handful of mid-paced parts. I can’t recall a fragment of “The Circular Ruins” through “Order from Chaos” without hearing the songs themselves; they have no gripping power whatsoever. The second half is a little more tolerable, because some of these tunes finally begin to wake up and shake off the cobwebs. “Eater of Gods,” as mentioned, is a much-needed pocket of fire, and “The Book of Sand (The Abomination)” sticks more to the melodic elements of prior At The Gates works than most of “At War with Reality.” Sad part is, these songs are fine, not exceptional. The rest ranges from forgettable to boring with a common theme of the group sleepwalking through it all.

Big publications may continue to brown-nose the band and the label, and apologists will call this turd they munch on through grimaces a Snickers bar, yet there is no denying “At War with Reality” is nowhere near the prominence of the At The Gates moniker. I can’t think of a worse fate “At War with Reality” could have suffered than this phoned-in, lackluster snapshot of a legendary band clocking in and punching out as if this were a faceless day at the office. The world of melodic death metal the guys of At The Gates helped create has moved on. Only now, with the return of its master, they’ve shown up a day late and a dollar short; this makes the harsh reality of reunions infinitely more convincing. A note to future legends: you have nothing left to prove. Stay dead, for Christ’s sake.

This review was written for: www.Thrashpit.com

The return of formidable melodeath masters At the Gates was not without both fanfare and unsure demeanors. To be honest I was at first curious to know the how, why, and wherewithal that came with this sudden revival, but then the bitter reality of how big it all went down with some folks out there came to be and, therefore, new material to placate the desire for more Gatesian antics as well came to be. But whether or not this can be seen as a real return to form or a simple product to continue their latest upward trend of attention-seekingness is truly up to the listener's sense of cynicism or positivity.

Evidently taking the years-long lessons of mid-paced pounding mixed with dark harmonies of their ashes-rising heir apparents The Haunted, "At War with Reality" offers a bit more than the subsequent revival act in terms of a more varied arrangement scheme and increase in melody and atmosphere yet retaining that same middle-of-the-road pacing, simpler variety and a rather milquetoast level of performance. Easily taking more cues from the straightforward thrashing of "Slaughter of the Soul" versus the unearthly delights of "The Red in the Sky...", there are occasions where the whole of the music sounds honed and more inspired than the rest of the song(s)/album itself, whether it be the tingly harmonies ("City of Mirrors"), thick-as-jungle-fog riffwork ("The Book of Sand") or occasional clean guitar sections that prove to be worth more weight than the heavier moments ("Order from Chaos" had that down as well as AtG could ever hope to achieve). These moments aren't as numerous as I feel they should have been, but even their minute amount was able to keep "At War with Reality" from being a complete bore. As well, the grungy production and unpolished guitar tone keeps this from being too modernized and product-like for its own good, thereby resulting in the band sounding like a real act versus a studio hack-job overediting every single track and bringing about a little more appreciation on my end, for rarely do you hear a post-millennial recording actually sound like a fucking album over something so post-produced perfect as to be unable to be replicated on stage. DragonForce this sure as shit ain't...

But that's not to say that this is, by any major stretch, the comeback album to outdo all other comeback albums. The main bulk of the album doesn't stray from the same mid-level tempo, rendering the material and performance sounding more fatigued than it really should; there are moments where it almost feels like each respective member recorded their parts after a late work shift and just didn't have the energy the songs desperately need(ed) to make them spectacular instead of "meh" (I found myself tapping my fingers more than a few times during "Heroes and Tombs", a track that really felt twice as long as it really is). I place most of the blame on that on the halfway-inspired songwriting and phoned-in drumming (which is a serious bummer seeing as I know how well Mr. Erlandsson can devastate the kit). And as iffy as I found the vocals (not quite sure whatto think of them, to be honest...), I did find them to be the most genuine of all the At the Gates folks by way of the amount of energy that went into the otherwise off-putting shouts/screams/what have you. If ever the album needed a real saving grace, that would have to be it, which certainly doesn't do the whole affair any major favors in the least. You want to be able to absorb the whole damn thing versus just one or two elements, which clearly did not happen here. But hey, too many years apart will do that to a band, I fear...

In the end "At War..." is, at best, 30% interesting ideas and 70% tired and dull plodding. Those expecting the second coming of "Red Sky..." or even "With Fear..." will walk away plenty disappointed, maybe even a bit pissed, so try not to place this on so high a pedestal. It's not completely worthless, but also not really a necessary listen given the talent involved. Worth a single listen, then you can judge it for its own merits afterwards.

They're back! That's right, after years of waiting, we finally have At The Gates' newest release: At War With Reality. Right off the bat, let me just say that every single year we've waited for this album was definitely worthwhile! The amount of brutal and melodic tracks on this installment definitely blew my hair back. At War With Reality definitely signifies the return of the melodic death metal pioneers without a doubt. It's clearly shown through perfect songwriting, beautiful solos, unforgettable riffs and that AtG feel we all know and love. Everything you've ever wanted out of this album is definitely all packed in here. Without further ado, let's dive in:

You'll notice immediately that the guitar work is on point. The quality is crisp and clean, high quality without a doubt. If you loved them on "Slaughter of the Soul" you'll definitely enjoy the ones being heard here. The solos are beautiful, melodic and fast when the time is right. When it comes to the riffs, they're heavy, way heavier than their previous releases. The drums match the rest of the band pretty well, they haven't really changed in terms of quality, speed and brutality which is an extremely good thing and also a relief. The biggest problem with most metal bands nowadays is that they tend to focus too much on experimentation rather than quality of the music to the point where the tunes get way too obscure for anyone to listen to. At The Gates did some experimentation here but in all the right places. They didn't fuck up like In Flames did with their new album called "Siren Charms" where the experimentation and new directions in style literally ruined the brutality and everything metal about the release. AtG basically decided to make their album a mixed bag, there's a good portion of both fast and slow songs which is something they normally don't do. They usually do one or the other, most of the time it's usually fast paced. Here, they did the best of both worlds and it shows that they're fully capable of pursuing new directions without messing it up.

On top of that, the lyrics are classic AtG and I'm really glad they didn't abandon that as well. I feel like they're the only death metal band that don't stick to the same schtick that most bands do, lyrically. Bands like Amon Amarth and Aborted stick to certain subjects and it gets tiring really fast whereas AtG write about various things and that makes every single song refreshing. The vocals are a bit dry and aged but honestly that makes no difference, they still sound good. It's pretty obvious that Tomas Lindberg has aged but that's all in the name of rock n' roll. Some would say this album is "Slaughter Part II" but honestly I feel like it's "Slaughter" with more power, more skill and they definitely put a lot of thought into this installment. Which means they weren't lazing around all these years.

This album is, without a doubt, album of the year 2014 in my books. At The Gates managed to stay with their roots while also experimenting with their sound without damaging the goods too much. They're the only band this year that has truly made an album that satisfied me to the fullest. They've succeeded where many bands failed to bring to the table, which is something new and innovative. I feel like I could listen to this album all the way through compared to releases by other bands where I get bored after a few tracks. You should definitely consider listening to this album, don't hesitate to do so either. Believe the hype, it's definitely all true. An Instant favourite.

After an eleven year absence the melodic death metal greats At the Gates reformed in 2007 to play select festivals, but said that this reunion wouldn’t result in a new album. But fast forward seven years and due to the response they’ve gotten and the overwhelming demand, here we are with their fifth full length album At War With Reality. With a nineteen year gap since Slaughter of the Soul, and with the band members other releases in the intervening time having been of dubious quality at best, it was hard to get excited even from a band such as At the Gates. But any worries about how a new album would sound after nearly two decades were quickly allayed – this is classic At the Gates and it’s as if they never left, combining all the sounds of their previous albums in one into another quality effort from the Swedes

A spoken word intro in Spanish quickly gives way to the first proper track Death and the Labyrinth, and it’s instantly recognizable as At the Gates. Those melancholic melodic riffs are reminiscent of their début, while the guitar tone seems to come from Slaughter of the Soul with the warm production of Terminal Spirit Disease all for good measure. Melodic riffs, aggressively harsh rasped screams and a great mid paced drum barrage, it really is as if they never left and it’s a great one that could have gone on any of the albums before it. Each track on the album has it’s own feel to it, with the title track’s sound walking the tightrope between sombre and epic, with those minor scales reeking of despair, but the emotional guitar solos sound powerfully exciting. Melodic death metal often sounds far too sugary with a tame production, especially when it comes to solos, but At The Gates get it right, the solos here are always well crafted and energetic, rather than sounding like saccharine attempts to show off (as Arch Enemy do these days.)

Heroes and Tombs shows great interplay between the two guitarists, with one playing deep murky riffs, the other dishing out the melody in a cleaner tone and both combining excellently with more vicious vocals from Tomas – I can’t get over how great he sounds on this album, he’s at this pissed off best. Those slow, murky riffs sound like filth and it’s a good offset to the melodic approach of the other guitar. The Conspiracy of the Blind sounds like it could have come straight from Slaughter of the Soul with a thick caustic guitar sound and fast simple riffs amongst the memorable melodic touches and catchy vocals, while the exotic sounding intro to Order from Chaos opens up one of the more interesting tracks on the album, with acoustic guitar melodies combining well with more mid paced heavy riffage. Closer The Night Eternal is the album’s longest, and the atmosphere generated through the sombre riffs and the effortless passages from one section to the next, especially the way it flows into that stunning solo at the end, make it a joy to listen to.

The best track of the bunch though is Circular Ruins, with Tomas sounding particularly vicious, screaming his lungs out intensely against a backdrop of ugly riffs with a deep rumbling guitar tone, with brilliant solos snaking their way around the fretboard and sticking in the mind. And there aren’t any bad tracks on At War With Reality, each one having it’s own identity, with memorable riffs, vocal lines and interesting ideas. That said, they come out strong, with the first three tracks being the best on the album, but the rest are by no means slouches and would each fit on any of the old At the Gates album with ease, but it does just feel perhaps a little too front loaded – but that’s the only bad point on a great comeback.

In At War With Reality what At The Gates have done is not only produce an album that more than lives up to the name in a great release, they’ve released one of the best albums in many years in a stagnant melodic death metal scene and it’s a lesson to all the bands around them – this is how it’s done!

Originally written for swirlsofnoise.com

Here we finally have it, 19 years and we can wipe clean the dusty cobwebs of Slaughter of the Soul. At War With Reality showcases a band playing to their strengths of their whole career. I get both the feeling of nostalgia and a breath of fresh air with this album.

I remember receiving a promo from a friend in '91 of the song "At the Gates" from the Gardens of Grief EP (only titled a promo at the time). Few songs have changed my views on music as much as that song. It obvious to say I was floored by what I heard. I waited with baited breath to hear more from this new band. I was fortunate to find a cassette copy of "The Red in the Sky is Ours" when it was licensed by Grindcore records to the United States in '92. The album has had a major role in my life and I feel I relate to that album more than the other At the Gates releases. The Red in the Sky is Ours is even one of my favorite productions even though most people and the band itself find it awful.

Fast forward twenty plus years and I am a bit hesitant to what I would hear from At the Gates in 2014. I felt like they could play it safe and go down the path of the more streamlined approach of Slaughter of the Soul. Well, I was dead wrong. I love Slaughter of the Soul but I really didn't want to hear it rehashed all over again. It is with great relief that they released a fantastic, fresh, and varied At the Gates album.

The production is top notch and the guitars razor sharp crunch is perfect for the mood here. For the first time Jonas' bass playing shines through the mix and plays a prominent role in the overall sound. Listen to the chorus on "Death and the Labyrinth" for some slithering bass lines. Back in the fold are the double guitar melodies tremolo picked at various speeds and paced to create that majestic signature At the Gates sound. The album both thrashes and creates a ominous wall of atmosphere. The drumless instrumental, "City of Mirrors", is both dark and carries a dense dirge like feeling.

The drums mostly plod along in the same fashion as Terminal and Slaughter, mostly mid-paced and precisely executed. I prefer the loose, unpredictable, and frantic drumming style of "The Red in the Sky is Ours" but that would no doubt sound out of place now. Tompa Lindberg delivers the goods both vocally and lyrically on this album. Easily his best performance since Slaughter. Back is his signature cutting rasp and he seems to fit only in the AtG setting. I don't particularly enjoy his vocals in other bands. On a similar note, I never liked The Haunted much either. The band members are back together where they belong.

The album version I hold here has two bonus tracks, "The Language of the Dead" and "The Skin of a Fire", that are placed in the second half of the album at track 9-10. I'm not sure if this is the way the album was initially intended to be released? Regardless, both tracks deserve to be heard as they are excellent and fit into the album as a whole. The approach of "At War with Reality" has a fresh sound while hinting and nodding to past releases and musical expressions. After all, this is their own original sound and this is what At the Gates were built on. They have refined their craft and foundation to perfection over these years. This is what I was hoping to hear as a fan of the band. I wasn't confident they had it in them after such a long layoff though. I am ecstatic to be proven wrong.

I should preface this review with one thing: My feelings on At The Gates previous discography differ from the norm. I’m neither one of the many that consider The Red In The Sky Is Ours their greatest (And sometimes, only good album), nor am I among the crowd that will swear by their would be swan song effort, Slaughter Of The Soul, as their magnum opus. I’ve always found the albums sandwiched between to be the best representation of the iconic Swedish outfit. How is this relevant, you ask? The answer is clear upon a listen to At War With Reality, which plays out as a combination of elements from their preceding works. (In my opinion, the best combination possible)

Melodeath legends At The Gates return after 19 years, with their first album since 1995’s equally celebrated and maligned release, Slaughter Of The Soul. The album that was a landmark in the genre, but gave birth to many clichés that some would say have plagued the metal genre for the past nearly two decades in their absence. The question I’ve heard asked many times in regards to this new release is unable to be ignored: Can At The Gates’ sound still come across as interesting or fresh awash in a sea of imitators?

The answer is a resounding yes. Rather than cash in on the legacy of the album and essentially clone it, ATG have seamlessly blended the hooky, catchiness of that album with the progressive elements on display on Terminal Spirit Disease, with the darkness of With Fear I Kiss The Burning Darkness, with the guitar work and flashes of aggressiveness reminiscent of The Red In The Sky Is Ours.

The guitar work is flawless, each riff, each note of every solo, seems as if it was masterfully crafted with attention to every finite detail. There’s an inherent “perfection” on this album, in regards to the production, which, while somewhat taking away from the power of the riffs, allows for each and every carefully forged detail of the music to shine through. And unlike most very cleanly produced albums in the modern metal genre, the drums don’t sound artificial or triggered in the slightest. This is modern production that doesn’t reek of plasticity.

The most improved part of this album lies in the vocal work of Tomas Lindberg. I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with his screechy, raspy, strangled mid range vocals. While at points they can lend a highly emotional tone to the music, other times they reek of amateurism on the band’s previous releases. On At War With Reality, though, Lindberg is at his best. The rasps are slightly lower, and slightly less strangled, and all around, better. It lends the album much more replay value than previous albums, as it does not ever seem tiring or painful to listen to. It also doesn’t hurt that the lyrics being voiced are the best the band has ever done, which seem to be a more mature, thought provoking take on the “Existential depression” concepts on Slaughter Of The Soul.

All in all, the album is a perfect representation of the band’s sound over the years, and a comeback record that more than holds it’s own weight in the band’s discography. Will it win back fans that have abandoned the band after their debut? Not likely. Will it have the same level of impact and legacy as it’s predecessor? Not likely. But will any At The Gates fan who enjoys a majority of their work find it a solid listening experience? My take on this says yes.

I’ll admit that I’m a bit of fanboy for oldschool melodic death metal bands. Dark Tranquility has been one of my favorite groups since high school. Short history lesson: every gothenburg, melodeath, and even metalcore band you have heard would not exist without At the Gates. These guys pretty much pioneered the style along with a few contemporaries that helped flesh it out after their dissolution. The Haunted carried the torch for a few albums with the remaining members and other groups like DT, In Flames, Soilwork, and Arch Enemy continued to utilize the same punchy alternation of rapid palm muting alternated with quick bursts of melodic hooks.

Unfortunately, as is destined to happen with every new trend, a slew of copycats oversaturated the style, resulting in the creation of metalcore which suffered the same fate. All this to say, before you listen to this and think “They sound just like so and so,” or “I’ve heard this before,” that’s because they created the genre. With that out of the way, I will try my very best to judge this album on its own merits rather than engage in deity worship.

We begin with an odd little spoken word portion that feels like a nod to the far briefer sample from their seminal album, Slaughter of the Soul. From the get-go I hear an increased focus on melody here, which comes as little surprise given the developments in the style since the band has been out of commission. The production is obviously much cleaner which serves as both pro and con. The pro is that the instruments are well balanced without feeling over-compressed. The con is that it just doesn’t have the same harsh feel as its predecessor. As for my impression of the opening tracks, I think they would have been better served leading with the strong titular track rather than the somewhat dull tremolo fest of “Death and the Labyrinth.”

As I continue into the middle of the album, what does catch me off guard is the emphasis of slower tracks. Both At the Gates and The Haunted have always had a pretty high ratio of thrashy, face-melters to slow burners. Not the case here. The approach is almost 50/50, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. While the slower tracks strike me as not being all that memorable, they do serve to augment the impact of the faster tracks. A good example is the transition from “Heroes and Tombs” to “The Conspiracy of the Blind.” The juxtaposition gets my blood pumping in just the right way.

Another compliment I have for the album as a whole is that it is brief and to the point. While many bands from the same period have opted to experiment with much longer tracks and implement new elements, ATG sticks to the formula. They give us a handful of songs, averaging around 3 minutes and the longest being 5:37, clocking in at a digestible 45 minutes. This is not to say that longer songs and albums are all bad. It’s just that for this particular style, less tends to be more.

So, is there anything new happening here? Honestly, not really. If you came looking for innovation, you will be disappointed. However, ATG still does what they do better than any of the imitators. Charlie Chaplin once lost in a Charlie Chaplin lookalike contest. The same would not happen in an At the Gates cover band competition. These guys still write riffs that are killer in that they grab your attention and are pleasing to the ear. There are also several really nice solos that do not feel tacked on or overstay their welcome. Combined with the stellar interplay with the drumming, you will be bobbing your head to several of these tracks. Key offenders for me were the obvious title track as well as “The Book of Sand,” “Upon Pillars of Dust,” and “The Head of the Hydra.” The songwriting is kept fairly tight and there was not a moment where I felt bored and wanting to hit skip.

To sum up, At War with Reality is yet another strong return for a giant of the genre. The result here is similar to what Carcass have done with Surgical Steel. If you are a longtime fan or someone who just enjoys melodeath in general, you will dig this album. However, this album did not grip me from the offset as did some of the other major releases this year. Vader, Behemoth, and Septicflesh have put out albums that absolutely kicked my ass from the first listen. In comparison, this is pretty lukewarm. That being said, if you were thinking about buying the latest album from some fresh-faced imitator, please consider buying this instead.