AT THE GATES

The Nightmare Of Being

CENTURY MEDIA

Melodic death metal pioneers carve out new sonic territory

of that made it a classic. Released during melodeath’s ascendancy, it was metal at its most direct: three-minute songs, each built on one or two riffs, that pummelled unrepentantly before vanishing. It was so rapid and episodic that every second, every lyric, every breakdown was an earworm. Nineteen years later, At The Gates’ comeback, kept the same ingredients as its predecessor, but added to the recipe. The nihilistic wordplay, thrashing refrains and mosh-inciting climaxes were back. However, they elongated gloom. Similarly, follow-up dabbled in new black/doom undercurrents.