Year Of Metal #005: At The Gates - Slaughter Of The Soul
We’re taking our first but not last trip to Sweden here. It’s a part of the world where metal is alive and well, and while Scandinavian passion for the most fiendish side of the music can get out of hand (to say the least), this record is terrific fun. At The Gates have taken the most theatrical approach thus far to songwriting, and the combination of high camp and hard edge makes this a treat to listen to.
The title track has a real traditional feel to it, with a swinging, galloping riff and a peachy, melodic solo that sounds like it would be a blast to play. This one’s made it onto a couple of video games which gives an idea of the surprising amount of crossover appeal this record has. (To this end Slaughter Of The Soul seems to have gotten some blowback from the death metal purists, but I don’t consider myself among their number, so that’s fine.)
The screamed vocals are never my favourite part of all this carry-on, but I like Tomas Lindberg’s approach a lot more than most. While the band plays with a heightened sense of drama, his performance feels less of a put-on than some others. He shrieks for his life at the very top of his register, which I’ve got more time for than the monster-growler types.
Slaughter Of The Soul is (smartly) a tight 34 minutes and change, but there’s scope for a ton of variety in there. “Cold” is a pretty mesmerising track, dropping out halfway through for some beautiful clean arpeggios, then exploding into a whammied-up, serpentine thing, cramming so much excitement into so little time on tape. This comes courtesy of guest guitarist Andy LaRocque in a real show stealing performance.
There are also a couple of instrumental breaks, moments to breathe which allow the band to go full throttle the rest of the time. I like the closer, “The Flames Of The End”, in particular. It’s atmospheric and ominous with its synth beds but still gets over the harshness and heaviness of the group. The keys and the howling guitar feedback both build and build as though competing for space, finally leaving off with a wailing, grinding sound which eventually dies. Evil triumphing over good or just a cool way to end a record? Either way it’s really good stuff.
The more I listen to this, the more keen I am on this. From the sharpness of the songs to the variety and smart structures, it’s one of the best of the bunch thus far even if it’s not necessarily the kind of metal I’m most readily drawn to. If this is what selling out sounds like then count me in!
