View Larger
Rate it!
Avg: 4.5 (119 ratings)
One of the building blocks of modern metal. (Try not to hold that against them.)
-
We Say...
The founders of Swedish melodic death metalists At the Gates hold the dubious honor of being the force most influential for today’s metalcore. The band played thunderous songs that combined growling vocals and turbulent rhythms with melodic guitar harmonies reminiscent of Iron Maiden. While the scene At the Gates spawned was already in full motion by the time they released their fourth album, Slaughter of the Soul, the disc captured a balance between dissonance and euphony that remains unparalleled. Perhaps realizing you can’t top perfection, the band broke up after the album’s release; three members formed the Haunted and one joined the Crown.
-
They Say...
While "Blinded by Fear" begins Slaughter of the Soul with a screwy and interesting semi-industrial percussion loop, about 40 seconds in it becomes all light-speed crunch, riffs, and snarls, so those who never liked thrash in the first place aren't going to be convinced by the goings-on here. But for those for whom such stuff is like oxygen? It depends. Singer Tomas Lindberg actually steers away from the typical Cookie Monster growl in favor of a higher but equally strangled register, while his lyrics avoid bad fantasy poesy, at least for the most part, in favor of more existential crises. If nothing else, he has a good line in influences, with quotes from everyone from William Burroughs to the 13th Floor Elevators. As for his bandmates, nothing here sounds too different from what those who worshipped at the wells of Kill 'Em All and Reign in Blood would have created, but what they do they do quite well. The arrangements are tight and performances strong (guitarists Anders Bjorler and Martin Larsson clearly have practiced their riff action many a time), and the occasional extra touch like acoustic guitar or notable space in the production, holding back at points rather than just grinding things into the ground, never hurts. "Cold" is a good example of this, with a soft electric guitar break about two minutes in, while the instrumental "Into the Dead Sky" consists of nothing but similarly calm guitar and whooshing background noises. Sometimes the contrast can be a bit odd -- hearing Lindberg's howls against nothing but brief flamenco runs in "Unto Others" isn't the most typical of combinations! While Slaughter may not be the best album of its kind, it's definitely better than most, with its own character.
“ The indie iTunes — Hardcore music fans are migrating to eMusic, the iTunes Music Store's cheaper, cooler cousin.”
Rolling Stone
eMusic Tip
Paid downloads are counted towards an album discount but free downloads are not.
COMPLETE FOR FREE!
You can download the rest of the tracks from this album for free! Just click the Complete Album button.
We’re sorry this album can only be downloaded using paid subscription download credits.
We recommend you Save it for Later by clicking the Save for Later button shown just above this message. For a list of related albums you can download right now, check out these recommendations.
| 01. |  |
Blinded By Fear |
3:12 |
|
| 02. | |
Slaughter Of The Soul |
3:02 |
|
| 03. | |
Cold |
3:27 |
|
| 04. | |
Under A Serpent Sun |
3:58 |
|
| 05. | |
Into The Dead Sky |
2:12 |
|
| 06. | |
Suicide Nation |
3:35 |
|
| 07. | |
World Of Lies |
3:35 |
|
| 08. | |
Unto Others |
3:11 |
|
| 09. | |
Nausea |
2:23 |
|
| 10. | |
Need |
2:36 |
|
| 11. | |
The Flames Of The End |
2:56 |
|
11 Total Tracks, 34:07 Total Length
Loading...
Playlists If you like At The Gates, check out these member playlists
Explore music recommended by At The Gates fans
Credits
- At the Gates - Producer // At the Gates - Producer // At the Gates - Main Performer // At the Gates - Main Performer // Andy LaRocque - Guitar // Kristian Wahlin - Artwork // Kristian Wahlin - Design // Kristian Wahlin - Photography // Fredrik Nordström - Producer // Noel Summerville - Mastering // Anders Björler - Guitar // Anders Björler - Drums // Jonas Björler - Bass // Adrian Erlandsson - Drums // Martin Larsson - Guitar // Tomas Lindberg - Vocals // Björn Mankner - Photography
Choose from over 6 million
music downloadseMusic features legendary and emerging artists in every genre: classic rock to classical,indie to international, soundtracks to spiritual, jazz to country and many more.
MP3 downloads work on any digital media player
With eMusic, you OWN your music without any restrictions. Burn music to a CD, play it on your computer, mobile phone or any digital media player - including iPod®, Zune® and Walkman®.
Songs available for 50¢ or less
eMusic subscriptions start at just $11.99 a month for 24 downloads - that's just 50¢ per song! And it gets better from there - our plans go as low as 42¢ per song!
Music Discovery
eMusic is about discovery. We make finding new music fun again with music recommendations from our award-winning team of music experts, member playlists and new music features.
Cancel anytime
With all the great music and site features we're pretty sure you will love eMusic. If not, no problem. You can cancel at any time and keep the music you have downloaded.
© 1992 - 2009 All Media Guide, LLC