Slaughter of the Soul

• Artist: At the Gates
• Rating:
• Release Date: November 14, 1995
• Type: Lyrics are included with the album, Enhanced CD-ROM
• Genre: Rock

Review

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. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Blinded by Fear	Anders Björler, At the Gates, Jonas Björler, Tomas Lindberg	At the Gates	(3:12)
Slaughter of the Soul	At the Gates, Anders Björler, Jonas Björler, Tomas Lindberg	At the Gates	(3:02)
Cold	Jonas Björler, Tomas Lindberg, Anders Björler, At the Gates	At the Gates	(3:27)
Under a Serpent Sun	Jonas Björler, Tomas Lindberg, At the Gates, Anders Björler	At the Gates	(3:58)
Into the Dead Sky	Jonas Björler, Tomas Lindberg	At the Gates	(2:12)
Suicide Nation	At the Gates, Anders Björler, Tomas Lindberg, Jonas Björler	At the Gates	(3:35)
World of Lies	Tomas Lindberg, Jonas Björler, At the Gates, Martin Larsson, Anders Björler	At the Gates	(3:35)
Unto Others	Jonas Björler, At the Gates, Tomas Lindberg, Anders Björler	At the Gates	(3:11)
Nausea	Anders Björler, At the Gates, Jonas Björler, Tomas Lindberg	At the Gates	(2:23)
Need	Anders Björler, Tomas Lindberg, Jonas Björler, At the Gates	At the Gates	(2:36)
The Flames of the End	Lars Johansson, Anders Björler, Tomas Lindberg	At the Gates	(2:57)

Credits

Anders Björler (Drums), Kristian Wahlin (Artwork), Anders Björler (Guitar), Kristian Wahlin (Photography), Björn Mankner (Photography), At the Gates (Producer), Tomas Lindberg (Vocals), Fredrik Nordström (Producer), Martin Larsson (Guitar), Kristian Wahlin (Design), Jonas Björler (Bass), Andy LaRocque (Guitar), Noel Summerville (Mastering), Adrian Erlandsson (Drums)

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