Slaughter of the Soul

by At the Gates

Overview

When it was first released, At the Gates' Earache debut Slaughter of the Soul was regarded as a generally excellent example of Gothenburg-style melodic death metal, and certainly the band's best and most focused album to date. But the commonly held view was that it wasn't anything all that special, either. After all, it lacked the intricate twin-guitar leads of In Flames, the complex song structures of Dark Tranquillity, the progressive artistry of Edge of Sanity, or even the rock & roll underpinnings of latter-day Entombed. Slaughter of the Soul was more obviously rooted in American thrash (especially Slayer) than its peers, and didn't seem to be consciously trying to break new ground. It was simply a stripped-down, no-frills melodic death album that hit all the basic points of the style. In hindsight, though, that's precisely what made the album resonate so strongly. It gets those basics gloriously right: rhythmically kinetic riffs, tight song construction, and enough tempo and dynamic contrasts to keep the listener engaged. More than on any of the band's previous albums (and in contrast to the more sweeping visions of their Gothenburg cohorts), the songs on Slaughter of the Soul are concise, sharply honed assaults; only one makes it all the way to the four-minute mark. The tempo shifts are executed with stop-on-a-dime precision and never feel randomly placed; the band always seems fully in control of its furious outbursts. So even if Slaughter of the Soul wasn't revolutionary, it turned out to be the leanest, meanest, and most focused example of the melo-death style. Key to its influence was the way its straightforward aggression and back-to-basics approach kept the music simple enough to be duplicated: a whole generation of metalheads across the Atlantic used this record as a textbook for learning to play this style. It's also important to note that in place of the usual guttural death grunts, vocalist Tomas Lindberg here adopts a strangled shriek that actually keeps the lyrics somewhat intelligible. Not only does it put a more human face on the music, it also bears a significant resemblance to the kinds of vocals that were coming into vogue among screamo bands in the American punk underground. This point of connection helped set the stage for At the Gates' massive influence on the metalcore movement, which became the predominant style in American metal during the first decade of the 2000s. This legion of imitators was what finally stamped Slaughter of the Soul as not merely excellent, but as an all-time classic and one of the most influential metal albums of the '90s. ~ Steve Huey

Product Details

Release Date:	01/11/2019
Label:	Earache
UPC:	0817195021020

Tracks

1. Blinded by the Fear
2. Slaughter of the Soul
3. Cold
4. Under the Serpent Sun
5. Into the Dead Sky
6. Suicide Nation
7. World of Lies
8. Unto Others
9. Nausea
10. Need
11. The Flames of the End
12. Legion [Slaughterlord Cover]
13. The Dying [Unreleased Track From "Slaughter of the Soul" Sessions]
14. Captor of Sin [Slayer Cover]
15. Unto Others ['95 Demo]
16. Suicide Nation ['95 Demo]
17. Bister Verklighet [No Security Cover]

Album Credits

Performance Credits

At the Gates   Primary Artist
Napalm Death   Primary Artist
Adrian Erlandsson   Drums
Tomas Lindberg   Vocals
Andy LaRocque   Guitar,Lead
Jonas Bjoerler   Bass
Anders Bjoerler   Drums,Guitar,Lead Vocals
Martin Larsson   Guitar,Guitar (Rhythm)

Technical Credits

At the Gates   Producer,Composer
Jeff Hanneman   Composer
Fredrik Nordstroem   Producer
Kristian Wahlin   Photography,Artwork,Design
Shane Embury   Composer
Lars Johansson   Composer,Assistant Music Director
Kerry King   Composer
Tomas Lindberg   Assistant Music Director,Composer
Slayer   Composer
Jonas Bjoerler   Composer
Anders Bjoerler   Composer
Tomas Johansson   Assistant Music Director
Noel Summerville   Mastering
Bjoern Mankner   Photography
Thomas Johansson   Composer
Mark "Barney" Greenway   Composer
Martin Larsson   Composer