At the Gates is a Swedish

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, fe ...

band from

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

, formed in 1990. The band was a major progenitor of Gothenburg-style

melodic death metal Melodic death metal (also referred to as melodeath) is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal (including New Wave of British Heavy Metal). The genre features the heavine ...

alongside

In Flames In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band, formed by guitarist Jesper Strömblad in Gothenburg in 1990. Alongside At the Gates and Dark Tranquillity, In Flames pioneered the genres known as Swedish death metal and melodic death metal. During the ...

and

Dark Tranquillity Dark Tranquillity is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Gothenburg. They are considered one of the pioneering acts of the Gothenburg metal scene, which also includes bands such as In Flames and At the Gates. Dark Tranquillity is regarde ...

. Prior to their first disbandment in 1996, At the Gates released four albums, ending with and including ''

Slaughter of the Soul ''Slaughter of the Soul'' is the fourth studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band At the Gates, released on November 14, 1995. It was their last album before their eleven-year breakup from 1996 to 2007. ''Slaughter of the Soul'' is conside ...

'' (1995), which has been seen as a landmark in the mid-1990s

Swedish death metal Swedish death metal is a death metal music scene developed in Sweden. Many Swedish death metal bands are associated with the melodic death metal movement, thus giving Swedish death metal a different sound from other variations of death metal. ...

scene. After reuniting for a one-off tour in 2008, the band reformed once again in 2011, and they have since released three more albums: '' At War with Reality'' (2014), '' To Drink from the Night Itself'' (2018) and ''The Nightmare of Being'' (2021).

History

Early career (1990–1994)

At the Gates were formed in late 1990 by former members of the

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

and

black metal Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an em ...

band

Grotesque Since at least the 18th century (in French and German as well as English), grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, mysterious, magnificent, fantastic, hideous, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus ...

. They recorded a debut EP, '' Gardens of Grief'', for the Dolores record label. The EP led the label

Peaceville Records Peaceville Records is a British independent heavy metal record label. The label was founded by Paul "Hammy" Halmshaw (of the bands Instigators and Civilised Society) in Dewsbury, England in 1987, who was also a one-time drummer of Sore Throa ...

to sign the band, and they released their debut album, ''

The Red in the Sky Is Ours ''The Red in the Sky Is Ours'' is the debut album by the Swedish death metal band At the Gates released on 27 July 1992. It was re-released in 1993 along with '' With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness'' and then in 2003 with bonus tracks. Backgro ...

'' in 1992. After the recording of their second studio album, ''

With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness ''With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness'' is the second studio album by the Swedish death metal band At the Gates. It was re-released in 1993 with '' The Red in the Sky Is Ours'' and again in 2003 with bonus tracks. This would be the last albu ...

'', founding member and guitarist Alf Svensson left the band in 1993, to pursue tattoo artistry, graphic novel illustration and his solo electronic-opera-black metal project, Oxiplegatz. He was soon replaced by former House of Usher guitarist Martin Larsson, who the band knew from underground tape trading. The band continued touring Europe, and were filmed for a ''

Headbangers Ball ''Headbangers Ball'' is a music television program that consisted of heavy metal music videos airing on MTV and its global affiliates. The show began on MTV on April 18, 1987, playing heavy metal music videos from both well-known and more ob ...

'' special feature in Nottingham, England in July 1993.

Success and breakthrough (1994–1996)

In 1994, At the Gates released their third album, ''

Terminal Spirit Disease ''Terminal Spirit Disease'' is the third album by Swedish melodic death metal band At the Gates. It was released in 1994 (see 1994 in music) and re-released in 2003 with bonus tracks. It is the first album to feature rhythm guitarist Martin Larsso ...

'', which was hailed as a breakthrough album. The band continued touring and in 1995 released their most commercially and critically successful album: ''

'', on Earache Records. The album is regarded as their strongest death metal effort, compared to previous albums.Steve Huey: ''Slaughter of the Soul - At the Gates'' accessed on 18 September 2013. This album firmly rooted the band as one of the leaders of the Swedish metal scene, the "Gothenburg sound" of melodic death metal. The band received international attention for the album, gaining them several U.S. tours and heavy rotation of the

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

for "Blinded by Fear" on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

in the United States, but despite this international success, the Björler brothers departed in 1996. The remaining members decided it would be impossible to continue without them, so the band broke up.

Post-breakup (1996–2007)

When At the Gates broke up in 1996, drummer

Adrian Erlandsson Adrian Erlandsson (born 27 October 1970) is a Swedish heavy metal drummer who is a member of At the Gates (1990–1996, 2007–2008, 2010–), the Haunted (1996–1999, 2013–), and Nemhain (2006–). He has also been a member of H.E.A.L ...

, bassist

Jonas Björler Jonas Fredrik Björler (born 26 February 1973) is a Swedish musician and the bass player of the melodic death metal bands At the Gates and The Haunted. He was formerly in the bands Demolition, Infestation and Terror. Discography Demolitio ...

, and guitarist

Anders Björler Anders Björler (born 26 February 1973) is a Swedish musician, composer and film director. He is best known as the guitar player in the metal bands The Haunted and At the Gates, alongside his bass-playing twin brother Jonas Björler. Björl ...

formed The Haunted.

Tomas Lindberg Tomas Lindberg (born 16 October 1972), also known as "Tompa" and "Goatspell", is a Swedish vocalist who has fronted many death metal bands, most notably At the Gates. He has been active as a musician and composer since the late 1980s. He also t ...

went on working with different bands including Skitsystem,

The Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differ ...

, Lock Up, and Nightrage. Erlandsson left in 1999 to join

Cradle of Filth Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved originally from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic metal and other metal genres. Their ly ...

. In 2001,

released an At the Gates retrospective called '' Suicidal Final Art''.

Reunion (2007–2008)

On 18 October 2007, At the Gates announced several reunion shows for mid-2008, including Getafe Electric Festival,

Roskilde Festival The Roskilde Festival is a Danish music festival held annually south of Roskilde. It is one of the largest music festivals in Europe and the largest in the Nordic countries. It was created in 1971 by two high school students and a promoter. In 1 ...

Ruisrock Ruisrock is a rock festival held annually on the island of Ruissalo in Turku, Finland. Ruisrock, founded in 1970, is the second oldest rock festival in Europe (after Pinkpop) and the oldest in Finland. The festival has attracted international ...

Wacken Open Air Wacken Open Air (, abbreviated as W:O:A) is a rock music festival, held annually since 1990 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Almost all styles and subgenres of hard rock and metal are ...

Graspop Metal Meeting Graspop Metal Meeting is a Belgian heavy metal festival held in Dessel each year since 1996, excluding 2020 and 2021 due to covid restrictions. Despite the small size of the festival grounds (upholding a perimeter of only ~4 km) the festiva ...

, Sweden Rock Festival,

Gods of Metal Gods of Metal is the biggest Italian metal festival, held annually since 1997. It takes place in early summer, usually on the first or second weekend of June. It is most often held at venues in or near Milan, but took place in Bologna three ti ...

Hellfest Summer Open Air Hellfest (), also called Hellfest Summer Open Air, is a rock festival focusing on heavy metal music, held annually in June in Clisson, France. Its high attendance makes it the French music festival with the largest turnover. It is also one ...

and

Bloodstock Open Air Bloodstock Open Air is a British heavy metal festival held annually at Catton Hall in Walton-on-Trent, Derbyshire, since 2005. Originally held indoors for one day with two stages, the festival started in 2001 at the Derby Assembly Rooms and h ...

, as well as a tour of Japan with

The Dillinger Escape Plan The Dillinger Escape Plan was an American metalcore band. The band was formed in 1997 in Morris Plains, New Jersey by guitarist Ben Weinman, bassist Adam Doll, vocalist Dimitri Minakakis, and drummer Chris Pennie. The band's use of odd time si ...

, Into Eternity,

Pig Destroyer Pig Destroyer is an American grindcore band formed in 1997 in Alexandria, Virginia. The band was formed by vocalist J.R. Hayes, guitarist Scott Hull, and drummer John Evans. Throughout the band's earlier history, they were a three-piece group u ...

, and

Mayhem Mayhem most commonly refers to: * Mayhem (crime), a type of crime Mayhem may also refer to: People * Monica Mayhem (born 1978), Australian pornographic actress * Jason "Mayhem" Miller, American mixed martial arts fighter * Mayhem Miller (dr ...

in May 2008. Throughout July 2008, they toured the US and Canada on what was dubbed the "Suicidal Final Tour", and played their final UK show at Bloodstock Open Air on Sunday on 17 August 2008. They finished their last show in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

, with guest The Ocean on 21 September 2008. The band's performance at Wacken Open Air in 2008 is available on ''

The Flames of the End ''The Flames of the End'' is a three-disc DVD set from Swedish metal band At the Gates. Its main feature is a 2-hour+ documentary detailing the history of the band and their successful reunion tour, directed by guitarist and founding member A ...

'' DVD boxed set, which also includes clips of songs from other venues and a documentary that covers the history of the band in its entirety.

''At War with Reality'' (2014–2016)

At the Gates 2016231182342 2016-08-18 Summer Breeze - Sven - 1D X II - 0834 - AK8I5737 mod

On 21 January 2014, At the Gates released a video on YouTube showing a distorted video with lines of text on it, followed by text saying "2014", possibly hinting toward possible lyrics for an upcoming album. On 27 January, the band revealed on Facebook via a new cover photo and profile picture, that their confirmed fifth record would be titled '' At War with Reality'' and would be released in the fall of 2014 through

Century Media A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...

. When asked whether ''At War with Reality'' is At the Gates' final album or if the band will continue recording,

replied, "We can't say really. We have no plans of stopping but we've broken promises before so it's best not to say anything." In numerous recent interviews members of the band have expressed interest in doing a follow-up album. At the Gates concluded the touring cycle for ''At War with Reality'' in August 2016 with a festival appearance at ''Elb Riot'' in Hamburg, Germany.

''To Drink from the Night Itself'' and ''The Nightmare of Being'' (2017–present)

On 8 March 2017, in an official statement released by the band, they announced that

had departed from the band. Despite Anders' departure, they went on to confirm that they were working on a follow-up to 2014's ''At War with Reality'', which they were aiming to record and release in 2018. In September 2017, Jonas Stålhammar was announced as the new guitarist to take the place of Björler on a permanent basis, but he had joined too late to be involved in the writing process of the new album. They entered the studio to begin recording the album in November 2017, titled '' To Drink from the Night Itself'', which was released through Century Media Records on 18 May 2018. At the Gates released their seventh studio album, ''The Nightmare of Being'', on 2 July 2021. While the album remains rooted in the Gothenburg metal tradition, it also features a wider range of musical styles, influences, and instrumentation. The ideas in the album are influenced by the writings of horror philosophers such as

Thomas Ligotti Thomas Ligotti (born July 9, 1953) is an American horror writer. His writings are rooted in several literary genres – most prominently weird fiction – and have been described by critics as works of ''philosophical'' horror, often formed into ...

and

Eugene Thacker Eugene Thacker is an American philosopher, poet, and author. He is Professor of Media Studies at The New School in New York City. His writing is often associated with the philosophy of nihilism and pessimism. Thacker's books include ''In the Dus ...

. On 23 July 2022, At the Gates announced the departure of Stålhammar. On 5 October, the band announced that original guitarist Anders Björler had rejoined the band.

Musical style and legacy

At the Gates' musical style has been described as

and

.Robert Müller: ''Satanische Verse''. In: ''

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...

'', no. 6, June 1993, p. 159. The band's early work presented a "progressive, complex way of crafting songs of dextrous 'sic''melodic fluidity and variation", which would influence progressive death metal, but also the black metal of Darkthrone's ''

Transilvanian Hunger ''Transilvanian Hunger'' is the fourth studio album by Norwegian black metal band Darkthrone. It was released 17 February 1994 by Peaceville Records. Recording ''Transilvanian Hunger'' was the first Darkthrone album to be recorded as a duo (N ...

,'' for instance. Most of this material was composed by Alf Svensson, who, according to guitarist

, fused the Swedish melancholy of

Nordic folk music Nordic folk music includes a number of traditions of Nordic countries, especially Scandinavian. The Nordic countries are Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. The many regions of the Nordic countries share certain traditions, man ...

with death metal and

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" al ...

. The style of later At the Gates "would inspire the whole

region",Daniel Ekeroth
''Swedish Death Metal''
Second printing. Brooklyn, NY: Bazillion Points 2009, p. 222, accessed on 18 September 2013. but as Svensson had left the band, the commercial breakthrough ''

'' was composed of more traditional song structures: " ..a stripped-down, no-frills melodic death album that hit all the basic points of the style", or, as Deathmetal.org notes, a mere heavy metal album with "a basic sense of pentatonic harmonics."

Awards

At the Gates were nominated for a Swedish Grammy (

Grammis The Grammis are music awards presented annually to musicians and songwriters in Sweden. The oldest Swedish music awards, they were instituted as a local equivalent of the Grammy Awards given in the United States. The awards ceremony is generall ...

) for ''

'' in 1996, but didn't win. They won the Swedish Grammy (Grammis) in February 2015 for the 2014 comeback album '' At War with Reality''. The band were also awarded the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Inspiration Award in June 2015.

Members

Current members *

− vocals (1990–1996, 2007–2008, 2010–present) *

− drums (1990–1996, 2007–2008, 2010–present) *

− lead guitar (1990–1996, 2007–2008, 2010–2017, 2022–present) *

− bass (1990–1992, 1993–1996, 2007–2008, 2010–present), drums (1990) * Martin Larsson − rhythm guitar (1993–1996, 2007–2008, 2010–present) Former members * Alf Svensson − rhythm guitar (1990–1993) *Björn Mankner − bass (1990) *Cliff Lundberg − bass (1992) *Jonas Stålhammar − lead guitar (2017−2022) Session and touring musicians * Jesper Jarold − violin (1991–1992) * Tony Andersson − bass (1992) *

Dirk Verbeuren Dirk Verbeuren (born 8 January 1975) is a Belgian musician and the current drummer of American thrash metal band Megadeth, amongst other projects. He previously was a member of the Swedish melodic death metal band Soilwork. Verbeuren recorded ...

– drums (2019) *

Ola Englund Ola "The Swede" Englund (born 27 September 1981) is a Swedish guitarist, record producer, YouTuber, and the owner of Solar guitars. He is a founding-member of the band Feared, plays lead guitar in the Swedish metal band The Haunted, and is a fo ...

– bass (2019) *

Patrik Jensen Patrik Jensen (born 24 November 1969) is a Swedish guitarist and co-founder of the bands, The Haunted (1996-present), and Witchery (1997-present), and also the former guitarist of the bands Orchriste (1987-1990), Seance (1990-1995) Satanic Sl ...

– lead guitar (2022) * Daniel Martinez – lead guitar (2022) Timeline

Discography

Studio albums * ''

'' (1992) * ''

'' (1993) * ''

'' (1994) * ''

'' (1995) * '' At War with Reality'' (2014) * '' To Drink from the Night Itself'' (2018) * ''The Nightmare of Being'' (2021)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:At The Gates Earache Records artists Musical groups established in 1990 Musical groups disestablished in 1996 Musical groups disestablished in 2008 Musical groups reestablished in 2007 Musical groups reestablished in 2010 Swedish melodic death metal musical groups Articles which contain graphical timelines Musical quintets Swedish heavy metal musical groups