A major progenitor of the Gothenburg death-metal sound.
One of the leaders of the Swedish metal scene
To catch them just on 1st August @ Yugong Yishan
Among the three veterans of Swedish Gothenburg Death Metal bands, AT THE GATES was fromed even earlier than IN FLAMES and DARK TRANQUILLITY. And has a more aggressive, brutal and Nihilistic sound than other ones.
Formed in late 1990, the five piece recorded their Gardens of Grief EP for the Dolores label, with a line up of Tomas Lindberg (vocals), Anders Björler (guitars), Adrian Erlandsson (drums), Jonas Björler (bass) and Alf Svensson (guitars). Following prolonged Swedish touring with the likes of DISMEMBER, BOLT THROWER, MASSACRE and IMMOLATION, AT THE GATES attracted the attention of Peaceville Records and after signing soon produced their debut album titled The Red in the Sky is Ours. Released in November 1991, the album proved a hit with fans of the burgeoning death metal scene.
European touring with MY DYING BRIDE surrounded the release, before the band issued their follow up, With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness in August 1993. Replacing Alf with new guitarist Martin Larsson, the music became more melodic.
In May ’94, the band unleashed Terminal Spirit Disease, an album which saw the band gain widespread acclaim. Kerrang! magazine hailed them as the natural successors to countrymen ENTOMBED. It contained only six new songs, but showed that the band’s sound had progressed immensely in only one year, in terms of playing and production. More UK gigs followed, then European dates again with MY DYING BRIDE and ANATHEMA, before the band finally headlined Europe on their own with SEANCE and ANCIENT RITES.
In July 1995, the band were snapped up by Earache Records and immediately entered Studio Fredman in Sweden to record their debut for their new label, Slaughter of the Soul. Taking the melodic edge further the band delivered a record that displayed all the power and rawness that AT THE GATES had been threatening, creating the most complete sounding album of their career. Keyboards were even added on one track, adding yet another dimension to their sound, and the critics noted its innovation, Kerrang! simply stating: “AT THE GATES hammer home the point that brutality can be melodic.” If you don’t believe melody and brutality can mix, Slaughter of the Soul will most definitely prove you wrong.
Slaughter of the Soul was voted Number One album of ’95 by Sweden’s Close Up magazine, and was followed by a nomination in the best Hard Rock category at the Swedish Grammy Awards. In addition, the video for the albums lead cut, Blinded By Fear was one of the most played MTV Headbangers Ball clips, so much so that the show was forced to ignore viewers requests and restrain from playing the track each week!
The video was eventually nominated at the 1996 Kerrang! awards in the ‘Headbangers Ball Best Video Category.’
On October 18, 2007, AT THE GATES announced several reunion shows for mid-2008. The band’s performance at Wacken Open Air in 2008 is available on The Flames of the End 3-DVD and live CD Purgatory Unleashed – a true legacy.
Band members：
Jonas Björler – Bass
Adrian Erlandsson – Drums
Anders Björler – Guitars
Tomas “Tompa” Lindberg – Vocals
Martin Larsson – Guitars
http://www.guitarchina.com/atthegates/
Video: http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNTc1NzE2MzQ0.html
- Start:
- Tickets: Rmb 220 (Dragon Shout Card / Qinguo Yueqi / http://mlive.me | 200 Limited, stop at 12:00 on 25th of July) / 300 (door) / 580 (VIP, 50 Limited | signature + take group photo + poster)
