Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
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 /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From 12.49€/month
At The Gates, Performer - Bjorler, Composer, Composer - Lindberg, Composer
2009 Earache Records Ltd 2009 Earache Records Ltd
At The Gates, Performer - Bjorler, Composer, Composer - Lindberg, Composer
2009 Earache Records Ltd 2009 Earache Records Ltd
At The Gates, Performer - Bjorler, Composer, Composer - Erlandsson, Composer - Larsson, Composer - Lindberg, Composer
2009 Earache Records Ltd 2009 Earache Records Ltd
At The Gates, Performer - Bjorler, Composer, Composer - Lindberg, Composer
2009 Earache Records Ltd 2009 Earache Records Ltd
At The Gates, Performer - Bjorler, Composer, Composer - Lindberg, Composer
2009 Earache Records Ltd 2009 Earache Records Ltd
At The Gates, Performer - Bjorler, Composer, Composer - Lindberg, Composer
2009 Earache Records Ltd 2009 Earache Records Ltd
At The Gates, Performer - Bjorler, Composer, Composer - Lindberg, Composer
2009 Earache Records Ltd 2009 Earache Records Ltd
At The Gates, Performer - Bjorler, Composer, Composer - Larsson, Composer - Lindberg, Composer
2009 Earache Records Ltd 2009 Earache Records Ltd
At The Gates, Performer - Bjorler, Composer, Composer - Larsson, Composer - Lindberg, Composer
2009 Earache Records Ltd 2009 Earache Records Ltd
At The Gates, Performer - Bjorler, Composer - Lindberg, Composer
2009 Earache Records Ltd 2009 Earache Records Ltd
At The Gates, Performer - Bjorler, Composer, Composer - Lindberg, Composer
2009 Earache Records Ltd 2009 Earache Records Ltd
At The Gates, Performer - Slaughterlord, Composer
2009 Earache Records Ltd 2009 Earache Records Ltd
At The Gates, Performer - Bjorler, Composer, Composer - Lindberg, Composer
2009 Earache Records Ltd 2009 Earache Records Ltd
At The Gates, Performer - Slayer, Composer
2009 Earache Records Ltd 2009 Earache Records Ltd
At The Gates, Performer - Bjorler, Composer, Composer - Larsson, Composer - Lindberg, Composer
2009 Earache Records Ltd 2009 Earache Records Ltd
At The Gates, Performer - Bjorler, Composer, Composer - Lindberg, Composer
2009 Earache Records Ltd 2009 Earache Records Ltd
At The Gates, Performer - No Security, Composer
2009 Earache Records Ltd 2009 Earache Records Ltd
Album review
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 /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 17 track(s)
- Total length: 00:53:02
- Main artists: At The Gates
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Earache Records Ltd
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock
2009 Earache Records Ltd 2009 Earache Records Ltd
Improve album informationWhy buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.