CaliAlive.com
Hardcore & Metal
| At The Gates - Terminal Spirit Disease |
| Written by Adrian Cole | |
| Monday, 14 November 2005 | |
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It starts off with one of the simplest yet genius beginnings to a song. Every time I put this c.d. on I can't help but smile at how great this beginning is further proof that you don't have to be a virtuoso to write great and interesting music as long as you have creativity by your side. After the violins disperse the song kicks off to your classic At the Gates style riffery. Fast drums, fast picking, pissed off, depressed vocals and lyrics. Thomas Lindberg is one of the best front men in metal in my opinion. Yeah plenty of people have a great voice but not only does he have a great voice he has great lyrics and you can totally tell he's feeling every word he's saying. This man kicks ass. Up next comes Terminal Spirit Disease which is another classic At the Gates song. Everything you would come to expect. Fast riffs and drums and even a couple groovy parts here and there. Up next is quite possibly one of my favorite instrumentals. Way better than the acoustic Into the Dead Sky off of Slaughter of the Soul, And the World Returned. Acoustic guitars, string arrangements, what more could you ask for? They depend on any weird drum effects on this just some classical styled melodies and pure musical genius. But as with all instrumental songs on a metal c.d. you know it's always just the eye of the storm and the next song is definitely going to kick your ass. Which they do, in the form of Forever Blind, the vocals are brutal, the riffs are flowing, the drums are thrashing. It is our world, but they stole it from us, bastards." The next song is a bit of a departure any of the other stuff they done. A slower tempo song The Fevered Circle, with sad droney chords, still a great song but overall my least favorite on the c.d. The final song on the EP is The Beautiful Wound. Another classic At The Gates track with everything you would come to expect from these guys a great ending to a great ridiculously under-rated EP. After this are some live songs that they put on at the end each from one of their previous c.d.s, it's a pretty decent recording and Lindberg's vocals sound great and are powerful tracks more in the death metal vein than their more melodic later stuff. I do enjoy the older stuff but I must say I prefer the newer style more. Track Listing:
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One of the most under-rated c.d.?s out of their discography this c.d. is a great transition to their earlier death metal days to their final melodic masterpiece Slaughter of the Soul. This may not be one of the most popular releases but it is definitely a crucial release and it should be listened to.