9/10
One of my first ever death metal albums, yet one of the only ones in its “melodic” sub-category that didn’t roll off of my shoulders over the years. Oftentimes, I blame that occurrence on the guitar tones, and At The Gates solidifies this by doing the exact opposite. The tones on Slaughter Of The Soul are truly one of the greatest features it has, amongst the regularly crushing trajectory and strong ability to stand out. Memorable rhythms are the best way to make most death metal stick, and it’s used to its full advantage with these working ingredients.
Unsurprisingly, there are a lot of soft sections weaved into otherwise burning hot chops. “Cold” has some of the strongest layering you can get, working in its calmer break as well as reeling in nearly isolated vocals for emphasis. The classic “Suicide Nation” knocks this out of the park as well, and the catchiness in the chorus of the title track and its clean solo delivery go hard every time. Presentation really makes a difference in this instance, which isn’t overlooked at all.
But even if you strip that away, Slaughter Of The Soul still hides somewhat progressive leanings and tricks that may hearken back to Human era Death or Atheist. The general flow and jumpiness of “Under A Serpent Sun” packs so much into such a small amount of time. Matter of fact, that’s a pretty good way of summing up the entire work. To the opposite end, simpler songs fill in the gaps wonderfully, boosted by the aforementioned tones, especially in the opener “Blinded By Fear.” There couldn’t have been a better way to start things.
For such a brief record under the umbrella of an oftentimes generic style, At The Gates manages to let me walk away appreciating their strongest disc every time I hear it over the years. I’ve always felt a lot of their career was heavily eclipsed by this masterpiece, which may cause for some more revisiting. In any case, you get your healthy dose of melody under some seriously mean tones, and interesting layouts. Listen: At The Gates - Slaughter Of The Soul Earache Records - 1995 9/10
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