This year of great music just continues to get better. Nightrage plays that classic melodic death metal that was made famous by At the Gates. When I did my The Clone on At the Gates, they ended up being the first choice...it didn't hurt that At the Gates' singer was on the first two Nightrage albums.
Anyway, they have changed vocalists a couple of times since then, but for the most part the music has stayed the same. If you like that classic sound, they play it. So here is the first song, Insidious, from the new album. I should note that the original singer, Tomas Lindberg, sings on this track as well.
My first reaction is that this sounds similar to The Tremor from their debut album. Doesn't bother me...just noticing. There are also a ton of guest musicians on this album, including 4 who were apart of the first two albums. It seems like they are really trying to recapture the past. I'm not sure it's necessary, but I'm not going to complain because their 1st two albums are classics in the genre.
Showing posts with label At the Gates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label At the Gates. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 09, 2011
Monday, July 05, 2010
The Clone: At the Gates
So a new tag that should be kind of fun for everyone, The Clone. Basically, I will be finding shows, bands, or whatever that remind me of some other band, show, or whatever. So today we will look at some other bands that remind me of the classic melodic death metal band At the Gates.
When I started getting into some harder music I kept hearing about this band, At the Gates and their album Slaughter of the Soul. I finally picked it up and was blown away. It was thrash metal with some great vocals by Tomas Lindberg, who made my top 10 metal vocalists. It was great. Listening to this thing from start to finish was amazing. No filler on it at all...just great. It's no shock that it made my top 5 Must Own metal albums. So if you picked it up, then you were probably disappointed, like me, to learn they broke up after this album.
So I searched high and low to find bands that sounded similar and really brought back that same style. I have a ton of melodic death metal albums and here are the ones that really remind me of At the Gates;
1. Nightrage - Descent into Chaos: this is a no brainer. I mean, their first two albums had Tomas on vocals. Descent into Chaos is my favorite from these guys and it really has that At the Gates feel to it. It is probably a bit more thrash than At the Gates had, but it works. The guitar harmonies are there and of course with Tomas on vocals you are getting the same style from At the Gates. All of Nightrage's albums are great, even A New Disease is Born (my second favorite), but if you loved Slaughter of the Soul start with this one.
2. Within Y - Extended Mental Dimensions: If Nightrage has the vocals, then this album by Within Y has the music down. Heck, even the vocals are similar. When I heard Lost in Solitude the first time, I thought it was At the Gates. The same screaming opening...classic. If you Google a review of this album, you will find almost everyone comparing it to At the Gates. The guitar tone, drumming, and vocals make this a clone of At the Gates. Some might knock it for not being original, but when you have songs that are this memorable, who cares? It's interesting to see how their sound has evolved as well. They sound more like The Haunted now than At the Gates and that's ok too.
3. Arsis - A Celebration of Guilt: before I heard Within Y, this was my fix for At the Gates. Think of this album as a more technical version of At the Gates. Vocals are dead on to Tomas. But musically, like I said, it is more technical. The tone is the same, but the guitarists go to town on showing off what they know. Oh did I say guitarists? I meant guitarist as in one. What really blew me away is when I found out that this entire album was recorded by two people! The writing on this album is actually better than Within Y's too.
4. The Absence - Riders of the Plague: This was their second album and they really stepped it up a notch. Riders of the Plague has that same death/thrash blend that At the Gates helped create. The album starts off with a scream into that Tomas perfected in At the Gates as well. The vocalist is a little deeper than Tomas, but still works. Musically is where this album really shines. The solos are great. Each one is not rushed and written hastily.
So there are 4 bands that you can go check out if you were/are a fan of At the Gates' Slaughter of the Soul.
When I started getting into some harder music I kept hearing about this band, At the Gates and their album Slaughter of the Soul. I finally picked it up and was blown away. It was thrash metal with some great vocals by Tomas Lindberg, who made my top 10 metal vocalists. It was great. Listening to this thing from start to finish was amazing. No filler on it at all...just great. It's no shock that it made my top 5 Must Own metal albums. So if you picked it up, then you were probably disappointed, like me, to learn they broke up after this album.
So I searched high and low to find bands that sounded similar and really brought back that same style. I have a ton of melodic death metal albums and here are the ones that really remind me of At the Gates;
1. Nightrage - Descent into Chaos: this is a no brainer. I mean, their first two albums had Tomas on vocals. Descent into Chaos is my favorite from these guys and it really has that At the Gates feel to it. It is probably a bit more thrash than At the Gates had, but it works. The guitar harmonies are there and of course with Tomas on vocals you are getting the same style from At the Gates. All of Nightrage's albums are great, even A New Disease is Born (my second favorite), but if you loved Slaughter of the Soul start with this one.
2. Within Y - Extended Mental Dimensions: If Nightrage has the vocals, then this album by Within Y has the music down. Heck, even the vocals are similar. When I heard Lost in Solitude the first time, I thought it was At the Gates. The same screaming opening...classic. If you Google a review of this album, you will find almost everyone comparing it to At the Gates. The guitar tone, drumming, and vocals make this a clone of At the Gates. Some might knock it for not being original, but when you have songs that are this memorable, who cares? It's interesting to see how their sound has evolved as well. They sound more like The Haunted now than At the Gates and that's ok too.
3. Arsis - A Celebration of Guilt: before I heard Within Y, this was my fix for At the Gates. Think of this album as a more technical version of At the Gates. Vocals are dead on to Tomas. But musically, like I said, it is more technical. The tone is the same, but the guitarists go to town on showing off what they know. Oh did I say guitarists? I meant guitarist as in one. What really blew me away is when I found out that this entire album was recorded by two people! The writing on this album is actually better than Within Y's too.
4. The Absence - Riders of the Plague: This was their second album and they really stepped it up a notch. Riders of the Plague has that same death/thrash blend that At the Gates helped create. The album starts off with a scream into that Tomas perfected in At the Gates as well. The vocalist is a little deeper than Tomas, but still works. Musically is where this album really shines. The solos are great. Each one is not rushed and written hastily.
So there are 4 bands that you can go check out if you were/are a fan of At the Gates' Slaughter of the Soul.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Who Decides: Top 5 "Must Own" Metal Albums
So just what are the best of the best metal albums? Well obviously, it's purely subjective. But I am going to give you, what I consider, the best metal albums ever. These are the must own metal albums. If you consider yourself a fan of metal, these albums should be in your collection.
1. Metallica: Master of Puppets - Is there really any explanation needed here? This is their masterpiece. It all came together on this album. The heavy riffs, melodies, solos, and the progression in the song writing. It's as if the stars aligned perfectly for this one.
2. Megadeth: Rust in Peace - This is Megadeth's shining moment for me. It was the debut album of the "classic" line-up and they brought their A game. From the start it's apparent that this isn't going to be another So Far, So Good, So What. Production is better, lyrics are more politically charged, and the guitar work between Dave and Marty is so great they still haven't been album to reproduce it. I know everyone knows Hangar 18 from Guitar Hero, but this entire album could be made into a Guitar Hero game...simply insane.
Now, people will argue about these two albums. In all honesty, the first 4 albums from both Metallica and Megadeth are metal classics and should be owned by any metalhead. These are my favorites and show the best of what 80's/90's thrash was all about.
3. At the Gates: Slaughter of the Soul - This is melodic death metal at it's finest. Bands are still trying to duplicate the sound and style on this album. Whether it be Tomas' vocals or the Iron Maiden-esque guitar work, they are still trying to get it right. This was my first "death metal" album and I was blown away by the overall thrash feeling I got from it. What also makes this album a "must own" is the fact that the band broke up after they released this album. Imagine Metallica breaking up after MoP...yeah just like that.
4. Into Eternity: Buried in Oblivion - If you were to combine the first 3 albums on this list, you would come close to creating the sound of Into Eternity. A band that really created it's own genre, combining thrash, death metal, progressive metal, and some soft rock thrown in for fun. Now when this album was made, Into Eternity had 3 vocalists...yes I said 3, screamer, death growls, and a clean singer. The vocal harmonies alone are a reason to own this album, but there is a ton more. Do you want the guitar harmonies or solos which are insane or do you want the quick hitting tempo changes? Most songs you know whats coming next, but the first time I played this album everything hit me from out of nowhere. Perfect example, after an entire album of controlled chaotic metal, in come a ballad that sounds like it was left off of Peter Cetera's solo album...seriously, but it works - perfectly.
5. Killswitch Engage: Alive or Just Breathing - huh? a metalcore band? Yeah, a metalcore band. Just like At the Gates, KsE created a genre which bands are trying to copy to this day. Stop me if you heard this before, brutal drumming, screaming vocals, heavy riffs with clean choruses and some breakdowns...sounds like every metalcore band in the last 5 years. Well, it all started with KsE and no one has been album to beat them at it. I will never forget the first time I heard the verses being sung with such anger and forcefullness and then...such beauty in the choruses. This band, along with Shadows Fall, helped bring metal back to the mainstream after the disaster that was nu-metal.
There they are...5 must own metal albums.
1. Metallica: Master of Puppets - Is there really any explanation needed here? This is their masterpiece. It all came together on this album. The heavy riffs, melodies, solos, and the progression in the song writing. It's as if the stars aligned perfectly for this one.
2. Megadeth: Rust in Peace - This is Megadeth's shining moment for me. It was the debut album of the "classic" line-up and they brought their A game. From the start it's apparent that this isn't going to be another So Far, So Good, So What. Production is better, lyrics are more politically charged, and the guitar work between Dave and Marty is so great they still haven't been album to reproduce it. I know everyone knows Hangar 18 from Guitar Hero, but this entire album could be made into a Guitar Hero game...simply insane.
Now, people will argue about these two albums. In all honesty, the first 4 albums from both Metallica and Megadeth are metal classics and should be owned by any metalhead. These are my favorites and show the best of what 80's/90's thrash was all about.
3. At the Gates: Slaughter of the Soul - This is melodic death metal at it's finest. Bands are still trying to duplicate the sound and style on this album. Whether it be Tomas' vocals or the Iron Maiden-esque guitar work, they are still trying to get it right. This was my first "death metal" album and I was blown away by the overall thrash feeling I got from it. What also makes this album a "must own" is the fact that the band broke up after they released this album. Imagine Metallica breaking up after MoP...yeah just like that.
4. Into Eternity: Buried in Oblivion - If you were to combine the first 3 albums on this list, you would come close to creating the sound of Into Eternity. A band that really created it's own genre, combining thrash, death metal, progressive metal, and some soft rock thrown in for fun. Now when this album was made, Into Eternity had 3 vocalists...yes I said 3, screamer, death growls, and a clean singer. The vocal harmonies alone are a reason to own this album, but there is a ton more. Do you want the guitar harmonies or solos which are insane or do you want the quick hitting tempo changes? Most songs you know whats coming next, but the first time I played this album everything hit me from out of nowhere. Perfect example, after an entire album of controlled chaotic metal, in come a ballad that sounds like it was left off of Peter Cetera's solo album...seriously, but it works - perfectly.
5. Killswitch Engage: Alive or Just Breathing - huh? a metalcore band? Yeah, a metalcore band. Just like At the Gates, KsE created a genre which bands are trying to copy to this day. Stop me if you heard this before, brutal drumming, screaming vocals, heavy riffs with clean choruses and some breakdowns...sounds like every metalcore band in the last 5 years. Well, it all started with KsE and no one has been album to beat them at it. I will never forget the first time I heard the verses being sung with such anger and forcefullness and then...such beauty in the choruses. This band, along with Shadows Fall, helped bring metal back to the mainstream after the disaster that was nu-metal.
There they are...5 must own metal albums.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Spotlight: At the Gates
So here we go with another spotlight, this week it is At the Gates. ATG was the first real death metal band I really enjoyed. To be honest, I'm not sure how I got into this band. If I was to guess I would say it was because of The Haunted. You see The Haunted was founded by 3 members of ATG. I will have more on The Haunted later on in the year, so let's stay focused on ATG.
ATG play a genre of death metal called melodic death metal. I'm not to sure what makes it melodic, I would probably say it is the guitar work...very NWOBHM twin guitar sound going on. Musically, ATG is for ANY classic thrash metal fan...Metallica to Megadeth to Slayer, you would love this music. I would say the hard part for most would be swallowing the vocals. Tomas Lindberg has a unique sound to his screams. They aren't deep death growls, but rather a sort of drowning screams...definitely unique.
Unfortunately, this band disbanded after their classic album Slaughter of the Soul. When I talk about classic albums, this one is on there. I would say it belongs in the same category of a Master of Puppets, Peace Sells, Reign in Blood...a definte classic. As I said musically, it is class bay area thrash with tight guitar solos and solid drumming. That would be the one positive of this band is that the drumming isn't the insane blast beats that never slow down, it is actual drumming going on back there.
As I said earlier after ATG broke up the guitarists and drummer went onto form The Haunted. The lead singer went onto a bunch of other projects, nothing coming close to ATG until he joined Nightrage. Their first 2 albums sound like a continuation of ATG, more on Nightrage later.
Playlist for the week:
Monday: The Swarm, Terminal Spirit Disease, Forever Blind from Terminal Spirit Disease
Tues/Wed: Blinded by Fear, Slaughter of the Soul, Cold from Slaughter of the Soul
Thursday: Legion, World of Lies, The Dying from Slaughter of the Soul
Friday: Drug, Descent onto Chaos, Being Nothing, from Nightrage's Descent onto Chaos
ATG play a genre of death metal called melodic death metal. I'm not to sure what makes it melodic, I would probably say it is the guitar work...very NWOBHM twin guitar sound going on. Musically, ATG is for ANY classic thrash metal fan...Metallica to Megadeth to Slayer, you would love this music. I would say the hard part for most would be swallowing the vocals. Tomas Lindberg has a unique sound to his screams. They aren't deep death growls, but rather a sort of drowning screams...definitely unique.
Unfortunately, this band disbanded after their classic album Slaughter of the Soul. When I talk about classic albums, this one is on there. I would say it belongs in the same category of a Master of Puppets, Peace Sells, Reign in Blood...a definte classic. As I said musically, it is class bay area thrash with tight guitar solos and solid drumming. That would be the one positive of this band is that the drumming isn't the insane blast beats that never slow down, it is actual drumming going on back there.
As I said earlier after ATG broke up the guitarists and drummer went onto form The Haunted. The lead singer went onto a bunch of other projects, nothing coming close to ATG until he joined Nightrage. Their first 2 albums sound like a continuation of ATG, more on Nightrage later.
Playlist for the week:
Monday: The Swarm, Terminal Spirit Disease, Forever Blind from Terminal Spirit Disease
Tues/Wed: Blinded by Fear, Slaughter of the Soul, Cold from Slaughter of the Soul
Thursday: Legion, World of Lies, The Dying from Slaughter of the Soul
Friday: Drug, Descent onto Chaos, Being Nothing, from Nightrage's Descent onto Chaos
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