PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
It is rare that I get excited about a gig nowadays; everybody has a list of acts that they want to see. And I’ve been lucky enough to see the bands that or on that list for the most part. One band that was amiss for far too long were the innovators of Swedish death metal At The Gates. Finally in early 2015, I can cross them of my list. As can all those metal heads that flocked to Dublin’s Academy last Saturday night. Coming off their near perfect album “At War With Reality” the lads laid waste to Dublin and played a blinder of a set.
Support came from UK newcomers, and winners of the Bloodstock Metal to Masses competition in 2009, Bloodshot Dawn. These guys have made huge tracks as of late and they put on a beast of a show. Tracks from last year’s Demons (PlanetMosh review here) went down a treat and they managed to kick off a nice wall of death before they finished. A strong performance for their 30 minute slot which was warmly received exponentially by the crowd gathering for the arrival of At The Gates.
The Swedish titans blasted through an extremely heavy set that spanned their entire career. And it was structured in such a way that everyone at The Academy was bound to leave happy from note one. It was a perfect way to make their Irish debut. Everything was for the fans. It was a night that I will not soon forget as the inventors of the Gothenburg sound put on a death metal clinic. The tight drums, dueling guitars provided their fans with a cutting wall of sound broken up only by beautifully awesome melodic pre-choruses and solos. Nobody does this better; it was a treat to hear the purest of all Gothenburg death metal in the flesh.
However, the highlight of the night was, of course, hearing most of “At War With Reality” and the game changing “Slaughter of the Soul” live. The crowd were strongly behind the band as they tore through their hits and were very responsive to the newer material.
Each member of the band were on form and frontman Tomas Lindberg worked the crowd into a metallic ecstasy. He was outstanding; hitting every track with his unique vocal style and sounding better live than even on his masterful records while all the time grinning from beneath his peaked baseball cap. The Björler brothers killed it on their respective instruments and they play so well, it really needs to be seen. If you’ve never had a chance to catch these true metal legends; make it your business! Melodic death metal is still mastered by At The Gates. I can’t wait to see them again.
At The Gates are:
Tomas Lindberg − vocals
Anders Björler − guitar
Martin Larsson − guitar
Jonas Björler − bass
Adrian Erlandsson − drums
The new At The Gates album “At War With Reality” is out now on Century Media.
Photos by Down The Barrel Photography
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