REVIEW: AT THE GATES - The Nightmare of Being

 

AT THE GATES - The Nightmare of Being

Century Media Records

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A 5-piece still and I'd say a way overrated album I don't care what Decibel said about this.  It has the roots in melodic death metal, but none of the riffs really struck me as awe-inspiring.  They were pretty generic and a good portion of clean tone guitar-work.  The vocals aren't that swift and I really think that they're not hacking it anymore.  'At War With Reality' wasn't that great either.  I prefer 'Slaughter of the Soul' and they've had gaps in their remaining together or not.  I think that they should just hang it up.  There was nothing on here that took me aback as to saying "wow, what a milestone."  Nothing of that sort.

I guess I just feel that they lack the intensity and originality of the old.  Really, I thought this was a mountain of poor musicianship.  I'm not hearing tints of the old, I'm hearing generic of the new.  They're not hacking it and I think that pretty much none of the riffs hold weight in my brain.  The intensity is not there nor is the songwriting capabilities.  I thought that maybe the vocals would've been good as well but they just lacked balls on the whole of this LP.  I was hopeful when I bought this given that Decibel had a hold on this then looking at the scores that I madly disagreed with wholeheartedly. 

The production was decent, but to a shadowing cloud of dismay and dismantling.  The fire is gone, I'm not hearing it.  It should be among the realm of melodic rock 'n roll.  They seem to not be really metal at all, just gearing more of what Opeth did with their career.  Not as bad here though but that's the direction that they seem to be.  What a letdown.  I wasn't overzealous when I played this in my car the whole way home.  I had to put Deicide back on because ATG made me disturbed with their latest creation..  It is just piss-poor of a release and a disenchanting, disheartening platter of melodic crap.

Draw your own conclusion to this release.  Maybe listen on Spotify or YouTube and see if this is for you.  If you're thinking ATG of the old, think again.  It's really nothing of what the critics are saying such as "best album of the year" or thereabouts.  I wish I could've said nice things about the release but the music was just pitiful.  If you're asking why would I think that well it lacks intensity of the old and weaves in the generic of the new.  Way way overrated album it's nothing like what's been described even to the ones who think that they're giving it a chance in the metal world. Caveat Emptor!

Ryan “Death8699” Fanucchi