ALBUM REVIEW: The Ghost Of A Future Dead – At The Gates
It goes without saying, but listening to The Ghost Of A Future Dead is a bittersweet experience. The eighth album from AT THE GATES was recorded two years ago but was delayed due to singer Tomas Lindberg’s treatment for adenoid cystic carcinoma, and his subsequent passing last September at the age of 52. Lindberg was beloved by the metal community, and his untimely death has turned this album into a swansong. But what a tribute it is.
AT THE GATES are a band whose impact can be seen far and wide, with their 1995 landmark Slaughter Of The Soul being one of those albums that are all but mandatory listening. It’s up there with the likes of JUDAS PRIEST’s Painkiller, or MEGADETH’s Rust In Peace, a landmark record that any self-respecting headbanger must hear. Their reunion album, 2014’s At War With Reality, is practically a textbook on how to stage a comeback, and there’s no question that AT THE GATES have earned legendary status.
However, they don’t have a flawless discography. 2018’s To Drink From The Night Itself was patchy at best. It hit all the right tick boxes but was lacking the fire of their previous work, and the murky production didn’t help. 2021’s The Nightmare Of Being reclaimed some of the momentum, but the proggy elements and saxophone weren’t for everyone.
But it seems like it gave AT THE GATES the outlet for all their experimental leanings and cleansed their system. The Ghost Of A Future Dead is a return to their classic sound. Like At War With Reality before it, this could have come out in 1998 and been embraced as a natural sequel to their legendary fourth album. It’s a collection of taut, abrasive death metal songs, brimming with feverish spirit and a keen understanding of melody. It sounds like it was recorded by a band thirty years younger than they actually are.
Tracks like The Phantom Gospel are whiplash-inducing slices of short, almost punky death metal. Lindberg’s raspy screams are as venomous as ever, and the guitars churn with apocalyptic fury. AT THE GATES might not have a perfect discography, but here, they sound like a band who took a direct hit from a napalm strike and kept playing even as the studio burned to ashes around them.
The opening The Fever Mask is a relentless slice of energy, an aggressive little gem from the same family as Blinded By Fear, and there are more familiar tropes scattered throughout. Förgängligheten continues their tradition of melancholic instrumentals, while In Dark Distortion and Parasitical Hive are the kind of blood-thundering cuts that make you want to charge into a mosh pit and sweat off six pounds.
The frenetic pace makes the twelve tracks flash by in an instant. The Ghost Of A Future Dead is longer than it appears, and while the circumstances surrounding this release are horrible, this is a fitting way to say goodbye to an icon of extreme metal. Rest in peace Tomas.
Rating: 8/10
The Ghost of a Future Dead is set for release on April 24th via Century Media Records.
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