LIVE REVIEW: At The Gates @ Club Academy, Manchester

December 31, 2019 Sabrina Ramdoyal

For a venue like the Club Academy in Manchester, it’s a personal experience to witness the deafening trio of headliners AT THE GATES, along with supports from NIFELHEIM and DESERTED FEAR. On this particular night, it was the kings of melodic death metal AT THE GATES that will unveil their iconic album Slaughter Of The Soul to many watchful ears and those present were about to sign their souls to three worlds of metal.

Deserted Fear live @ Club Academy, Manchester. Photo Credit: Sabrina Ramdoyal Photography

Any spectator walking through the room would suspect DESERTED FEAR would be of Scandinavian nature. But, it’ll come as a surprise that the German quartet brought on their blend of death metal on show for their audience. Right from the start, DESERTED FEAR possessed a thunderous chemistry while displaying a full-on melodic assault, impressing their audience with succession. Smiles from the band did not stop their vicious metal pursuit that was not only melodic, but fresh when ending on their closing track Bury Your Dead.

Rating: 8/10

Nifelheim live @ Club Academy, Manchester. Photo Credit: Sabrina Ramdoyal Photography

“No time for soft rock”, snarled leader Hellbutcher as the destroyers NIFELHEIM drove their spectators wild with gripping black metal. Although the dark Swedish knights were the unexpected wildcard of the lineup, the magnitude of their material such as Unholy Death, Evil Blasphemies and Bestial Rites unleashed were of raw and brutal essence. Perfectly executed their annihilating set with Possessed By Evil and The Final Slaughter as their closers, furthered their excellent set.

Rating: 8/10

At The Gates live @ Club Academy, Manchester. Photo Credit: Sabrina Ramdoyal Photography

Embracing their rabid Mancunian crowd with annihilation, AT THE GATES ripped through with their blistering trio of To Drink From The Night, the perfect shrieks of “GO!” from their iconic track Slaughter Of The Soul and the thunderous At War With Reality grabbing all into submission. One cannot deny that with the many classic songs such as The Colour Of The Beast, Death And The Labyrinth along with The Swarm, Heroes And Tombs and Mirror Black, all brought Cheshire-Cat grins on display. A nice ascetic was coated by the fearless Swedes performing Suicide Nation and The Book of Sand, until being brought back to reality with closers World Of Lies, Blinded By Fear and The Night Eternal. Seeing AT THE GATES perform their iconic album along with their epochal melodic death metal catalogue, one cannot deny of their complex technicality but also of their brilliant simplicity.