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AT THE GATES
To Drink From The Night Itself

Century Media (2018)
Rating: 8.5/10

For a band that’s been on again / off again for the last decade or so, To Drink From The Night Itself is quite the well-polished effort. Think the Swedish combo’s 1995 album Slaughter Of The Soul but less frantic and more mature.

At The Gates have taken their time creatively, vocally, and musically, creating a record that doesn’t need to travel at the speed of sound, rather focusing on songcraft and musicianship. The result is a heaviness and brutality reflective of a band that’s finally found its niche, its sound, and most of all, its metal identity.

I tire of the “melodic death metal” moniker that gets slapped on At The Gates. Theirs is a sound that’s an amalgamation of both black metal and goth (‘Daggers Of Black Haze’) as well as thrash infused death metal (the title track, as well as ‘The Chasm’). Each song is its own progressive, melancholy, metallic beast; a reflection of a band that’s been honing its sound since 1990, and it truly shows here. At The Gates have finally come into their own with this record.

‘In Nameless Sleep’ might very well be the standout tune on this record, showcasing the band switching gears between thrash, death metal and goth doom. That’s not an easy task for any band, but they pull off this feat handedly. ‘The Colours Of The Beast’ follows right after which slows down the tempo but never kills the song. The atmosphere and eeriness bring forth their own unique brand of head crushing, heaviness. This is something fans of early Morbid Angel (think ‘Where The Slime Live), Gojira (‘From Mars To Sirius’) and Winter (‘Into Darkness’) will definitely pick up on and enjoy.

I like the fact that At The Gates aren’t afraid to travel different musical pathways exploring different aspects of both heavy and metal. It shows forethought and vision, something, and I know some of you will disagree, that might have been lacking with previous records or maybe not fully explored. But on this record it is. Take a listen to track nine, ‘A Labyrinth Of Tombs’. It’s deathly, doomy, and hellishly heavy but not reliant on formula. It’s vastly unique unto itself, building on structure, texture and layer that brings forth an organic, atmospheric heaviness.

To Drink From The Night Itself is At The Gates maturing into a heavy metal force to be reckoned with from here on out. This is a pretty exemplary effort that’s elevated the band to next level status. For fans of Lord Belial, Dark Fortress and Blood Red Thorne, this record’s a buy for sure.

Theron Moore

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