AT THE GATES - 'Spectre of Extinction' | Single Review

Everyone falls victim to the odd existential crisis. The fear of not knowing your life’s purpose or even realising how insignificant everything is in the grand scheme of things keeps us human. As does confronting the bleak subject of our mortality. This humanity haunts us. With a new single aptly named ‘Spectre Of Extinction’, Swedish monoliths At The Gates display melodic death metal at its finest.

The Gothenburg quintet; Tomas Lindberg Redant (vocals), Jonas Björler (bass), Martin Larsson (guitar), Jonas Stålhammar (guitar), and Adrian Erlandsson (drums) are due to release their seventh studio album The Nightmare Of Being on July 2nd. Described as the encapsulation of the album, ‘Spectre Of Extinction’ gives us the experience of hearing the implosion of existence.

At The Gates sweep us off our feet with calming dual acoustic guitars. Feeling the spectre possess us, acoustic makes way for electric guitars, pushing the song higher. Lifted into the stratosphere, the cymbal rich drums sound like disintegrating stars.

Had the song stayed on that particular galactic level, we would have been more than happy with it. When thick, juicy guitars start to chug, we’re catapulted toward the supernova with smiles on our faces. Lindberg Redant’s raspy vocals warn us of the spectre “eternal in its rage” but much like society has been before now, we remain oblivious to our mortality.

Extinction comes for us all with Andy La Rocque of King Diamond’s solo. It sears like a solar flare, the brutality transports us to the centre of the dying star. Drums bubble beneath the surface for ‘Spectre Of Extinction’s last hurrah and the rumbling guitars trigger a supernova which will have us talking for months.

At The Gates’ talent for creating a sonic spectacle is second to none. ‘Spectre Of Extinction’ sets one hell of a benchmark for The Nightmare Of Being and we are more than ready to see if they meet already high expectations.

‘Spectre Of Extinction’ is available now across all major streaming platforms. Pre-orders for The Nightmare Of Being are open now and include a plethora of physical bundles. For more information on this, and At The Gates news, including new releases and tour dates, visit their website or follow their social media linked below.