Artist: At the Gates
Viewing posts
16-30 out of
84
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show:
01. Figurines - The wonder
02. TALK 1
03. CS Nielsen - Happy
04. Superfamily - Teens of the 70s
05. Winter Took His Life - Oh
06. TALK 2
07. Frivolvol - Out come the knives
08. Bogus Blimp - Untitled jazz no. 1
09. Firefox AK - Pushing
10. TALK 3
11. Disfear - Get it off
12. Biker Boy - March song (Kalle J remix)
13. Eskju Divine - Darkness all around
14. TALK 4
15. Dogday - New romance
16. Mew - Am I wry? No
17. Det Är Jag Som Är Döden - Hello!
18. TALK 5
19. Familjen - Huvudet i sanden
20. Darkthrone - Skald av Satans sol
21. Caesars Palace - (I'm gonna) Kick you out
22. TALK 6
23. Lack - Behead
24. Bertine Zetlitz - Fake your beauty
25. Hebosagil - Old prophet
26. TIAC - OTW
27. TALK 7
28. Marybell Katastrophy - Hip
29. Strip Music - Never die
30. The Social Services - Electric brae
31. TALK 8
32. At the Gates - All life ends (live)
33. Fireside - Jupiter
34. Ulver - Funebre
35. Paper - They're gonna keep me
36. TALK 9
37. Convoj - Cultural legacy
38. Maia Hirasawa - Still June
39. Silverbullit - Run
40. TALK 10
41. Massgrav - Vuxenliv
None of the various interviews I have in the works are anywhere near ready for posting, so our weekly Göteborg spotlight post won't contain the usual insightful content you've come to expect. Instead I bring you a track from the Black Sun Records 1994 comp "Metal Militia: A tribute to Metallica". Despite featuring a lot of big names from the 90s Gbg metal scene, In Flames, Dark Tranquility, Ceremonial Oath, etc., this collection sucks balls. The only halfway decent track: Snotrocket's cover of "Escape", originally found on my favorite Metallica album "Ride the lightning". The thing is, Snotrocket isn't a real band - it's a pseudonym. Now I know that's Tomas Lindberg (At the Gates, Skitsystem, Disfear, etc.) on vocals, but I have no idea who the rest of the band is. Is it At the Gates trying to avoid contractual obligations? Other Gbg all-stars? No clue. Either way, here's the track for you to enjoy.
Snotrocket - Escape
Looks like those rumors of a couple US At the Gates shows were untrue - it's gonna be a full-on tour! Dates just announced:
07/10 - Irving Plaza, New York, NY
07/11 - The Palladium, Worcester, MA
07/12 - Le Medley, Montreal, QC
07/13 - Opera House, Toronto, ON
07/14 - House of Blues, Chicago, IL
07/15 - Pop's, Sauget, IL
07/17 - Warehouse Live, Houston, TX
07/18 - White Rabbit, San Antonio, TX
07/21 - Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom, Denver, CO
07/23 - El Corazon, Seattle, WA
07/24 - Roseland Theatre, Portland, OR
07/25 - The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA
07/26 - Glasshouse, Pomona, CA
07/27 - Henry Fonda Theatre, Hollywood, CA
The At the Gates reunion will be coming to NYC on July 10 at Irving Plaza w/Municipal Waste and Darkest Hour. Expect an LA date to confirmed soon as well.
If it wasn't for At the Gates, It's a Trap! would not exist. They were the very first band I ever heard that I associated with having a distinctive "Swedish" sound and I can still fondly remember the day I brought home "Terminal spirit disease". I must've listened to it at least three times in a row; it was an absolute revelation. When the follow-up album "Slaughter of the soul" came out, I listened to it at least once a day, every day for six months straight. So yeah, when I say that At the Gates changed my life, I'm not exaggerating in the slightest. Taking that into account, I am extremely flattered that AtG guitarist Anders Björler agreed to participate in this week's Göteborg feature.
Would you say there is a particular Gbg sound or attitude? If so, how would you describe it?
Gothenburg stood for melody, while for example the Stockholm sound was more Punk / Rock influenced. However, the Gothenburg bands didn't have that much in common. They all had unique styles.
Was there already an established metal scene in Gbg back when AtG first started? Was there ever a point when you realized that there some something special or distinctive going on or did that only happen once you started to get international attention?
There was no metal scene at all. There was only Grotesque [vocalist Tomas Lindberg's old band with scene vet Kristian Wåhlin aka Necrolord plus fellow AtG founding member Alf Svensson] in the Death Metal scene. A couple of Thrash bands like: Intoxicate, Pagandom, Dead End, Valcyrie, Megaslaughter etc...
We didn't realize how big it was going until after we split up. At the Gates were never a big band. We were basically a very small punk band that played melodic death metal.
How close-knit was the Gbg metal community back in the early 90s? Were there any rivalries?
It was very close. Especially the Billdal scene with bands like Dark Tranquillity, Desecrator (Anders Iwers, now Tiamat, and Oscar Dronjak, now Hammerfall). It was a very creative atmosphere. If there was any competition, it was a silent one. i.e - you tried to create the best music possible.
We all met at eachothers' parties, and we hung out at gigs etc. It was basically a large group of friends.
How do you think the city influenced the sound? Are there any particular artists, labels, zines, venues, etc that stand out as having helped shape the scene?
Dolores records was very important. It was also a record store. Through them I got into Carcass in 1989, the rest is history.
I also think that the Gothenburg weather served as an influence for the sound somehow. It's really melancholic sometimes. Very grey and rainy. I think it's very similar to let's say: Seattle.
Are you still based in Gbg nowadays? If so, what keeps you there? How would say things compare now to the old days?
Me and Martin live in Gothenburg. Adrian lives in London. Tomas lives on the east coast of Sweden. Jonas in the middle of Sweden.
We are all older. We experienced the At the Gates thing when we were kids basically. Everything has changed. The venues are closed down. People have moved or they have quit playing music. Basically what keeps me here is friends and family, but I can almost live anywhere in the world. I don't like to be stuck at one place too long. I have lived in other places in Sweden for a while, but always seem to come back to Gothenburg in the end.
Lastly, do you have a particular song that you think best reflects the city?
Cold :D
HUGE thanks again to Anders for contributing and be sure to check out the various At the Gates reunion gigs happening this summer. Also, keep an eye out for a new record from his current band The Haunted as well!
At the Gates - Cold
At the Gates will take their reunion tour to Japan in May and will be taking Mayhem and Dillinger Escape Plan along for the ride:
05/08 - Club Hatch, Osaka
05/09 - Club Quattro, Nagoya
05/11 - Studio Coast, Tokyo
Reunited Swedish metal legends At the Gates have revamped their website: http://www.atthegates.se/
Earache will once again reissue At the Gates's swansong classic "Slaughter of the soul", this time with extra tracks and a bonus DVD featuring a live show from Krakow, Poland recorded in 1995. It will be out March 10 in Europe, March 25 in the US.
Here's the playlist for this week's special spooky/scary Halloween edition radio show:
01. TALK 1
02. Entombed - Hollywood Babylon
03. ARM - Humming bug
04. Camouflage - Oktober
05. TALK 2
06. Notre Dame - Red Cross
07. Sanctum - Lie low
08. Bay Laurel - Pale colours
09. TALK 3
10. At the Gates - Blinded by fear
11. Frode Haltli - Lude
12. Brighter Death Now - Little baby
13. Death Breath - Lycanthropy
14. TALK 4
15. Breach - Mr. Marshall
16. The Skull Defekts - Carved in bones
17. The Cardigans - Mr. Crowley
18. TALK 5
19. Diabolique - Catholic
20. Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - Masks, walls and other ways to keep things out, to keep things in
21. The Bear Quartet - Broken heart
22. Mercyful Fate - Come to the Sabbath
23. TALK 6
24. Beyond Dawn - Cigarette
25. Pimentola - Heart's dementia (Phase I)
26. Repoman - Chemically obsessed
27. TALK 7
28. MZ412 - Infernal affairs II
29. Satyricon - Nemesis divina
30. Switchblade - Selfdestruct schematics / Open aftermath
31. TALK 8
32. Rasion D'etre - Metamorphyses Phase IV
33. Cortex - We are the dead
34. TALK 9
35. Emperor - I am the Black Wizards
Blabbermouth has posted a short interview with Anders Björler of At the Gates with a bit more details concerning their upcoming reunion: http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=83047
I'd probably go see them if they played Seattle, but I won't bother travelling. I'm happy that I got a chance to see them the first time around on their US tour with Morbid Angel and Dissection.
Legendary Swedish metal act At the Gates are reuniting for a few shows next summer:
07/04-06 - Ruis Rock (FIN)
07/31-08/02 - Wacken Open Air (GER)
08/15-17 - Bloodstock, Derby (UK)
Guitarist Anders Björler comments: "Well, it felt like the timing was right for once. We have been talking about a possible reunion for years now, but this was the first time everything fell into place. For me personally, it feels like getting closure. The break-up over ten years ago was abrupt and left a bad vibe between us that took years to get over. We have a better relationship today and a more relaxed approach to who we are and what we do. The time is right to get together and play some shows. Try to catch us live in the summer 2008. It could be your last chance."
There's now a Q&A section of the At the Gates website: http://www.atthegates.se/qa.txt
Obviously it's yet to be filled, but I'm sure it won't take long.
Avant-Metal takes a look back at Alf Svensson's (ex-At the Gates) solo project Oxiplegatz: http://www.avantgarde-metal.com/content/reviews2.php?id=106
Check out an e-card with two new tracks from The Great Deceiver, the noisy hardcore band featuring Tomas Lindberg (At the Gates, Disfear, etc.) along with various dudes from Diablolique/Liers in Wait/Grotesque: http://www.deathwishinc.com/listennow/launch/23/
The playlist for this week's all-GBG radio show:
01. Maia Hirasawa - Gothenburg
02. TALK 1
03. Hemstad - Sommar i Göteborg
04. Division of Laura Lee - We are numbers
05. Håkan Hellström - Kom igen Lena!
06. TALK 2
07. In Flames - Everything counts
08. Pistol Disco - Walking with Jesus
09. Viktor Sjöberg - W/nothing
10. TALK 3
11. Kristofer Åström - Just a little insane
12. The Knife - Listen now
13. Broder Daniel - Dark heart
14. TALK 4
15. Samuraj Cities - All along the shoreline
16. MPTP - Jim Morrison
17. At the Gates - Cold
18. TALK 5
19. The Book of Daniel - The camels parade
20. Silverbullit - Magnetic city
21. The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Nevermore
22. TALK 6
23. Nicolai Dunger - What tomorrow
24. The Kid - Portion control (Fatsuit haze/Zlatan wins the World Cup remix)
25. The Idealist - The knives are my eyes
26. C.Aarmé - Visions
27. TALK 7
28. Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - I could have sworn I heard them SING
29. Junip - Official
30. Diabolique - Catholic
31. TALK 8
32. Convoj - My timekeeping heart
33. Tsukimono - Dear sister
34. Eric Beyond - Step off
35. TALK 9
36. Björn Kleinhenz - Out of style
37. Detektivbyrån - E18
38. TALK 10
39. Bad Cash Quartet - Too bored to die