ALBUM REVIEW: At The Gates, "The Nightmare of Being”

By: Richard Maw
 
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 02/07/2021
Label: Century Media Records
 

 
“The Nightmare of Being” CD//DD//LP track listing:
 
1. Spectre Of Extinction
2. The Paradox
3. The Nightmare Of Being
4. Garden Of Cyrus
5. Touched By The White Hands Of Death
6. The Fall Into Time
7. Cult Of Salvation
8. The Abstract Enthroned
9. Cosmic Pessimism
10. Eternal Winter Of Reason
 
The Review:
 
At The Gates are now on the third record of the second act- or permanent comeback, if you will. I’ll be honest and state that although I was initially pleased that the band returned and enjoyed “At War With Reality” seven years ago... I haven't returned to it since. Witnessing the band live didn't really change my perspective on the band; they were good, tight, professional and all that but the band and the material seemed to lack something.
 
It is a damning indictment that I have not even heard “To Drink From The Night Itself”. Well, regardless of my misgivings about the band's last seven years, they are still here and they are still forging forward. I would also like to clarify that I rate “Slaughter of the Soul” as one of the best metal albums ever- not just death metal; all metal. It was and is an incredible album- made by young men in a very different time. The songs, the hooks, the production- it all coalesced into a superb record. A classic, in fact.
 
“The Nightmare of Being”, then, occupies an odd space. It is the third second-act album, so no resting on comeback goodwill is to be had. The good news is, it's different, progressive in places. The song writing is tight and focused, a 45min playing time indicates that would be the case. The loss of Anders Bjorler has left his twin Jonas remaining to do the heavy lifting with the song writing- not so much of a problem, as it turns out.
 
I loved The Haunted's albums with Marco Aro on vocals- that straightforward thrash, close to death metal, even- suited me well at the time, but it was by no means ATG pt 2 and the Bjorlers were not the main or only songwriters. “The Nightmare of Being” is not close to that band- this is philosophical in theme, gloomy in outlook and surprisingly textured. There is saxophone on “Garden of Cyrus”, there is piano elsewhere. There is even a string quartet- bizarre, but true. When Ihsahn incorporated such elements in his solo work it was a huge surprise, and to be fair it is a pretty big surprise here, all these years later.
 
Make no mistake, though, this is a death metal album at its core- from the acoustic intro to the weight elsewhere on opener “Spectre of Extinction”, to the thrashy “The Paradox” it is metal. Yes, there are of course echoes of “SotS” in the changes and tempos, but Tompa's voice has dropped down a little and is a more measured bark these days. There are moodier moments throughout the record- it's sombre and dark and the instrumental passages shimmer and ripple like a muddy pool under the moonlight.
 
At ten tracks, the length and pace is right and the sound is great. How to rate this, then? It's tough as there is nothing wrong with any of this- it is pretty bold of a band like At The Gates who could easily just rest on their 1995 laurels forever to be making fairly experimental records. As such, this is the better of the two comeback albums I have heard- by far. It's totally solid, none of the extra elements feel forced and the songs are good. This is, for me, a solid seven out of ten type album- so not flawed genius and some filler and not bubbling under what was expected either. It's just... good.
 
Whether any of this is what you want from At The Gates, only you can decide. I applaud the band for spreading their wings and this is exactly the record they need to make at this stage, I think. A surprise, in a good way.
 
“The Nightmare of Being” is available now 

Band info: facebook || Official

ALBUM REVIEW: At The Gates, ‘To Drink From The Night Itself’

By: Daniel Jackson

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 18/05/2018

Label: Century Media Records

 The omnipresent malevolence that coats the majority of the album gives it a different feel from the rest of the band’s catalog. At The Gates do their best to get the best of both worlds: acting as an agent of fan service and staying in their own lane, while also using broad strokes to give the old sound a new context. 

‘To Drink From the Night Itself’ CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Der Widerstand

2. To Drink from the Night Itself

3. A Stare Bound in Stone

4. Palace of Lepers

5. Daggers of Black Haze

6. The Chasm

7. In Nameless Sleep

8. The Colours of the Beast

9. A Labyrinth of Tombs

10. Seas of Starvation

11. In Death They Shall Burn

12. The Mirror Black

The Review:

At The Gates, being in the At The Gates nostalgia business, have returned to be really good at being a version of At The Gates that you’d like to hear, as a fan of At The Gates. I know how that read just now, and I don’t care: it’s fucking accurate. They’re a band intent on crafting the best nostalgia album they can, and they’ve done a exceptional job of meeting those goals here. They’ve taken the moody atmosphere of ‘With Fear I Kiss The Burning Darkness’, gussied it up with a modern studio production, a touch of added darkness, and plugged it into the “Slaughter of The Soul 5000”, their patented nostalgia refinement machine.

The end result is ‘To Drink From The Night Itself’: the album morose death metal folks of a certain age are sure to enjoy enough to spend money on. And bless them for it too! The last thing we need is Jonas Björler getting some wild “got to keep up with the times” hair up his ass, like his other band The Haunted did, and you might remember how long it took them to right that ship once they set sail upon that sea.

The formula for this album is pretty straightforward: you’ve got your slower, melodic parts that range from mournful twin harmonies to murky atmospheric darkness. And then you’ve got your uptempo Slayer beat stuff, which I affectionately referred to as the “Slaughter of the Soul 5000” machine earlier. That’s the stuff meant to get your “Blinded By Fear” glands salivating, like Pavlov’s dog whenever Pavlov entered the room. It’s all very comfortable, like a warm sweater and a cup of hot cocoa at the start of winter.

Here’s the fucked up thing: At The Gates nostalgia baiting us for forty-five minutes still makes for one of the finer death metal albums of the year, and they sound like they’re barely trying. The band are an inexorable monolith of “remember the good old days” emotions here, and all we can do is continue to be fascinated and entranced by it. We’re powerless to resist the charm of familiarity, and really why would we want to? There’s no harm in it.

While that “warm sweater of fond melodeath remembrance” I mentioned earlier is certainly a huge part of why ‘To Drink From The Night Itself’ works so well, it would be unfair to say that the album doesn’t have its own character. They’re especially fond of using those deep, resonant chords for building atmosphere on this album, which gives the album a more menacing feeling altogether. In fact, you could call this At The Gates’ darkest album to date, and have a solid case for that belief. ‘With Fear I Kiss The Burning Darkness’ was more gloomy than outright ominous, and this album is firmly planted on that second word’s side of things.

For all of my needling the album for playing it safe, ‘To Drink From The Night Itself’ is a big improvement over ‘At War With Reality’. The parts of the album meant to give you a cozy trip down memory lane do so remarkably. The omnipresent malevolence that coats the majority of the album gives it a different feel from the rest of the band’s catalog. At The Gates do their best to get the best of both worlds: acting as an agent of fan service and staying in their own lane, while also using broad strokes to give the old sound a new context. This album is the musical equivalent of reuniting with old friends at your favorite old hangout spot and having a great time, even if the place doesn’t look quite like it did before. An occasion like that is virtually guaranteed to be a joy for you because it was the safest choice to bring you that joy in the first place. Does that really diminish the experience any for you? It didn’t for me.

‘To Drink From the Night Itself’ is available digitally here and on CD/LP here.

Band info: Facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Deserted Fear - "Dead Shores Rising"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full  Length

Date Released: 27/01/2017

Label: Century Media Records

This is finely honed death metal, referencing all the greats of the genre from this side of the pond and managing to create an identity all of its own. Deserted Fear are ones to watch for sure: feral stuff, crushing all in their path. This album puts 2017 off to a great start for death metal!

“Dead Shores Rising” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Intro

2). The Fall of Leaden Skies

3). The Edge of Insanity

4). Open the Gates

5). Corrosion of Souls

6). Interlude

7). Towards Humanity

8). The Carnage

9). Face Our Destiny

10). Till the Last Drop

11). Carry On

12). A Morbid Vision

13). The Path of Sorrow

The Review:

Deserted Fear specialise in the kind of death metal so beloved of Scandinavian and European bands. Don't think Nile or Immolation. Think Asphyx and Entombed. This is the band's third full length and they bring their Teutonic terror to the masses in fine style here. The tanks roll, the sound is pleasingly clear and bright, but with the right amount of grit to make this sound... real.

No super fast blasting here, no so-low-you-can-barely-hear-them vocals. This is honest to goodness (not much goodness) death metal from Germania. “The Fall of Leaden Skies” is the first track after a scene setting intro and it really sums up the record: if you like this one then “The Edge of Sanity” will get your neck snapping in similar fashion.

The band offer up their own sound, but the aforementioned bands, Revel in Flesh, At The Gates, Dismember and so on are all valid reference points. “Corrosion of Souls”, “Towards Humanity” and “The Carnage” offer up concise and rocking workouts; the song writing is lean and effective: riffs, changes, good vocals. Some tracks are pacier than others, but this is all head nodding stuff. Death metal, as I live and breathe!

“Face Our Destiny”, “Till the Last Drop” and “Carry On” cap off the album in grandstanding style; so consistent are the band in their sound that the record just flies by. The album also comes with two bonus tracks, both of admirably high quality and a nice touch from Century Media to include them.  “A Morbid Vision” was my favourite of the two, with its' Bolt Thrower esque pacing. There is absolutely nothing to complain about here. This is finely honed death metal, referencing all the greats of the genre from this side of the pond and managing to create an identity all of its own. Deserted Fear are ones to watch for sure: feral stuff, crushing all in their path. This album puts 2017 off to a great start for death metal!

“Dead Shores Rising” is available now

Band info: facebook

FFO: Grave, Bolt Thrower, Asphyx, Bodyfarm

ALBUM REVIEW: The Drip - "The Haunting Fear of Inevitability"

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 13/01/2017

Label: Relapse Records

Over the course of a breathless half an hour they tear through thirteen cuts of crusty death metal infused grindcore. A healthy dose of melody cuts through the violence that brings to mind a cross between Nasum and At The Gates.  “The Haunting Fear of Inevitability” is an enjoyable shot of breakneck, bile-soaked rage that marks The Drip as a band to watch.

“The Haunting Fear of Inevitability” CD//DD//LP

1. Blackest Evocation
2. Anathema
3. Gruesome Poetics
4. Dead Inside
5. Covered In Red
6. Terror War Industry
7. Painted Ram
8. Wretches
9. In Atrophy
10. The Answer
11. Exile
12. Consigned to Fate
13. Bone Chapel

The Review:

Washington quintet The Drip certainly don’t mess around on their furious debut “The Haunting Fear of Inevitability”.

Over the course of a breathless half an hour they tear through thirteen cuts of crusty death metal infused grindcore. A healthy dose of melody cuts through the violence that brings to mind a cross between Nasum and At The Gates. The band aren’t averse to slowing things down either and add some meaty sludgy riffs into the mix to powerful effect and even drag their heels to a doomy crawl during the epic climax of “Wretches”.

The Drip are at their most effective when they  blaze through a variety of styles and tempos during the space of a single track as demonstrated on explosive curtain raiser “Blackest Evocation” or emerge from a blur of speed into a killer riff such as the crunching send-off of “In Atrophy”.  The stand out moments of the record hit hard but there are times when the band’s onslaught lacks that killer instinct and passes by without leaving a lasting impression. However, as a short-term adrenaline rush it can’t be faulted.

“The Haunting Fear of Inevitability” is an enjoyable shot of breakneck, bile-soaked rage that marks The Drip as a band to watch. Once they have honed their attack to perfection they could be a force to be reckoned with.

“The Haunting Fear of Inevitability” is available here

Band info: facebook || bandcamp

ALBUM REVIEW: Revocation - "Great Is Our Sin"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 22/07/2016
Label: Metal Blade Records

This is a strong effort and the quality herein will only fully be revealed after multiple listens, I suspect. Revocation are now on album number six and show no signs of weakening or slowing in any way. ‘Great Is Our Sin’ is a masterclass.

‘Great Is Our Sin’ CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Arbiters of the Apocalypse
2). Theatre of Horror
3). Monolithic Ignorance
4). Crumbling Imperium
5). Communion
6). The Exaltation
7). Profanum Vulgus
8). Copernican Heresy
9). Only the Spineless Survive
10). Cleaving Giants of Ice
11). Altar of Sacrifice

The Review:

Revocation return after 2014's very well received “Deathless” with this full length effort. Technical, certainly... but are they death or thrash? Well, neither, being as they combine the two effortlessly for excellent results. No messing about, the title track is first up which mixes At The Gates with more American guitar approaches and no small amount of Bay Area thrash. “Theatre of Horror” keeps the bass drums pounding and the emphasis firmly on the technical, with lots of changes and unusual time feels.

Revocation is not an unchallenging listen, and this one is no exception. However, their albums are enjoyable to listen to; unlike many tech death outfits, where after listening you feel as if you have run a marathon. The production is stellar of course, with triggers and slickness being part of this impressive sound. “Monolithic Ignorance” has a title which sounds like a Death track and the intro does as well! Things get a bit more thrash orientated from there, but blast beats are never too far away, to bring back the dm feel. New drummer Ash Pearson delivers the goods in a big way here, with lots of cymbal flourishes and pulverising double bass announcing his presence in the line up in a big way and the sound that Revocation conjure up is quite astounding.

“Crumbling Imperium” brings the bass to the fore for the verses as the band keep the BPM count down while still impressing technically. “Communion” is a faster beast, but no less technically adept for it- excellent breakdown section is contained herein. With eleven tracks, this takes us almost to the halfway point, which is passed in “The Exaltation” which utilises some unusual rhythmical approaches and changes- no vocals, but it holds your attention throughout. The album has a nice even flow to it, despite the myriad of changes and the tracks are always engaging.  

“Profanum Vulgus” sees the return of vocals and again echoes Death with the approach in the verses, I thought. Excellent soloing abounds in the breaks which fluidly shifts over the time changes. “Copernican Heresy” blasts away and provides the record with a more straightforward track (still with a faire few changes, mind). The superbly titled “Only The Spineless Survive” is a rather bleak listen, but the first guitar break really highlights the sheer thickness of the guitars before more jazz inflected passages arise in the breaks.

“Cleaving Giants of Ice” has a spookily clean intro, and the track that follows is rather epic in sound, if not in scale- a little over four minutes. This is the last track of the album, per se, as the final track is a cover of Slayer's vicious “Altar of Sacrifice”- which absolutely rules and also serves to point out that Revocation are not a thrash band in the purest sense.

This is a strong effort and the quality herein will only fully be revealed after multiple listens, I suspect. Revocation are now on album number six and show no signs of weakening or slowing in any way. A masterclass.

‘Great Is Our Sin’ is out now

Band info: facebook ||bandcamp

RIYL: Sylosis, Ouroboros, Skeletonwitch, Arsis

Implore - "Depopulation" (Album Review)

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 04/09/2015

Label: Pelagic Records

“Depopulation” works particularly well due to the variety of tempos employed throughout the record. Implore never let up on the volume and distortion front, but the transitions between pummelling blastbeats and mid-paced grooves really work well.  There are enough interesting touches here to make Implore stand out from their peers without compromising on aggression and attack. This is a strong debut that hints at an interesting future ahead.

“Depopulation” CD//DD//LP track listing:  

1). Epicyte/Parasite

2). Sentenced

3). Thousand Generations

4). Homo-Consumens

5). Hegelian Dialectic

6). Cadaves on Parade

7). Hoax

8). Anthropocentric Selfishness

9). Iscariote

10). Neo Luddite

11). Ruthless Conspiracy

12). Bohemian Grove

13). Intrincated Scapegoat

14). Inexorable Malignancy

The Review:

Implore certainly don’t mess around on their debut full-length. The Hamburg-based trio furiously blaze through 14 tracks in half an hour on “Depopulation”.

The band deal in a raging yet compelling blend of crust and grind with a death metal edge. Implore take the filthy, buzzing guitar tone of Trap Them and Black Breath and meld this to the frantic velocity of the likes of Nasum. There are also occasional touches of anthemic melody reminiscent of At The Gates’ “Slaughter of the Soul”, particularly on “Anthropocentric Selfishness”.

“Depopulation” works particularly well due to the variety of tempos employed throughout the record. Implore never let up on the volume and distortion front, but the transitions between pummelling blastbeats and mid-paced grooves really work well. Opener “Epicyte Parasite” is a good example of this, building up the riffs and intensity for a couple of minutes before fully letting rip with a glorious howl. Instrumentals “Hegelian Dialectic” and “Ruthless Conspiracy” also add a further dimension. Both deliver crushing, sludgy riffs offering respite from the velocity elsewhere but no escape from the brutality.

Pelagic Records, run by Robin Staps of post-metal collective The Ocean, initially seems like an odd home for Implore. After a few listens to “Depopulation” it all seems to make sense though. There are enough interesting touches here to make Implore stand out from their peers without compromising on aggression and attack. This is a strong debut that hints at an interesting future ahead for Implore.  

“Depopulation” is available here

FFO: Black Breath, Trap Them, The Secret, Rotten Sound

Band info: facebook | bandcamp

Live Review: Damnation Festival 2015, Leeds University Union, 7/11/2015

By: Richard Maw

With a stellar line up, a venue within my own city and the opportunity to wear a battle jacket, attending this year's Damnation was a no brainer. This time around, the music was split between four stages, plus vinyl, merchandise CDs etc. The capacity was limited to a lower level than last year (when trying to get into the right part of the venue to see Cannibal Corpse was a matter of some difficulty) and this made for a much easier day all around, really.

The atmosphere was great from the off. I arrived around 2pm and settled in to watch the main stage openers Savage Messiah at 2.30pm. Really, it is this kind of thing that festivals are all about. I had never heard Savage Messiah before, but I will hear them a lot more now... Their show was absolutely superb. High energy and highly technical thrash/melodic trad came together in a whirlwind of precise riffs and excellent solos. With a new guitar player in tow (who played superbly), this was a show of very high calibre indeed. I was immediately converted as a fan and will be going to see them again when they next come through Leeds or somewhere else in the North. Fantastic band- kind of like Priest/Maiden crossed with Testament. Good singer too. Their (third?) album “Plague of Conscience” is available as a free download through the Earache website- I downloaded it this morning and have it on while writing this review. This evenings plans included ordering the back catalogue (or what of it I can afford) from Amazon/Ebay.  The band deserve to be much bigger, so check them out.

I then caught Sea Bastard on a much smaller stage downstairs- good, heavy doom, played slow and with conviction. I enjoyed their set, but must admit that I did not watch all of it. A little of that stuff can go a long way... Onwards and upwards to The Ocean, then! The German band's “Epilagial” was a superb release a couple of years back and I was looking forward to their set. They did not disappoint as, cellist in tow, they brought an atmospheric and powerful set to life. The front man gave a particularly committed performance- which included diving off the balcony (!) into the crowd. Great band, great show.

On to Keep of Kalessin, who I am not too familiar with; playing a tight and very professional set of extreme and epic metal. For a three piece band, they make a lot of noise and delivered a taut performance with some very fast sections. I enjoyed what they did and, again, will be checking them out on record. I checked out a little of Solstafir, but it wasn't my thing so I moved on for a little food...

For me, one of the main reasons attending was to see Asphyx. They did not disappoint. Complete with dedication to the recently departed Martin “Kiddie” Kearns of Bolt Thrower, the band oozed class and power. Van Drunen screamed his lungs out while his three colleagues played with conviction. Early classics rubbed shoulders with tracks off “Deathhammer” and “Death The Brutal Way.” The band were really, really good and I also must note that their t-shirts were priced at the wholly reasonable £10 each. I bought one- bands charging £15 a shirt is just about acceptable, but anything more than that is very pricey indeed. This was true death with some doom mixed in and their set was a real highlight of the day. Classic band.

Onwards to see another big draw- the mighty High on Fire! Matt Pike and co. turned in a great and loud show. Pike, shirtless, thinner than in recent years and moustachioed threw down his battle axe riffage with aplomb, while Jeff Matz and Des Kensel provided one of the best rhythm sections in extreme music. Plenty from this year's “Luminiferous” was played- I loved hearing “The Falconist” live for the first time- as well as old favourites like “10,000 Years”. Surely one of the bands that most metal heads agree on, HOF burnt as much rubber as their name suggests. I went on to watch some of Primordial who played a professional and entertaining set. Front man Alan Averill was theatrical and charismatic, with as much Maiden as Mayhem in his stage presence. I really must check them out on record, beyond the track on a Terrorizer sampler CD I heard in 1996!

Finally, having been somewhat mystified by Japanese instrumental rock lords Mono for all of five minutes, I headed to watch At The Gates on the main stage. I must confess, first off, that I did not watch the whole set. It had been a long day and the wife was waiting in the Fabia nearby, so I ended up ducking out half way through their set. From what I saw, though, the band are in that rare bracket of “ultra pro” festival act. They played some choice cuts from their “At War With Reality” - which I like but do not love, but really, I was there to see the stuff from “Slaughter of the Soul”. Yes, they played the title track, yes they played other songs and yes, I shouted “GO!!!!” along with everyone else. For me, At The Gates will never really be a current band- I heard “SOTS” first time around and had the Peaceville records too. I think of them as a band from the past- albeit one brought back to life. Maybe that is doing them a disservice- but I just think of them as a kind of extreme metal heritage act. I want to be clear, I love the band and that one record dearly and their performance was one of professionalism and strength- in no way am I knocking it.

Overall, it was an excellent festival and certainly my favourite one in the UK. I like that it mixes genres and bands and brings in some real big guns who I might not otherwise see. For me, band of the day were Savage Messiah- I had never heard them and they blew me away with their utter commitment to the metal cause. At the end of the day, that is what festivals can do. I always check out as much as I can because I might stumble upon a new band that really impresses. If you ever consider attending Damnation, I say do it. I got to see a new band who impressed, veterans who I had never seen and some current heroes who all turned in great performances. And all for £36?! What an absolute bargain.



Soilwork - 'The Ride Majestic' (Album Review)

By: Daniel Jackson

Album Type: Full-length

Date Released: 28/8/2015

Label: Nuclear Blast

Soilwork find themselves in a tough position because they seem to have reached a point where they clearly enjoy creating music that represents each of their two distinct eras, and they’re more than capable of producing quality music on either side of the spectrum. The handicap this album can’t overcome is that these two eras aren’t really capable of playing nicely together

‘The Ride Majestic’ CD//LP//DD track listing:

1. The Ride Majestic

2. Alight In The Aftermath

3. Death In General

4. Enemies In Fidelity

5. Petrichor By Sulphur

6. The Phantom

7. The Ride Majestic (Aspire Angelic)

8. Whirl Of Pain

9. All Along Echoing Paths

10. Shining Lights

11. Father And Son, Watching The World Go Down

Soilwork is:

Björn "Speed" Strid | Vocals

Dirk Verbeuren | Drums

Markus Wibom | Bass

Sylvain Coudret | Guitar

David Andersson | Guitar

Sven Karlsson | Keyboards

The Review:

In a previous life, Soilwork was a band that made an impact in the later stages of the 90s Gothenburg death metal explosion, given rise via bands like At The Gates and In Flames.  Soilwork differentiated themselves at the time through some unique chord choices for the style and a willingness to take chances with new sounds in a melodic death metal context. Over the last fifteen years, they’ve struggled with their identity to a point that you can’t really be sure which Soilwork you’re going to get. Soilwork has flirted with returns to that previous life in the past, but they’ve generally preferred to swim in more marketable waters over the last ten-plus years. With ‘The Ride Majestic’ we’re seemingly getting both of them at once, often shifting gears with the subtlety of a lead pipe to the face. The outcome makes for a really uneven listening experience.

The general format of the songs on offer is to start with, some sort of melodic death metal section , followed by a stark shift in the verse/chorus, featuring Björn "Speed" Strid doing his finest Howard Jones impression. Then, the song concludes with some variation of these two ill-fitting halves for the remainder. This isn’t a hard and fast rule, but the general feeling applies. They begin a song with something that might give lapsed fans who abandoned ship around ‘Figure Number Five’ something to sink their teeth into, only to pivot mid song into something bound to lose them altogether. The most striking example would likely be “Petrichor by Sulphur”, which soars early with nimble fretwork over a brisk thrash beat only to be harshly interrupted by a rhythmic verse that could have been on a Static-X or Drowning Pool album. For people who are fans of both styles, that’s probably something you wouldn’t bat an eye at, but for the rest of us, it’s jarring to the point that it encourages impatience with the rest of the material.

It’s worth pointing out that I’m not advocating for Soilwork to set themselves back fifteen years for the sake of becoming some Gothenburg nostalgia act. On the contrary, it feels like they’re much more interested and passionate about making mainstream metal albums than they are revisiting the past right now, and that’s fine. The problem is that with two halves they’re working on with ‘The Ride Majestic’ are likely to annoy fans of each half exclusively. Killswitch Engage fans are likely to appreciate an album like this because Killswitch Engage always dealt in both the melodic death metal element along with those metalcore choruses. Old Soilwork fans are likely to be alienated by the choruses, while fans who came into the fold in the mid 2000s are likely to be put off by blast beats and thrashy death metal riffing.

Soilwork find themselves in a tough position because they seem to have reached a point where they clearly enjoy creating music that represents each of their two distinct eras, and they’re more than capable of producing quality music on either side of the spectrum. The handicap this album can’t overcome is that these two eras aren’t really capable of playing nicely together. That makes ‘The Ride Majestic’ a spirited but stubborn attempt at a suicide mission.

You can pick up a digital copy here and a CD/LP copy here.

FFO: In Flames, Scar Symmetry, Killswitch Engage, Devildriver

Band info: Facebook | Twitter

The Sludgelord News: Damnation Festival 2015: First band announced, tickets now on sale

Swedish metal legends AT THE GATES will headline Damnation Festival in their only UK show of 2015.

The melodic death pioneers will top the Jagermeister Stage at Leeds University Union on Saturday, November 7.

The band said: "We are very happy to announce that At The Gates will be a part of the Damnation Festival 2015.

"Especially fun to be back on Yorkshire soil where it all started back in the day on Deaf/Peaceville Records.

"See you there folks!"

At The Gates are the first of 27 bands to be announced for the 11th instalment of the festival, which will have a reduced capacity this year to ease fans' concerns over congestion, following last year's sold out event.

Ticket prices will also be frozen at £36, as a thanks for the continued support from fans over the past decade.

Festival director Gavin McInally said: "We plan to, once again, deliver the best line-up of music the UK will see this year at a cost to our fans which is also unrivalled, and having At The Gates as our first announcement can be taken as a statement of our intent for 2015.

"Our capacity has been decreased, our ticket prices will remain the same and by the time we've completed our four stages of, we fully expect another sold out day of Damnation this November."

Tickets are available now from: www.damnationfestival.co.uk