At The Gates – The Ghost of a Future Dead

Whenever you see the name At The Gates, expectations naturally go up. With The Ghost of a Future Dead, things feel a little different. Knowing the album's title, artwork, and the fact that it features Tomas Lindberg's final vocal recordings, you inevitably have a few thoughts in your head before even pressing play.

I try not to get too caught up in the past with albums like this. Once you start asking questions like “Is it like Slaughter of the Soul?” or “Are the old At The Gates back?”, it's very easy to miss the album itself. So I simply put the album on and started listening.

First of all, let me say this: At The Gates are still At The Gates.

The album kicks off with “The Fever Mask” and doesn't stray too far from the band's characteristic melodic death metal approach. The guitars are sharp, the drums kick in when they need to, and the vocals hit you like a familiar slap in the face. With “The Dissonant Void”, the character of the album starts to become even clearer.

“Det Oerhörda” and “A Ritual of Waste” were among the tracks I particularly enjoyed. I don't think At The Gates are only about aggression. They have a way of placing melody into their songs without weakening the heaviness, and after a while, some of those melodies simply start running around in your head.

As the album moves forward with “In Dark Distortion”, “Of Interstellar Death” and “Tomb of Heaven”, a darker atmosphere starts to emerge. “Tomb of Heaven” is especially one of the more interesting tracks when it comes to atmosphere. This is where you can more easily feel that the band isn't simply trying to recreate their old days, but is interpreting their sound from where they stand today.

“Parasitical Hive”, “The Unfathomable” and “The Phantom Gospel” keep things moving. One of the things I liked about the album is that it doesn't try too hard to be something it isn't. There aren't unnecessarily long sections screaming “look, we're being experimental here.” The songs know what they want to do.

Towards the end, “Förgängligheten” leaves a slightly different impression. Then comes “Black Hole Emission” to close things out. With 12 tracks and a running time of around 42 minutes, I think the album has a pretty ideal length. It doesn't feel too long, nor does it leave you thinking that it needed a few more songs.

Of course, it's impossible to completely ignore Tomas Lindberg while listening to this album. Somewhere in the back of your mind, there's inevitably the thought that “this is his final recording.” The good thing is that the album doesn't try to exploit that sentiment. There is no overly dramatic farewell show here. Tompa simply stepped up, did his vocals, and screamed like Tompa always has.

And I think that's exactly what makes the album work.

The Ghost of a Future Dead isn't an At The Gates album desperately chasing its past. Of course, the band's classic character can be felt throughout, and honestly, I wouldn't expect anything else. But instead of trying to become “Slaughter of the Soul 2”, the album simply sounds like At The Gates making the kind of music they can make today.

In the end, what you get from this album will depend on what you expect from it. If you're looking for 1995 every time a new At The Gates album comes out, you'll probably find things to complain about. But if you listen to the band as they are today, The Ghost of a Future Dead is a solid and balanced album that will undoubtedly hold a special place, especially because of Tomas Lindberg's final performance.

I didn't get bored while listening to it. I found myself wanting to play the tracks again, and after a few spins, the overall atmosphere of the album really settled in. What more could you ask for?

8/10