Band:	At The Gates
Album:	The Nightmare Of Being
Style:	Gothenburg metal
Release date:	July 2021

Disc I
01. Spectre Of Extinction
02. The Paradox
03. The Nightmare Of Being
04. Garden Of Cyrus
05. Touched By The White Hands Of Death
06. The Fall Into Time
07. Cult Of Salvation
08. The Abstract Enthroned
09. Cosmic Pessimism
10. Eternal Winter Of Reason

Disc II [limited edition mediabook bonus]
01. Red [Live at Roadburn]
02. The Scar [Live at Roadburn]
03. Koyaanisqatsi [Live at Roadburn]
04. The Burning Darkness [Live at Roadburn]
05. Daggers Of Black Haze [Live in Stockholm]
06. Death And The Labyrinth [Live in San Francisco]
07. A Stare Bound In Stone [Live in San Francisco]
08. Heroes And Tombs [Live in San Francisco]
09. The Night Eternal [Live in San Francisco]

Welcome To My Nightmare.

Ever since At The Gates decided to once again become a going concern since reforming again nearly a decade ago by putting out fresh cuts, the band have had to make up ground in the arms race against the hordes of bands who have built on the template the band themselves laid in the '90s with a series of classic albums that culminated in the masterpiece that was Slaughter Of The Soul. While the band have done well for themselves with their past two releases, there has always been a lingering sense that the band could do better for themselves and produce another truly great record once more; this lingering sense is confirmed with the release of The Nightmare Of Being, a record that lives up to the hype and shows that the band can better themselves.

Continuing to forge its own path, The Nightmare Of Being is an album that balances expectation with variation, featuring tracks that will give fans a straight-up dose of Gothenburg melodeath and unexpected deviations from the formula, which are as interesting as they are varied. This mix is both refreshing and equally powerful as the band proves to be dab hands at both.

Perhaps conscious of expectations, the band's decision to open the album with the two tracks released prior to the album's release in "Spectre Of Extinction" and "The Paradox" is to play things safe and acclimatize listeners before hitting them with the more experimental and unorthodox tracks. Songs like "Garden Of Cyrus" and "The Fall Into Time" will be a sharp left turn for listeners, with both tracks deciding to take detours on their route to the same destination, the highlight of the former being the prominent and well-utilized saxophone that will initially conjure up mental images of Shining.

Where the band hit their stride is on "The Abstract Enthroned", which hits harder than a sledgehammer wielded by Thor himself, bursting out as a well-placed adrenaline hit in between two tracks that dwell less on outright power and more on (for the band's standards) unorthodox approaches; the latter, "Cosmic Pessimism", is an interesting and captivating volte face that sinks its claws in deep while you spend your first few listens keeping up with the spoken-word parts.

The album sounds massive, roaring to life through whatever speakers you have, easily able to scare your neighbours, as with such clarity they will hear it just as well as you will. The opening refrains of "Cult Of Salvation" are crystal clear and shine bright, while other tracks like "The Abstract Enthroned" hit hard without distorting sonic clarity. Yes, the band of old that revelled in overwhelming listeners by shaking the ground beneath them with pure sonic power is not here, but this is because of progression and maturity rather than poor production and musicianship. The latter of these is what makes this album. Lindberg's voice may sound hoarser than it did back in the '90s, but combined with the powerful guitar duo of Larsson and Stålhammar on tracks like "Touched By The White Hands Of Death" and the opulent "The Fall Into Time", At The Gates defy their years.

The Nightmare Of Being does, however, start off on with its weak foot first, with the opening two tracks being the least exciting of the album; while neither are particularly bad, they seem to lack an exciting element to breathe life into them and will likely have you starting off the album wondering if the band are going to not live up fully to expectations like on To Drink From The Night Itself.

Producing their strongest album since their initial break up, At The Gates raise the bar once again on The Nightmare Of Being and blow away any cobwebs and doubts fans of the band may have had over the last few years. A near certainty to at least be on many a shortlist for album of the year, if not prominently placed in one.