The only album using Papyrus font on the album artwork I can give a pass to.
As someone generally burned out on the plethora of soundalike bands with nothing new to bring to Metal- songs that only sound like chopped and re-ordered versions of other songs by other cut-rate extreme metal bands- finally checking out At The Gates’ 1995 classic Slaughter of the Soul was long overdue.
Slaughter of the Soul is fixated on one thing and one thing only: guitar shredding. While less angular and certainly more melodic than anything approaching grindcore, no one riff lingers long enough to create a greater textural or ambient quality to the record (think: black metal). Every moment is a Guitar Hero blue-lightning power-up moment, and if that’s something you’re in to you’re going to enjoy this record.
For some Slaughter of the Soul may be too commercial- too clean, too produced, too melodic- but it’s a logical progression from Mercyful Fate’s work a decade earlier. And so if Mercyful Fate is as far as you’ve gone into melodic metal, and you’re willing to opt to in for deathly fry screamed vocals and throttling double kick driven sections, At The Gates’ Slaughter of the Soul is a great place to start.
For fans of: Mercyful Fate, Metallica, Grip Inc.
Like At The Gates? Give these a listen: Sodom, Carcass, Edge of Sanity
The Resident Sound 