Slaughter of the Soul

Slaughter of the Soul
Studio album by
Released14 November 1995 (1995-11-14)
RecordedMay–July 1995
StudioStudio Fredman, Gothenburg, Sweden
GenreMelodic death metal
Length34:10
LabelEarache
ProducerFredrik Nordström
At the Gates chronology
Terminal Spirit Disease
(1994)
Slaughter of the Soul
(1995)
At War with Reality
(2014)

Slaughter of the Soul is the fourth studio album by Swedish melodic death metal band At the Gates, released on 14 November 1995 by Earache Records. It was their last album before their eleven-year breakup from 1996 to 2007. Slaughter of the Soul is considered a landmark in melodic death metal and played a major role in popularizing the Gothenburg scene, alongside The Jester Race by In Flames and The Gallery by Dark Tranquillity.[1] The album was recorded and mixed in Studio Fredman, early 1995.

Music journalist T Coles described the album's sound as "melodic and weird", saying that At the Gates were "cleaner" than fellow Swedish death metal band Entombed, yet "dirtier" than the technical death metal bands of the United States.[2]

Andy LaRocque's neo-classical guest solo on "Cold" was widely acclaimed as one of the greatest metal solos[citation needed] and guitarist Anders Björler admitted in 2007 that he still could not play it properly.[3]

"Blinded by Fear" was covered by The Haunted (composed largely of ex-At the Gates members) on their Japanese version of their live/double disc album Live Rounds in Tokyo and was also covered by Fleshgod Apocalypse on their Mafia EP. The song also appeared in the game Rock Band 2 as downloadable content.

  1. ^ "Melodic Death Metal". About.com. 2 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  2. ^ Coles, T (2022). Death Metal. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 78. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  3. ^ Morgan, Anthony. ""The Flames of the End"? - Guitarist Anders Björler wishes to pen the final chapter in the glorious history of Swedish legends At The Gates". Lucem Fero. Retrieved 1 June 2013.