At The Gates, Slaughter of the Soul

Rarely does an album come along that revolutionizes a genre. Simply put, At The Gates, Slaughter of the Soul is a groundbreaking album. This album lifted At the Gates to a legendary status among esteemed metalheads.

For the new-school metallers, this album won't be anything new to them. This is all in good cause. However, with any, listen to the two-guitar duos and breakdowns of today, one will immediately realize the parallels between today's metal scene and this very album. This band reinvented the dueling guitars and bridges contained within the heavy metal genre. Without the release of this album, one would not hear mainstream bands such as Shadows Fall, Lamb of God, and Darkest Hour as we do today.

And from what exactly did At the Gates evolve from? To me, the vocals seem as though they are a mix of early Mayhem and Testament. Simply, my opinion, however.

All in all, this album is a landmark for all metal today, and while the occasional breakdown may seem slightly contrived, this album is all in all a very consistent metal masterpiece, highly revered to this day. When you run into a section of a song that seems sketchy and contrived to you, simply realize that this IS the beginning of the true breakdown.