At The Gates – ‘To Drink From The Night Itself’ (Album Review)
Although death metal – even melodic death metal – isn’t normally my thing, there’s no denying that At The Gates are sitting on one of the best metal albums of the year right now. If you have the slightest interest in heavy music, you can’t go a moment longer without at least checking this album out.
To Drink From The Night Itself is just that good.
Beyond Der Widerstand’s acoustic arpeggios, dramatic strings, and female classical vocals, title track To Drink From The Night Itself proves an accessible start. Leaning heavily on a repetitive (but cool) pedal-point riff and an incredible vocal delivering the core chorus hook as often as possible without spoiling it all, To Drink From The Night Itself eases us in effectively. From there, At The Gates pull off a consistent string of similar but fucking awesome songs.
Throughout To Drink From The Night Itself, At The Gates do stay within formulaic boundaries – but within those limits, they do enough to challenge die-hard extreme metal fans and curious newcomers alike. The result is a textbook gateway album that beckons listeners down the shadowy path toward even heavier things. This kind of consistency is extremely rare – and by the time closer The Mirror Black fully breaks from death metal tradition, adopting a slow 6/8 groove, no sane and reasonable metalhead will be left asking for more.
If To Drink From The Night Itself doesn’t satisfy your thirst, there might be something wrong with you. Just saying.
LTK RATING: 95% (Essential Listening!)
Pre-order To Drink From The Night Itself (out May 18) on iTunes.
Click below to start reading Why Do Good Bands Break Up? for free!