AT THE GATES — With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness (review)

AT THE GATES — With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness album cover Album · 1993 · Melodic Death Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
UMUR
"With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act At the Gates. The album was released through Deaf Records in May 1993, a little under a year after the release of the band´s debut full-length studio album "The Red in the Sky Is Ours" from July 1992. At the Gates formed in 1990 after Grotesque disbanded. They were part of the fertile Gothenburg scene of the early 90s, which also spawned artists like In Flames and Dark Tranquillity.

Stylistically the material on "With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness" continue the melodic death metal style of the debut album, but it´s generally a bit more streamlined and there are less musical experiments. It´s obvious the band have honed their songswriting craft and have gone for a more consistent musical style. The music features loads of melodic guitar work from the two guitarists, varied drumming, and the distinct sounding high pitched raw vocals by lead vocalist Tomas Lindberg in front. In those days he was a highly unusual sounding vocalist in a death metal act, which made At the Gates stand out from the pack.

"With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness" features a sound production which is as thin sounding as the sound production on the debut album. You would have thought that a better sounding production would have been a priority on a sophomore release, but overall the sound hasn´t improved much, and to my ears it´s a slight issue, which prevents me from enjoying the album as much as I probably could have. Lindberg´s vocals can also be a bit grating on the ears after a while, so it´s the intriguing songwriting ideas and the high level musicianship which are the greatest assets of the album. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.
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