Poems: Burning The Past

If imitation is the greatest form of flattery, than At the Gates should feel very proud for instigating such an unbelievably faithful replica of their classic Slaughter of the Soul album. Indeed, so similar is the Everdawn's Poems -- Burn the Past to the above work -- from the music and vocal style down to the guitar tone -- that it's almost impossible to enjoy it for its own merits rather than as a blatant tribute album. When opener "Territory Loss" pauses for a moment of silence after its intro riff, for example, one can sense the singer's desperate desire to shout "GO!" -- just like his heroes. Clocking in at a trim 35 minutes, the album is actually quite enjoyable, with songs like "Needlework," "Where Pain Never Dies," and "Burn" delivering a nice mix of all-out speed and mid-paced moshing. Ultimately, nothing here is quite as diverse or intense as the original article, but if you can look past the Everdawn's lack of imagination, this is a fine death/thrash metal album in its own right. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia