The Nightmare Of Being

The Swedish heavy metal legends seventh full-length effort, Nightmare of Being sees At the Gates continuing to tweak their Gothenburg-style death metal with wild abandon. A blistering chimera of discord and melody, the ten-song set builds on the promise of its predecessor, 2018s To Drink from the Night Itself, delivering deft arrangements, surprising sonic detours, and lyrics steeped in existential dread. Softly fingerpicked classical guitar sets the table on the crushing opener Spectre of Extinction, which pairs the bands signature guitarmonies and galloping blast beats with Tomas Lindbergs choked but powerful death-metal howl. Largely bereft of the cavernous reverb thats become synonymous with the genre over the decades, Nightmare of Being achieves its icy atmospherics through brute strength, which makes the occasional forays into jazz (Garden of Cyrus), symphonic black metal (Touched by the White Hands of Death), and Krautrock (Cosmic Pessimism) all the more thrilling. At the Gates have been at the fore of the Scandinavian death metal scene since the early 90s -- Terminal Spirit Disease and Slaughter of the Soul are seminal works -- and the dark and inventive Nightmare of Being should ensure that they remain there. ~ James Christopher Monger

スウェディッシュ・デスの雄による7枚目のアルバムは、自身の音楽的可能性を追求した野心漲る一枚だ。無慈悲な攻撃力はキープしたまま、バンド演奏以外の要素を盛り込み、ドラマ性に磨きをかけた奥深い表情にも惹かれる。サックスの挿入に驚く"Garden Of Cyrus"、荘厳なオーケストラを用いた"The Abstract Enthroned"など、ストーリー性に長けた曲展開もセンス抜群。
bounce (C)荒金良介