At the Gates is a now defunct Swedish melodic death metal band who have had a great influence upon the genre. Originally formed in 1990 after Grotesque broke up, the band combined the speed and anger of thrash metal with the burgeoning death metal scene in Gothenburg, Sweden, crafting a unique sound. Their most famous album is Slaughter of the Soul, released in 1995. They are sometimes mistakenly considered part of the “New Wave of Swedish Death Metal” (which includes bands such as In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, Hypocrisy and Soilwork among others), but in reality preceded it. The band also influenced many modern American metalcore acts, such as The Black Dahlia Murder, As I Lay Dying and Darkest Hour. Although At the Gates have many lyrics concerning typically dark and violent “metal” fare, many of their lyrics are dark in a different fashion, concerning self-hatred, moral numbness, suicide, and fierce misanthropy.
When At the Gates broke up in 1996, drummer Adrian Erlandsson, bassist Jonas Björler and guitarist Anders Björler formed The Haunted while vocalist Tomas Lindberg bounced around between many groups including Skitsystem, Disfear, The Crown, Lock-Up, Nightrage and The Great Deceiver. Adrian Erlandsson left The Haunted to join UK black metal outfit Cradle of Filth later on. Rumours on Blabbermouth.net emerged that At The Gates would re-unite for several shows, but these rumours have been put down by members of the band.