Gates And Rowan's

In the 21st century, the power metal scene isn't just veteran headbangers like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and Queensrÿche, it's also power metal revival bands such as Symphony X, Iron Savior, Morifade, DragonForce, and Rhapsody. The difference between the older power metallers and the younger power metal revival acts is not a stylistic difference but rather, a matter of when a band came along; stylistically, the power metal revival combos that were formed in the '90s or 2000s are consistently mindful of the power metal artists who started recording in the late '70s or '80s. That is certainly true of the Sweden-based vocalist of Hammerfall, Joacim Cans, who maintains his devotion to old-school power metal throughout his solo project Beyond the Gates…

Full Dynamic Range Remastered edition of At The Gates fourth studio album.
When it was first released, At the Gates' Earache debut Slaughter of the Soul was regarded as a generally excellent example of Gothenburg-style melodic death metal, and certainly the band's best and most focused album to date. But the commonly held view was that it wasn't anything all that special, either. After all, it lacked the intricate twin-guitar leads of In Flames, the complex song structures of Dark Tranquillity, the progressive artistry of Edge of Sanity, or even the rock & roll underpinnings of latter-day Entombed. Slaughter of the Soul was more obviously rooted in American thrash (especially Slayer) than its peers, and didn't seem to be consciously trying to break new ground…

With their third album, 1994's highly accomplished Terminal Spirit Disease, Sweden's At the Gates raised their creative stakes beyond most everyone's original expectations, and proved that what had once been a pretty standard and uninventive death metal combo was slowly becoming a true contender in the scene. Right from the get-go, highlights like "The Swarm," "Forever Blind," and the title track venture into melodic territory like never before. Yet they never waver from the band's predetermined path of virulent aggression, and, best of all, keep it all short and sweet for maximum effect. And with extreme (or nonextreme, as it were) experiments like the all-acoustic and cello-laced "And the World Returned," At the Gates showed a willingness to diversify that would soon prove their mettle…