Tomas Lindberg says the new At The Gates album is their "ultimate" record.
The band’s fifth album At War With Reality was released last month. It’s a concept album – which Lindberg described as an “intriguing” and “challenging” way to make a comeback 19 years after their last album, 1995’s Slaughter Of The Soul.
Frontman Lindberg tells Full Metal Jackie: “I guess the start of the writing process was a little bit scary when we tried out the direction, but as soon as things started to come together I wanted this to be the ultimate At The Gates record and it proved to be just that, musically.
“But lyrically, it was so hard to grasp everything within one concept, so I just, what would take the listener by surprise? What would really challenge them as a comeback record? No one has really done a concept record as a comeback record.
“And I thought this might be really intriguing for the fans and showing them that this is a real album. It’s not just, like, the best of At The Gates riff collection, it’s actually a real album.”
The band’s return to the studio came on the back of a series of successful comeback tours. Their 19 years away from recording didn’t leave them rusty though.
Lindberg adds: “We didn’t really understand how it would feel until we were actually in the studio, but we were prepared. We went through a very long writing and rehearsal process for this record, so we were really prepared.
“But actually going into the same studio again, the whole creative vibe was almost like a high — it was very intense and very inspiring, a very, very positive atmosphere for the whole recording. And I would say that creative flow was something that I had missed a lot. We feed off each other in that environment.”
At The Gates return to the UK next month.
AT THE GATES UK TOUR DATES 2014
Dec 04: London Forum
Dec 05: Manchester Academy 2
Dec 06: Glasgow Garage
Dec 07: Birmingham Academy
Dec 08: Cardiff Solus
