Today Swedish melodic death metal pioneers AT THE GATES are debuting the second single/video off their upcoming album “The Nightmare Of Being”, to be released July 2nd, 2021 via Century Media Records.
Check out the track “The Paradox” in a video-clip directed by Patric Ullaeus / www.rEvolver.se (Arch Enemy, In Flames, Dimmu Borgir, etc.) HERE!
AT THE GATES vocalist Tomas Lindberg Redant commented about “The Paradox” and its video as follows:
“Humanity is the biggest paradox. We as humans always want justification for the big things: death, the meaning of life, etc. Our knowledge of being mortals drives us away from being human, hence the paradox. We invent defense mechanisms to protect us from the thought of death, religion, different –isms, etc.
This first time our producer Jens Bogren heard this song, he said “This is a monster!”. It touches on some core parts of the At The Gates sound, but builds further, on top of that, some classic NWOBHM/Mercyful Fate vibes thrown in for good measure. It is a death metal song, but has its progressive moments. Enjoy!
This was a very fun video to record, as we tried to create most of the “special effects” in an analog way, and not just to be added in the editing. Hence we were drenched in tons of crushed coal and soil, which took over a week and a lot of showers to get out of our hair, haha. We really wanted an oppressive, apocalyptic emotion for this video. And Patric Ullaeus, being the master that he is, went all the way to make that happen!”
Also check out the previously released clip for the album’s opening track “Spectre of Extinction” HERE!While main parts for “The Nightmare Of Being” were recorded in Sweden at several different studios – Drums at Studio Gröndal with Jens Bogren, guitars and bass with Andy La Rocque at Sonic Train Studio and vocals at Welfare Sounds with Per Stålberg -, the album was mixed and mastered at Fascination Street Studios (Amon Amarth, Opeth, Kreator, etc.) by Jens Bogren, who has previously worked with AT THE GATES on their “At War With Reality” comeback album from 2014. The album’s visual concept was developed by artist Eva Nahon.
The tracklisting of “The Nightmare Of Being” will be as follows:
Spectre of Extinction
The Paradox
The Nightmare of Being
Garden of Cyrus
Touched by the White Hands of Death
The Fall into Time
Cult of Salvation
The Abstract Enthroned
Cosmic Pessimism
Eternal Winter of Reason
“The Nightmare Of Being” will be available in the following formats:
– Ltd. Deluxe Transparent Blood Red 2LP+3CD Artbook
– Ltd. 2CD Mediabook
– Standard CD Jewelcase
– Standard LP
– Digital Album
The album’s limited deluxe 2LP+3CD Artbook (depicted in a mock below!) contains exclusive transparent blood red vinyl on 180g. and will include a 9-track Live LP & CD as well as an exclusive instrumental version of the entire “The Nightmare Of Being” album as bonus CD. It furthermore comes with an extended 32-page booklet, a double-sided A2 poster and 4 art prints. The album’s limited 2CD Mediabook comes with an extended 32-page booklet and a 9-track Live CD as bonus.The tracklisting for the live bonus will be as follows:
1. Red (King Crimson cover, Live at Roadburn)
2. The Scar (Live at Roadburn)
3. Koyaanisqatsi (Philip Glass cover, Live at Roadburn)
4. The Burning Darkness (Live at Roadburn)
5. Daggers of Black Haze (Live in Stockholm)
6. Death and the Labyrinth (Live in San Francisco)
7. A Stare Bound in Stone (Live in San Francisco)
8. Heroes and Tombs (Live in San Francisco)
9. The Night Eternal (Live in San Francisco)
The standard vinyl version of “The Nightmare Of Being” comes on 180g vinyl and with double-sided A2 poster. It will be available in the following vinyl colour variants and limitations:
Black LP – Unlimited
Transparent Blue LP – 300x copies via CM Webshop and CM Distro Europe
Bright Gold-Deep Blood Red Splattered LP – 500x copies via Amazon Germany
Sky Blue – 300x copies via EMP
White LP – 300x copies via Nuclear Blast
Bright gold LP – 300x copies via Supreme Chaos
Lilac – 300x copies via Napalm Records
Silver LP – 300x copies via Bengans / Sweden
Transparent Petrol Green – 300x copies via Eyesore Merch / UK
Bone Colored LP – 500x copies via Indie Stores / CM USA
Black Ice LP – 300x copies via CM Webshop USA
Ultra Clear LP – 300x copies via Revolver USA
Tan Colored LP – 300x copies via Decibel USA
The various formats are available for pre-order HERE!
Stay tuned for more news on AT THE GATES and “The Nightmare Of Being” coming soon…
AT THE GATES line-up:
Tomas Lindberg Redant – Vocals
Jonas Björler – Bass
Martin Larsson – Guitar
Jonas Stålhammar – Guitar
Adrian Erlandsson – Drums
AT THE GATES ONLINE:
Website // Facebook // Twitter // YouTube