Terminal Spirit Disease is the third album by Swedish melodic death metal band At the Gates. It was released in 1994 (see 1994 in music) and re-released in 2003 with bonus tracks. It is the first album to feature rhythm guitarist Martin Larsson who replaced Alf Svensson in 1993. The band originally had wanted to record an EP of new material, but their label had insisted on a full-length album. To compromise, the band added several live tracks to pad the overall length.
| Terminal Spirit Disease | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 18 July 1994 | |||
| Recorded | February 1994 | |||
| Studio | Studio Fredman[1] | |||
| Genre | Melodic death metal | |||
| Length | 34:46 | |||
| Label | Peaceville | |||
| Producer |
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| At the Gates chronology | ||||
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Background information
editGuitarist Anders Björler commented that he couldn't "remember much" from the recording sessions for Terminal Spirit Disease.[1] When compared to at the Gates' older material, Björler felt the tracks "were simpler and more to the point".[1] A violin and cello are featured on the song "And the World Returned", cited as an example of the group's attempt to explore "ideas which were a little different".[1]
Reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Chronicles of Chaos | 8/10[3] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 7/10[4] |
| Kerrang! | [5] |
| Rock Hard | 8.5/10[6] |
| Metal.de | 8/10[7] |
Reviews for Terminal Spirit Disease have been mostly positive. AllMusic's Eduardo Rivadavia awards the album four out of five stars, and claims that, with this album, "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."[2] In a retrospective review, Richard Street-Jammer of Invisible Oranges called the album "the last record before they became legends" and "a fetish for crummy metalcore."[8]
The album was inducted into Decibel's "Hall of Fame" in March 2023.[9]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Tomas Lindberg, Anders Björler and Jonas Björler, except for where noted
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Swarm" | 3:28 |
| 2. | "Terminal Spirit Disease" | 3:38 |
| 3. | "And the World Returned" (Anders Björler) | 3:06 |
| 4. | "Forever Blind" | 3:58 |
| 5. | "The Fevered Circle" (Lindberg, Anders Björler, Martin Larsson, Alf Svensson) | 4:11 |
| 6. | "The Beautiful Wound" | 3:52 |
| 7. | "All Life Ends" (At the Gates, Svensson) (Live) | 5:16 |
| 8. | "The Burning Darkness" (Lindberg, Anders Björler, Svensson) (Live) | 2:15 |
| 9. | "Kingdom Gone" (Lindberg, Anders Björler) (Live) | 5:02 |
| Total length: | 34:46 | |
The digipak reissue released in 2003 includes three additional live tracks from the 1993 live-in-studio session for MTV Europe:
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Windows" | |
| 2. | "The Red in the Sky Is Ours/The Season to Come" | |
| 3. | "The Burning Darkness" |
Credits
editBand members
edit- Tomas Lindberg – vocals
- Anders Björler – guitar
- Jonas Björler – bass
- Adrian Erlandsson – drums
- Martin Larsson – guitar
Guest members
edit- Peter Andersson – cello on "The Swarm" and "And the World Returned"
- Ylva Wahlstedt – violin on "The Swarm" and "And the World Returned"
References
edit- ^ a b c d Morgan, Anthony (November 2007). ""The Flames of the End"? – Guitarist Anders Björler wishes to pen the final chapter in the glorious history of Swedish legends at the Gates". Lucem Fero. Retrieved 22 March 2008.
- ^ a b Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Terminal Spirit Disease – At the Gates". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
- ^ Meloon, Brian (8 December 1995). "CoC : At the Gates - Terminal Spirit Disease : Review". Chronicles of Chaos. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
- ^ Popoff, Martin (2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 35. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
- ^ Arnopp, Jason (2 July 1994). "Rekordz". Kerrang!. No. 501. EMAP. p. 46.
- ^ Kühnemund, Götz. "AT THE GATES - Terminal Spirit Disease". Rock Hard. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
- ^ Werner, Johannes (11 February 2022). "At The Gates - Terminal Spirit Disease • Klassiker Review". Metal.de. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
- ^ Street-Jammer, Richard (17 July 2014). "At the Gates' Terminal Spirit Disease Turns 20". Invisible Oranges. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
- ^ Dick, Chris (1 March 2023). "At the Gates - Terminal Spirit Disease". Decibel Magazine. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
Further reading
edit- Dick, Chris (April 2023). "Die to Be Set Free: The Making of At the Gates' Terminal Spirit Disease". Decibel. No. 222. Red Flag Media, Inc. pp. 42–44, 46, 48, 50, 52.