At The Gates is here with a new single and it's definitely their most progressive, weird effort since their reunion! The band is now streaming "Spectre Of Extinction", whose runtime has quite a few moving parts including killer harmonies, tons of shifts, and a good amount of acoustic guitar. It also features a pretty killer solo from King Diamond guitarist Andy La Rocque!
"It is always very hard to choose which song to release to the public first, especially with this album having so many layers and textures," said vocalist Tomas Lindberg. "We did feel, however, that this, the opening track of the record, represented the overall feel of the album. It has the musical depths that you would expect from an At The Gates track, and still carries that intensity and urgency that we have always tried to get across with our music.
"For the video, it was wonderful to be able to continue the work with the mighty Patric Ullaeus, as he understands our vision with the music and is willing to go all the way to portray the song’s inner dimensions. I think he did that excellently with this one and I’m very proud of the result. The lyrics deal with humanity’s will and how that clashes with our consciousness, and our knowledge of our mortality. Enjoy!"
The Nightmare of Being's drums were recorded at Studio Gröndal with Jens Bogren (Amon Amarth, Opeth, Kreator, etc.), guitars and bass with Andy La Rocque (King Diamond) at Sonic Train Studio, vocals at Welfare Sounds with Per Stålberg, and then mixed and mastered at Fascination Street Studios by Jens Bogren.
"The overall theme deals with the topic of pessimism, and I have been diving deep down in pessimistic philosophers," said vocalist Tomas Lindberg regarding the album. "Trying to understand this way of looking at the world. It is not a negative album, more a gateway into new ideas for me personally, trying out different perspectives. You could call the album an introduction to pessimism as a concept, I guess. It is a very dark album, but not negative."
Pre-orders are available here.
