At The Gates
Copenhell - 2018
Text: Tobias Nilsson Photo: Lunah Lauridsen
The speed had picked up steadily during the day, from melodic black with Auðn, to classic thrash with Exodus, and now it was time to turn the knob to 11, as At The gates entered the Hades stage.
After sneaking up on us with Der Widerstand which played as an intro, the band kicked us in the teeth straight from the start by opening with To Drink From The Night Itself from the same titled album. The weight was then pushed down on us, as Slaughter Of The Soul came as second.
By this time, we knew both that we had a varied set on our hands, but also, and more importantly, that we had a band that was ready to deliver a performance as well as music.
Adrian Erlandsson always plays well, but today he was really giving his delivery an extra notch as well, which really laid the groundwork for the band to stand on. Tomas Lindberg was also more active and connecting than what I’m used to seeing - or more correctly, I could feel him better than usual.
The string section was another deal. They were headbanging, sure, not not with much conviction, and there was no connection there. Oh well, can’t have it all, I suppose.
What they lacked in enthusiasm, the crowd made up for. There was an alright moshpit of course, but that in itself wasn’t what really impressed. No, that came with the wave after wave of crowdsurfers that literally washed over the fence from start to finish of the show!
My thoughts on the matter? It was an ok show. Parts of the band did good, better than expected, but even so, it never really caught on.
Setlist:
Der Widerstand
To Drink From The Night Itself
Slaughter Of The Soul
At War With Reality
A Stare Bound In Stone
Cold
The Circular Ruins
Death And The Labyrinth
Under A Serpent Sun
The Chasm
Heroes And Tombs
Nausea
Suicide Nation
The Book Of Sand (The Abomination)
Blinded By Fear
The Night Eternal
After sneaking up on us with Der Widerstand which played as an intro, the band kicked us in the teeth straight from the start by opening with To Drink From The Night Itself from the same titled album. The weight was then pushed down on us, as Slaughter Of The Soul came as second.
By this time, we knew both that we had a varied set on our hands, but also, and more importantly, that we had a band that was ready to deliver a performance as well as music.
Adrian Erlandsson always plays well, but today he was really giving his delivery an extra notch as well, which really laid the groundwork for the band to stand on. Tomas Lindberg was also more active and connecting than what I’m used to seeing - or more correctly, I could feel him better than usual.
The string section was another deal. They were headbanging, sure, not not with much conviction, and there was no connection there. Oh well, can’t have it all, I suppose.
What they lacked in enthusiasm, the crowd made up for. There was an alright moshpit of course, but that in itself wasn’t what really impressed. No, that came with the wave after wave of crowdsurfers that literally washed over the fence from start to finish of the show!
My thoughts on the matter? It was an ok show. Parts of the band did good, better than expected, but even so, it never really caught on.
Setlist:
Der Widerstand
To Drink From The Night Itself
Slaughter Of The Soul
At War With Reality
A Stare Bound In Stone
Cold
The Circular Ruins
Death And The Labyrinth
Under A Serpent Sun
The Chasm
Heroes And Tombs
Nausea
Suicide Nation
The Book Of Sand (The Abomination)
Blinded By Fear
The Night Eternal