Time Signature The beautiful sound...

Genre: melodic death metal

"Terminal Spirit Disease" is an important controbution to the development of the Göteborg-style of metal which would later be known as melodic death metal.

As with "Slaughter of the Soul", there is plenty of melodic yet aggressive riffing on this one, accompanied by both mid paced drums and fast thrashy drums. This album also sounds a bit more polished and refined than "Slaughter of the Soul" and the compositions are also a bit more complex and progressive and less emotionally appealing than on "slaughter of the Soul". There are plenty of unusual riffs and unusual melody and harmony patterns - some of which are even reminiscent of the more melodic type of black metal (probably because of At The Gates' extensive use of open-stringed riffing on this album). A particularly interesting element is the use of chords that were not deployed that much in the death metal music of the time, but were more associated with alternative rock and alternative hardrock acts of the 90s. A clear example of this is the chorus of "The Swarm", which works really well.

This album would be a good entry point into the world of melodic death metal and would probably also appeal to fans of power metal and more melodic black metal, also I think some hardcore extreme metal fans would find it a tad too melodic.

aiylyn If you're not a death metal connoiseur or an At the Gates purist, then this is most likely the album at which you feel At the Gates really hit their stride. I have to assert that sentiment myself; all the elements that trademarked early At the Gates come together to form the album that I would recommend as the first buy for anyone looking to get into At the Gates or Gothenburg metal in general. The first track fades in which some violins playing a rather melancholic melody, this is cross-faded into guitars and that's where the assault begins. At this point in their development, the band was still highly progressive, playing unorthodox riffs with an uncanny knack for combining catchiness with technicality and odd rhythms. Track three, "And the World Returned" is a refreshing clean guitar piece. Tomas Lindberg screams with fierce abandon throughout the rest. The production is not as polished as it is on "Slaughter of the Soul" but it is still good. The drums sound a bit airy and the guitars could use a bit more punch, but there is little, if any, to ask for here.