Terminal Spirit Disease
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 Fredman)[1] | |||
| Genre | Melodic death metal | |||
| Length | 34:46 | |||
| Label | Peaceville | |||
| Producer | Fredrik Nordström and At the Gates | |||
| At the Gates chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background information
Guitarist 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
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Rock Hard |  [3] |
| Metal.de | [4] |
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."[5]
Track listing
All 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
Band members
- Tomas Lindberg – vocals
- Anders Björler – guitar
- Jonas Björler – bass
- Adrian Erlandsson – drums
- Martin Larsson – guitar
Guest members
- Peter Andersson – cello on "The Swarm" and "And the World Returned"
- Ylva Wahlstedt – violin on "The Swarm" and "And the World Returned"
References
- 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.
- Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Terminal Spirit Disease – At the Gates". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
- 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.