Aug 21

Aug 21 Show Review: At The Gates Celebrates 'Slaughter of the Soul' Anniversary in Berkeley

At The Gates
‘Slaughter of the Soul’ Anniversary Tour
w/ Municipal Waste, Thrown Into Exile
The UC Theatre
Berkeley, CA
August 19th, 2022

Photos and Review by Jared Stossel

Swedish death and extreme metal bands are in a league of own. With the exception of the world’s largest metal bands like Metallica, Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden, there is no fanbase I’ve seen in metal that turns out more for its acts than that of Swedish death metal (okay, maybe Norwegian black metal, but that’s for another time). Bands like Amon Amarth, Meshuggah, and In Flames inspire massive turnouts; it’s a religious experience for those in attendance. One of the originators of this movement, At The Gates, stopped by The UC Theatre on Friday night, performing their seminal album Slaughter of the Soul, in its entirety for a completely sold out Bay Area crowd. With the exception of a Green Day hometown show that took place here in 2016, never in my life have I seen The UC Theatre so full. For the first time in years, I had to stand off to the side in order to see the action on stage, as the view was almost completely obstructed from the back of the auditorium.

Thrown Into Exile opened the show with a powerful set that blended elements of thrash metal and metalcore, whipping the crowd into a frenzy as they got the energy rising. Despite the venue’s air conditioning working at full blast, the heat was rising as the crowd packed in and opened up the pit during the band’s thrash-filled opening set. But nothing could have prepared me for Municipal Waste. Over the years, I’ve tried to catch this band, yet something has always conflicted in my schedule. It has been ages since I’ve seen an opening act cause a crowd to react so intensely; they could have easily headlined the room on their own. The five-piece thrash metal act fervently channel the music that was born in these Bay Area streets, just miles away from where this theater was situated. For a little over thirty minutes, Municipal Waste brought forth a mighty performance, one of the most memorable metal sets I’ve seen all year. When I was in the photo pit, the crowd caused so much of a frenzy when headbanging that the barricade started to literally shake. There was an element of danger during this performance; I fucking loved it.

Around 10:15 PM, At The Gates took the stage for a technically intricate and beautifully crafted set celebrating one of the most influential albums in the history of the genre. To open the show, the band kicked things off with tracks from albums like At War with Reality and The Nightmare of Being, before heading into the entirety of Slaughter of the Soul. Despite the crowd being so rowdy around me, it was impossible for me to turn away from the stage. I couldn’t help but notice how excellent their musicianship was; the guitar work in this band is immaculate, with every note sounding crisp and clear.

To contrast the absolute brutality of their music, vocalist Tomas Lindberg was incredibly soft-spoken when introducing songs to the crowd. They all looked genuinely happy to be up on that stage, and the gratitude really shone through as they played throughout the evening. It’s more fun when you can tell that a band is really enjoying themselves, when it’s clear that they’re not just trudging their way through another night on the road. Despite being drenched in sweat as I walked out into the cool Bay Area night air, I was happy to bear witness to one of death metal’s finest on Friday night. This is an all-around well-performed show.

At The Gates Set List
Spectre of Extinction
At War With Reality
To Drink From The Night Itself
The Swarm
Death and the Labyrinth
Touch by the White Hands of Death
The Book of Sand (The Abomination)

Slaughter of the Soul
Blinded by Fear
Slaughter of the Soul
Cold
Under a Serpent Sun
Into The Dead Sky
Suicide Nation
World of Lies
Unto Others
Nausea
Need
The Flames of the End

Encore:
The Night Eternal