At the Gates

At the Gates are a now defunct Swedish melodic death metal band who are considered by many to have had a great influence upon the genre. Originally formed in 1990 after Grotesque broke up, the band combined the speed and anger of thrash me

At the Gates are a now defunct Swedish melodic death metal band who are considered by many to have had a great influence upon the genre. Originally formed in 1990 after Grotesque broke up, the band combined the speed and anger of thrash metal with the burgeoning death metal scene in Gothenburg, Sweden, crafting a unique sound. Their most famous album is Slaughter of the Soul, released in 1995. They are part of the "New Wave of Swedish Death Metal" which includes bands such as In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, Hypocrisy and Edge of Sanity among others. The band also influenced many modern American Metalcore acts, such as Darkest Hour.

When At the Gates broke up in 1996, drummer Adrian Erlandsson, bassist Jonas Björler and guitarist Anders Björler formed The Haunted while vocalist Tomas Lindberg bounced around between many groups including Skitsystem, Disfear, The Crown, Lock-Up, Nightrage and The Great Deceiver. Adrian Erlandsson left The Haunted to join UK black metal outfit Cradle of Filth later on. There have been rumours about the return of the band to activity, but these have been debunked by members of the band.