Review by illusionist for At the Gates - Terminal Spirit Disease (1994)

DEAD ON DOPE!

I really want to give this a higher rating, but I just can't bring myself to do it. Don't get me wrong, the first two songs are extraordinary. Like, among the very best this genre has ever produced. The presence of "The Swarm" alone makes me want to 4.5-star this. "What is evil but good, twisted by its own hunger and thirst?" But alas, it just wouldn't be right.

The Red in the Sky Is Ours, With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness, Slaughter of the Soul...these are albums worthy of my vaunted 4-star threshold. They are true albums. They each have their own subtle but unique defining feel to them. Their songs flow, like they were meant to be played together. They are not flawless, but they are filled with standout moments from front to back. That primal & passionate At The Gates essence flows throughout, naturally.

Terminal Spirit Disease does not feel like an album. It feels like At the Gates were being rushed by their record label. It feels like they had 2-3 great songs worth of material they were thrilled with, but then had to quickly come up with more to fill a full album. Hence the distinct drop in memorability after the second track. Also hence the pointless live recording tacked onto the end to meet minimum runtime. "And the World Returned" is an evocative acoustic intermission, but you get the feeling that it too was thrown in to fill space. Of the back three tracks, "Forever Blind" is the one most worth coming back to - but it doesn't hold a candle to "The Swarm" or the title track. There's a skeleton of an amazing song there, but it feels half-baked. Which summarizes my overall stance on the album. This could've been a stunning all-time classic if At the Gates had taken the time to really hone those songs more - and develop a few more actual new songs.

It's disappointing because the sound they play here sits so perfectly between that of the early albums and Slaughter of the Soul. I love both styles, but they are pretty different. Terminal Spirit Disease is a delightful blend of the two...if only there was more fully-baked material here for me to really sink my teeth into. Oh well, at least Terminal Spirit Disease gave us two immaculate compositions, which is more than most albums can claim.