Return Of The Gatekeepers

The year 2008 was a brilliant time for us,” At The Gates' gentlemanly and immediately likeable frontman Tomas “Tompa” Lindberg laughs when asked about their continued activity. “The timing was… We were a bit naïve. 'We're going to do all this in one summer and it'll be great'. But then we noticed that a lot more people wanted to see us. In 2008 The Haunted and Disfear (Lindberg's D-beat project) both released new records and there wasn't much time. So we had to continue for a bit longer. But now we've learned we're never going to say never. Suddenly something pops up, an offer that's really good; 'oh man, we have to go there, it'll be amazing'.”

Both interviews conducted at the time and also The Flames Of The End – the 2010 DVD documenting the reconvened Swedish metal trailblazers' reunion tour from two years earlier – indicated the reformation was almost certainly a one-off. However, the summer spark was reignited, the band discovering more territories they were yet to visit. They're still touring sporadically, including scheduling their inaugural Australian trek.

The Gothenburg band, formed in 1990, made three stellar albums (The Red Sky Is Ours, With Fear I Kiss The Burning Darkness and the criminally undervalued Terminal Spirit Disease) before redefining what a melodic death outfit could be via 1995 swansong Slaughter Of The Soul. A stunning balance of irresistible hooks, twin guitar interplay and aggression, it helped lay down the modern metal blueprint for everyone from Killswitch Engage to Amon Amarth to follow.

Fans will thus be delighted at Lindberg's revelations about the shows Down Under. “They can expect the band like we were when we disbanded in '96. That's the same stuff as we're playing now, but it's up to 2012 At The Gates' standard musically. We have a long set, ranging from possibly the whole Slaughter… record and then songs from each other release. We decided we're not going to do like a best of, greatest hits kind of set. We are going to continue from where we left off in '96, that's what we've done from 2008 and forwards. So we're going to play the same set list we played on our headline shows then.”

However, as much as a Slaughter… focused set will have Australian fans salivating, the band's ongoing viability has had at least one staunch critic. After At The Gates' disbandment, founding members and twin brothers Anders (guitar) and Jonas Björler (bass) formed aforementioned metallers The Haunted. Their frontman, the always outspoken Peter Dolving, departed earlier this year and posted a scathing blog about the siblings. He cited their alleged greed in continuing the reunion, drug use and an inability to communicate as reasons for dissolving that incarnation of The Haunted.

When asked about this, Lindberg remains tight-lipped, but polite to a fault. “I don't want to comment on anything Peter Dolving said,” he slightly chuckles. “I think people will realise what is what. We are here for a reason, we are here for our fans, and I think everyone knows that.” Has it affected morale within the At The Gates ranks? “No. Of course everybody was… The whole of Sweden was kind of upset after the accusations. Not only us – a lot of people were accused of a lot of different stuff there. For a week or so, we were like, 'what is going on here?' Then everybody collectively decided to just leave it behind.”

Fair enough, it would seem. Besides, given the response to recent live performances it's difficult to deny At The Gates the victory lap they never had the first time around; their immeasurable impact not felt for at least half a decade after splitting. While remarkably humble about their achievements, Lindberg is fiercely protective of their legacy. “I know that people have a lot of feelings for the band. We want to be very honest to our fans all the time. I'm a fan of metal music, more than I'm a metal musician actually. That's how I see it, and I have a lot of favourite bands that I don't want to detract from what I think they are. That's why it's very important to do the same with At The Gates. That's why we could play live ten more years and that would not detract from the records we put out or who we were live in '96.

“We plan what we do, we plan it well. But at the same time it has to have the same feeling as it always had. Without the heart, the head is nothing. I remember this being asked in a death metal fanzine very early in our career and it caused a little bit of a stir in the Swedish death metal underground. Adrian (Erlandsson, drums) got asked what the main influence of At The Gates is and he said love. Which was funny, because it was like, 'you can't say that, you're a death metal band',” he laughs. “But that's it; love and passion for what you do, that's what he meant.”

Although a covers EP has been touted, they're in no rush to return to the studio. “The thing is, before we said that there's never going to be another At The Gates' record, that was at the time we said there was not going to be any more shows after 2008. We haven't even talked about it, but I've learned never say never,” he laughs. “But there are no plans now; we have not talked about doing a record. That album [Slaughter…] was actually a little bit of a statement, which makes it harder to just… We can't just go in and write another album, record it and that's it. If we make another album it needs to be a statement as well. We need to make a statement for something, about something and really have that drive. Right now, it would be great to record another album because it would be fantastic to work together – we would have great fun. But I think at this date, we need to have something more… Find something to be that vocal about to make a statement.”

Whatever the band does, it's based around the vocalist's schedule as a school teacher. At the time of taking the call, he's at work, occasionally asking us to hang on while he briefly tends to a student. The question is posed whether his students are aware that he fronts a pioneering death metal band.

“I play in several bands, actually, that have come to terms with playing shows only on holidays,” he laughs. “Coming up soon, the kids have a week off and that's when we come to Australia. I teach middle school in what you would call more of a projects kind of suburb, so these kids, they're pretty young, they listen more to R&B and hip hop, not death metal. They think it's cool, but I try to not focus so much upon it, because suddenly you're the cool teacher and it's… yeah,” he laughs again.

At The Gates will be playing the following shows: