At The Gates - “Death And The Labyrinth” (Official Video)

A majority percentage of my 2014 has been spent either anticipating or appreciating the new At The Gates album, At War With Reality, so it’s hard for me to have any perspective on the fact that the album is actually coming out next week. This is a big fucking deal! It’s been NINETEEN YEARS since their last album, Slaughter Of The Soul, one of the best metal records of all time, IMO. And as far as I’m concerned, At War With Reality is on a comparable plane. Last month, the band dropped the new album’s title track/first single, and today, we get a second single, this time with a video. “Death And The Labyrinth” is At War With Reality’s opening song (it’s preceded by a spoken-word intro), and it wastes no time getting to the fury. Two caveats: This video is really lame, and I actually think the rest of the album is better than the two singles the band has chosen to release. Still, the two singles are a totally adequate preview of the LP, and they provide evidence, at least, of this fact: At War With Reality does nothing to tarnish the legacy of At The Gates; if anything, it takes that legacy to another, higher level.