Following their reformation, At The Gates could have built a solid second career just rehashing 1995’s Slaughter Of The Soul, and initially it looked like they might just do that, but in 2021 they are going other places. This does not mean there is a lack of melodic death metal as we know it, and after a pretty acoustic intro opener, Spectre Of Extinction explodes to life in the catchiest of deathness, but there are a lot more flavours being explored here. Most notable are the progressive elements that crop up across the album, and lavish orchestrations expand the dramatic scope, all of this well-executed and inarguably the work of confident men. Apparently inspired by vocalist Tomas Lindberg’s deeper, more philosophical lyrics that in turn were inspired by writer ...