Here we go! Part SIX of my Favorite Albums Series!

I’m just gonna start diving into each album from here on out!

This time – I’m sharing three more of my fav albums!

At the Gates – Slaughter of the Soul – 1995

A bittersweet anniversary for At the Gates iconic 1995 album, ‘Slaughter of the Soul’ turns 30, and sadly, their singer, Tomas Lindberg passed away only a few months ago.

I was a late listener to At the Gates, having discovered them through the band that launched following their original break up, The Haunted. After listening – and loving – a bunch of The Haunted albums (their album rEVOLVEr almost made my list of all-time favs FYI), we were at a concert and a band, which I can’t remember, played a cover of ‘Slaughter of the Soul’ and I was blown away. And then I was kicking myself for not making the effort to listen to them. This album is seminal, timeless, classic, but also so vibrant and fresh, even to this day. Adrian Erlandsson’s drumming is machine-like, but also so fluid and dynamic. The guitars crunch, the bass throbs and all of it is topped off by Lindberg’s insanely textured growls.

An album that sits alone on top of the mountain of classic masterpieces, this one influenced almost every single New Wave of American Metal that came after it, as well as launched the Gothenburg sound and all the Swedish bands that started because of this album.

Key tracks – ‘Blinded by Fear,’ ‘Slaughter of the Soul,’ & ‘Under a Serpent Sun.’

Live – YES! In 2007, At the Gates reunited, and in 2008 they toured across the US. My wife and I managed to get tickets to see them in Seattle at El Corazon. A club that holds around 800 people, it was STUFFED, but JFC what a concert.

Lamb of God – Ashes of the Wake – 2004

Though I was a fan of their previous album, ‘As the Palaces Burn,’ 2004’s ‘Ashes of the Wake’ was a revelation in melodic heaviness. The first time I heard ‘Now You’ve Got Something to Die For’ melted my brain and the drumming, guitar leads and face-ripped-off vocals of Blythe throughout this album cemented it firmly in my brain as an all-time fav years ago.

Lyrically, most of the songs tackle heavy themes such as war, government brutality and inter-band relationship/stress, but the beauty is that every tune will have you banging your head and singing alone. Of all of LoG’s releases, I’d say this is perhaps their heaviest but also their most accessible album. Taking a page from Pantera’s groove-metal approach with this one, a few spots are slowed to allow the songs to breathe a bit more, versus on previous albums, it was all fast and faster.

Key tracks – ‘Laid to Rest,’ ‘Hourglass,’ & ‘Blood of the Scribe.’

Live – Oh yeah! I think eight times? I even worked security for them once at a signing/meet and greet at Scrape Records back in the day, before we went to their concert later that evening! Every single time, they destroyed!

Septicflesh – Communion – 2008

Back when we lived near Vancouver, BC and my wife and I would attend anywhere from 2 to 10 concerts a month – if not more – we’d always make an effort to check out the opening bands music before we went to a show, if we’d never heard them before. So, when Cradle of Filth announced a headlining tour with Satyricon, and a stop at the Commodore Ballroom, we grabbed tickets. There were two openers – The 69 Eyes, who I’d already heard and didn’t really care too much for, and Septicflesh. I’d never heard Septicflesh at that time. They’d broken up in 2003, but reunited for a new album and a tour. The first time I listened to that reunion album, ‘Communion,’ I became a fan. It was jagged, mind-melting and rhythmic in places where it had no right to be rhythmic. I actually reached out to the band through social media and their drummer at the time, Fotis replied, and we messaged back and forth up until the show. We met at the show, suddenly lifelong friends, even if his English was limited and my Greek non-existent.

‘Communion’ delivers on every level. From a theme of ‘humans connecting to non-human entities’ to the mythology elements from around the world showcased and to the next level instrumentation on display, this album is monumental. They’ve continued putting out phenomenal albums – their most recent album ‘Modern Primitive’ fantastic – but throughout, the influence of returning with ‘Communion’ is always present. A true Symphonic-Death Metal band, the use of two vocalists heightens areas where you’d never think a song could turn sinister. But Septicflesh finds a way to do that.

Fotis left the group in 2014, but we’ve stayed in sporadic touch, most recently messaging after the sad passing of Ozzy.

This album is such a personal favorite of mine, I have the album cover tattooed on my arm.

Key tracks – ‘Lovecraft’s Death,’ ‘We the Gods,’ & ‘Sangreal.’

Live – see above, lol! But yes! Multiple times. My friendship with Fotis even got me added to their guest list for tickets, so for three or four years in a row, I saw them play at least once, sometimes twice and at one show, I even ran their merch table prior to their set, as their roadie (who also handled their merch table) had to do some last minute guitar tech work before they hit the stage!