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The Nightmare of Being
Metal · 2021 · 10 tracks · 45m

The Nightmare of Being

At the Gates

A cinematic expansion of melodic death metal. Orchestral strings, jazz saxophones, and existential dread collide with the band's signature sharp riffing.

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It's the Gothenburg sound you love, but it went to grad school and started listening to free jazz.

A sophisticated, cinematic descent into existential dread and philosophical inquiry.

The Nightmare of Being · vs · At the Gates
Midnight+2.1σ

Midnight saturates this record far more than the artist's norm.

Tracklist · 10 Tracks · 45m
01
Spectre of Extinction
4:49
02
The Paradox
4:43
03
The Nightmare of Being
3:49
04
Garden of Cyrus
4:25
05
Touched by the White Hands of Death
4:07
06
The Fall Into Time
6:45
07
Cult of Salvation
4:24
08
The Abstract Enthroned
4:26
09
Cosmic Pessimism
4:31
10
Eternal Winter of Reason
3:38
Moments Worth Waiting For
The jarring but brilliant transition into a noir-ish saxophone solo during Garden of Cyrus.
The cinematic, orchestral swell that opens The Fall Into Time before the blast beats arrive.
The spoken word delivery on Cosmic Pessimism that feels like a lecture from the end of the world.
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