Bought it when it first came out. I remember playing it at least three or four times in a row and thinking it was perfection. There was nothing like it at the time. It seemed like a perfect blend between Reign In Blood for the intensity and Heartwork for the technicality and the melodic approach. The production was seamless yet very unique too. It's like it came out of nowhere.
I also bought this the week it was released. I was 17. I thought it was incredible. I like what you say about it being a mix of Reign in Blood and Heartwork. It definitely sounded similar to heartwork to me but definitely different too and very unique. I loved it and played it almost every day as I went to and from school. My best albums of the couple of years surrounding that time were Draconian Times, Heartwork, Divine Intervention, The Gallery, The Angel and the Dark River, The Silent Enigma, Blood on Ice, Storm of Light's Bane, Disco Volante, Tales From the Thousand Lakes, and Mandylion. If it wasn't for metal, the 90s would have been as angst-ridden and bland as grunge bands made life out to be!
I used to work in a used CD shop in the late 90s and remember seeing a copy of this album come in on trade one day. I gave it a quick spin through the intros of a few tracks, thought it sounded interesting so I bought it and stuck it behind the counter. It wasn’t until later that evening driving home that I realized just how incredible the album was - it didn’t leave my car’s CD player for weeks! Been a fan ever since 🤘
I walked into a subway sandwich shop while the cashier was cleaning, he was blasting slaughter of the soul so loud any other customer would be like " wtf".... but as soon as he turned around with a shock look someone was standing there , that " go!" part came on , and I just sang it while looking back at him. He looked relieved.
Around this time Fredrick Nordstrom also helped two members of At the Gates record a side project called Skitsystem. The first 7 inch named Profithysteri is total banger. As well as the rest of their releases. Any ATG fan should definitely check it out.
I saw them preform "Slaughter Of The Soul" straight through at the "Tattoo The Earth" Festival in Worcester, Mass!! It was a 90 degree day and they were all melting. It was AWESOME!! 🤘🤘🤘🤘
The first time I listened to "Blinded By Fear" with a friend o´ mine he thought it was Slayer. This band had too much balls at the time. I liked "At War With Reality" a lot, too.
I know I'm in the minority but I think Slaughter of the Soul is overrated, At The Gates is a great Melodic Death Metal band but not the best "Gothenburg" Death Metal band. Dark Tranquillity's The Gallery and In Flames The Jester Race blows Slaughter of the Soul out of the water by a longshot and doesn't deserve to be part of that Gothenburg Trinity.
This is wild take. I love the Gallery and The Jester Race but SotS is more intense, evil and cohesive both songwriting and production wise. The Gallery and Jester Race are maybe a bit more complex, epic and varied but overall they are all roughly equal. At the Gates style of riffing was also ripped of more throughout the years so they are arguably at least as influential as the other two. I think it's cool that all three bands while being similar still have a distinct style. At the Gates - Dark, angry as hell, intense yet melodic, more death metalish, In Flames - Epic, melodic, dark medieval fantasy vibes, Dark Tranquility - melancholic melodies, prog-ish.
