Swedish melodic death metal pioneers AT THE GATES are set to release THE FLAMES
OF THE END, a brand new 3-disc DVD set, through Earache Records.
AT THE
GATES released their definitive album, SLAUGHTER OF THE SOUL - often regarded as
one of the all-time greatest metal albums - on Earache in 1995, before touring
the world and abruptly disbanding. Members of the band went on to play major
roles in other notorious metal acts such as THE HAUNTED and CRADLE OF FILTH,
before reforming for a one-off tour in 2008 to rapturous response.
Now,
to celebrate AT THE GATES' massively influential career and historical reunion
tour, the band will be releasing THE FLAMES OF THE END, an extensive, in-depth
and definitive 3-disc DVD set on February 22nd, 2010.
Housed in a deluxe
six-panel DVD digipak with a 40-page colour booklet, THE FLAMES OF THE END will
include three indispensable DVDs:
Disc 1 'Under A Serpent Sun - The Story
of At The Gates' - a brand new documentary with a running time of over 2 hours,
detailing the band's entire career with exclusive interviews and footage, filmed
and directed by guitarist Anders Bjorler.
Disc 2 'Purgatory Unleashed -
Live at Wacken' - a 75-minute live set from the band's reunion set at the Wacken
festival in 2008 in front of 100,000 people.
Disc 3 'Only the Dead Are
Smiling' - 26 rare and archive live performances of the band playing in
locations around the globe from 1991 - 2008.
AT THE GATES guitarist
ANDERS BJORLER comments:
"It's now almost two-and-a-half years after the
first telephone call to the guys regarding the reunion plans for 2008. Looking
back at it today, I am very pleased and happy we pulled it off in the short
amount of time and clearing all the planning hurdles with our other bands; The
Haunted, Disfear, Brujeria, Nemhain, Slakattack etc.
"I started preparing
for the documentary 'Under A Serpent Sun' already in 2007. I got myself a new
camera, 'cause the old one gave up on me. The downside to my filming plans was
actually reliving all the feelings associated with At the Gates. I didn't want
to miss anything. I talked to fans, journalists, and everybody was just
overwhelmed by the whole thing. All of us basically took the time to experience
this tour to the fullest extent. We appreciated every second of it, because we
knew that in a few months it would all be over. All the troubles of the past
were washed away. We were basically enjoying touring again.
"After the
reunion tour, I sat down and had a look at all the material we had collected.
We had a bunch of stuff filmed from pretty much everywhere we played. The
quality was very diverse, but at the same time intriguing, and it gave me the
inspiration to continue on the documentary. I had made some interviews
beforehand with Tomas, and continued tracking down people with knowledge of the
past - Alf, Jesper Jarold from At the Gates, and a bunch of people from other
bands at the time. We hunted down a few hundred old pictures, old crappy VHS
and HI-8 recordings from the rehearsal room, live shows, on the road footage
etc... ending up with a 130-minute documentary. I want to express gratitude to
the people helping us out with old material: photos, videos, stories etc... It
wouldn't have been possible without your help!
"The Wacken show was
planned ahead as being the #1 show on the upcoming DVD. It captured us at our
finest moment, just after the US tour, and it's definitely one of our finest
moments. We were blown away of the fact that we actually played for 60,000
people.
"So, enjoy 'The Flames of the End' DVD box set. We have really
put our hearts into this release, and it's a fine last document of the
band."
Watch the video trailer for THE FLAMES OF THE END at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fa6PeVuSmIView
a picture of the DVD set at
http://earacherecords.com/myspace/TheFlamesOfTheEndDVD.jpgFor
more AT THE GATES news and info, head to
http://www.myspace.com/atthegatesbandUK
AND EUROPEAN PRESS MANAGER - TALITA
talita@earache.com
London office
phone: +44(0)207 240 5002
USA PRESS MANAGER -
ANTHONY
usapr@earache.com
NYC office phone: +1(718)786 1707