Terminal Spirit Disease is the third album by Swedish melodic death metal band At the Gates. It was released in 1994 (see 1994 in music) and re-released in 2003 with bonus tracks. It is the first album with rhythm guitarist Martin Larsson, who replaced Alf Svensson in 1993. The band originally wanted to record an EP of new material, but their label insisted on a full-length album. To compromise, the band added several live tracks to pad the overall length.
Guitarist Anders Björler commented that he couldn't "remember much" from the recording sessions for Terminal Spirit Disease.[1] When compared to At the Gates' older material, Björler felt the tracks "were simpler and more to the point".[1] A violin and cello are featured on the song "And the World Returned", cited as an example of the group's attempt to explore "ideas which were a little different".[1]
Reviews for Terminal Spirit Disease have been mostly positive. AllMusic's Eduardo Rivadavia awarded the album four out of five stars, and claimed that, with this album, "At the Gates raised their creative stakes beyond most everyone's original expectations, and proved that what had once been a pretty standard and uninventive death metal combo was slowly becoming a true contender in the scene."[2] In a retrospective review, Richard Street-Jammer of Invisible Oranges called the album "the last record before they became legends" and "a fetish for crummy metalcore."[8]
The album was inducted into Decibel's "Hall of Fame" in March 2023.[9]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Tomas Lindberg, Anders Björler and Jonas Björler, except for where noted.
No.
Title
Length
1.
"The Swarm"
3:28
2.
"Terminal Spirit Disease"
3:38
3.
"And the World Returned" (Anders Björler)
3:06
4.
"Forever Blind"
3:58
5.
"The Fevered Circle" (Lindberg, Anders Björler, Martin Larsson, Alf Svensson)
4:11
6.
"The Beautiful Wound"
3:52
7.
"All Life Ends" (At the Gates, Svensson) (Live)
5:16
8.
"The Burning Darkness" (Lindberg, Anders Björler, Svensson) (Live)
2:15
9.
"Kingdom Gone" (Lindberg, Anders Björler) (Live)
5:02
Total length:
34:46
The digipak reissue released in 2003 includes three additional live tracks from the 1993 live-in-studio session for MTV Europe:
Dick, Chris (April 2023). "Die to Be Set Free: The Making of At the Gates' Terminal Spirit Disease". Decibel. No.222. Red Flag Media, Inc. pp.42–44, 46, 48, 50, 52.
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