Metal Essentials: At The Gates 'The Flames of the End' DVD Box Set

The entirety of this past weekend was filled with Unsound moments, but before the mayhem began on Friday evening I attended a screening for what will be part of the forthcoming At The Gates box set. The first disc is comprised of 'Under a Serpent Sun: The Story of At the Gates,' which was filmed and directed by founding member Anders Björler, who was in attendance that afternoon. With a band lifespan that only existed from 1990 to 1996, the documentary was rich with information of the growth of metal in and around Gothenburg in the late 80s. Dropping names like Grotesque (which would later evolve into At the Gates) and Dark Tranquility, members of the band talked about Cascade fanzine and the bus route surrounding Billdal that united all of these factors and formed their underground community.



A great deal of attention is given to Alf Svensson, who left the band in 1993 to open his own tattoo shop. He went on to form Oxiplegatz, which is a music project I'm now in the process of hunting down. There was also mention, towards the end, of twin brothers Anders and Jonas Björler's involvement with The Haunted, which is definitely one of the best bands to come out of the Swedish metal scene. Overall, the screening was just a taste of the box set's entirety, and it looks to be an impressive collector's item for any fan. Though Anders lived through the entire experience, making a documentary years after his band's existence is no small feat and it was well executed because of its constant flow of history and portrayals of each member's down to earth personalities.

From Noisecreep: "The set will be limited to just 300 copies, and will include the forthcoming three-DVD set, 'The Flames of the End,' which boasts a new two-hour documentary and a live DVD of At the Gates' iconic performance at the Wacken Open Air festival in 2008. The set will also feature a collection of rare and archive footage of the band playing around the world from 1991 to 2008."

Definitely worth pre-ordering, which you can do here.