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
View a picture of the DVD set at http://earacherecords.com/myspace/TheFl ... EndDVD.jpg
For more AT THE GATES news and info, head to http://www.myspace.com/atthegatesband
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