Swedish melodic death metal pioneers AT THE GATES have set "To Drink From The Night Itself" as the title of their just-completed new studio album, due on May 18 via Century Media Records. The follow-up to 2014's acclaimed comeback effort "At War With Reality" was recorded with producer Russ Russell (NAPALM DEATH, THE HAUNTED, DIMMU BORGIR) at Parlour Studios in the UK.

Commented AT THE GATES vocalist Tomas Lindberg: "We have wrapped up the recordings of the new record, and we are super psyched! It has been a smooth process, and very creatively fulfilling. All people that we have worked with on this project have stepped up to our vision of the final product, and we are very excited about the result.

"As you might have seen, we have worked with Russ Russell on this one, and he is really a master of getting the most intense takes out of us, and also has an ear for the rawness that we were after for this one. The vocals were recorded with Per Stalberg here in Gothenburg, and he always makes me deliver to a 100 percent. Right now we are getting the mastering done, and every new song that is bounced to us produces huge grins on our faces. This album sounds hungry and mean.

"The title of our new record will be 'To Drink From The Night Itself' and it is again a conceptual record. More details about the concept will be revealed once the album is more on its way. But it connects with the deep roots of the band, and has connections with some of the themes on 'The Red In The Sky Is Ours'."

Lindberg recently spoke to Decibel magazine about how the departure of longtime AT THE GATES guitarist and primary songwriter Anders Bjorler has affected the band's sound. "It is true that there is a big shift in the lineup," he said. "What you have to take into consideration is that Jonas Bjorler [bass] wrote 40 percent of both 'Slaughter Of The Soul' and 'At War With Reality'. Some people seem to forget this. They just assume that the lead guitarist is the sole songwriter. Jonas had to take a lot more responsibility this time around, but me and him have had a really great and creative time writing this album. There is a slight change of direction, maybe, but AT THE GATES fans shouldn't be worried — it is still an AT THE GATES record. If anything, it is heavier and more death metal than the last one."

Lindberg said that new AT THE GATES guitarist Jonas Stalhammar came into the band too late to be involved in the composing process for the new disc. "This one is basically Jonas [Bjorler] and me when it comes to the writing. All the guys have contributed in some way, but the main writing comes from Jonas and me. Most of the songs were already in the finishing stages when Jonas Stalhammar joined, so there wasn't much time for him to contribute, but we look forward to having him more involved next time around. Saying that, his solos will, of course, be written by himself."

AT THE GATES 2018 is (left to right in photo):

Adrian Erlandsson - Drums
Jonas Bjorler - Bass
Tomas Lindberg - Vocals
Jonas Stalhammar - Guitar
Martin Larsson - Guitar

---