✦✦✧✧ The good news: Jonas Björler’s songwriting is interesting and ambitious without losing the main thread of their ethos. Coupled with their customary crisp production, this album sounds like ATG has been listening to a lot of Opeth lately.

The bad news: what is up with Tomas Lindberg’s vocals? Also, this album is maybe 5 or 10 minutes too long.

✦✦✦✧ The ancient kings of Gothenburg are back, sounding as polished, virtuosic, and driving as ever. And yet, there’s not a lot hear we haven’t heard before. Even as the band nudges their formula here and there, the result is evocative of other melodeath staples (and more often than not, it’s evocative of other bands in post-heyday form; I’m looking at you, The Haunted and In Flames).

★★★★ Is this another shameless reunion grab? Perhaps. But this latest helping of that sweet, sweet Gothenburg melodeath is certainly satisfying and it goes down so smooth. At times, it’s reminiscent of Opeth, of The Haunted, of a few bands that have come and gone since the last time At The Gates put out an album.