After the initial wave of death metal, a more melodic version of the genre became popular in the 1990s. Three bands credited for popularizing that so-called "Gothenburg sound" of melodic death metal were At The Gates, Dark Tranquillity and In Flames. Which of those bands is the best, and why? That's the topic of this week's Metal Debate.
At The Gates fans say:
Even though they were only around for a few years, their catalog is the strongest. Slaughter Of The Soul is the definitive melodic death metal album, and paved the way. Tomas Lindberg is a great vocalist, and the whole band's musicianship is superior. At The Gates is clearly the best of these three bands.
Dark Tranquillity fans say:
They haven't had the cult popularity of At The Gates or the commercial success of In Flames, but Dark Tranquillity has had the most consistent career. Their albums are always top-notch, and because they don't have drastic ups and downs, are very underrated. Their songwriting is the strongest, and Dark Tranquillity is the best of these three bands.
In Flames fans say:
In Flames is by far the most successful of these three bands. They sell more albums and draw more people to concerts. Many more of their albums are considered classics in the genre (The Jester Race, Colony, etc.), and Anders Friden is an outstanding frontman. That's why In Flames should be considered the best of these three bands.
Cast your vote in the poll, and make sure to comment with the reasons for your vote.
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Comments
Dark Tranqulility
In Flames is the only one of the 3 that sold out, and they haven’t put out a good album in years. ATG would win if it was ‘what is the greatest album of the Gothenberg trio’ but one album doesn’t rank you ahead of bands that have dozens.
DT has never had a bad record, have never tried to sell out, and are amazing and high energy live even after all these years. The one knock on them is that their last several albums haven’t seen huge changes in sound from album to album, but I’d prefer that over what IF has done, and any fan knows that they do add new wrinkles.