At the Gates have reunited with founding guitarist Anders Björler, who previously departed the group In 2017. The lead axman was part of the band when they reunited for shows in the late 2000s, and again when they released their widely-acclaimed 2014 record, At War With Reality, culminating in what many metalheads believe to be one of the greatest comebacks in metal history.
However, Björler stepped away from the group prior to the recording of At the Gates' 2018 album, To Drink From the Night Itself, and was also absent on 2021's The Nightmare of Being. Now, not only is the guitarist back, reconstructing the lineup that produced their iconic run of albums in the Nineties, but they've also confirmed that they're hard at work on writing a new LP.
"It is with great pleasure we welcome Anders Björler, one of the founding members, back into the band," vocalist Tomas Lindberg Redant said in a statement. "We are excited to tell you that we are already starting the work on the follow up to the Nightmare of Being, with the same line up that wrote Terminal Spirit Disease, Slaughter of the Soul and At War with Reality.
"Anders' first show back in the band will be Damnation Fest in the UK, and he will join us on the European tour together with In Flames later this year. Great times! It really feels like a second rebirth of the band, and we are looking forward to this new chapter!"
"It feels like coming home for sure," Björler added. "I have been missing the guys of course, but also playing the guitar, writing music and the artistic creativity in general. I've been watching from the sidelines for a number of years, and I've been very proud of what they have created in my absence. I am really looking forward to writing a new album and getting back to playing live shows again."
Check out At the Gates' European tour dates here.
