Legendary Gothenburg melodic death metallers AT THE GATES have released the cover art for their forthcoming comeback album, At War With Reality. The artwork was designed by Costin Chioreanu (twilight13media.com). Chioreanu, who has previously also worked with bands such as Arch Enemy, Morgoth and Darthrone, gave the strong lyrical theme of At War With Reality an outstanding conceptual togetherness with the visuals he crafted for this project.
Vocalist and lyricist Tomas Lindberg checked in with the following comment, explaining the album’s theme: “The concept of At War with Reality is based on the literary genre called ‘Magic Realism’. The main style within this genre is the notion that ‘reality’ is ever-changing, and needs to be constantly re-discovered and re-conquered. We felt that Costin’s artwork style would be the perfect visual contribution to this album, so he became the natural choice…”
And AT THE GATES guitarist and main songwriter Anders Björler further explained: “I got in touch with Costin a few years back. I was immediately impressed with his dark and original style. He collaborated on some T-shirt designs for AT THE GATES as well as designing the album artwork for my Instrumental Project. We realized pretty early on that his style would accompany the music and the concept perfectly.”
Additionally, Costin Chioreanu checked in with the following words: “I have been waiting for this album for almost 20 years and it’s the biggest honor for me to illustrate it – As there is no greater achievement for a dreamer than the moment when the dream becomes reality. At War With Reality is by far the most complex visual story I have ever created, from all points of view. From the very first moment the band presented the concept, I found it extremely stunning and at the same time super-challenging. I like to think that visual art and music are tools to explore our minds – to create, to discover and to push the limits. AT THE GATES one of my all-time favorite Metal bands, offered me a chance to explore a new dimension.”
Some of the songs included on At War With Reality are: “Death And The Labyrinth”, “The Circular Ruins”, “The Conspiracy Of The Blind”, “Order From Chaos”, “Eater Of Gods” and “Upon Pillars Of Dust”.
