At The Gates Family Tree

This is a project aimed at making it easy to see who inspired the bands you love or even hate. For this I try not to use any influences that the band don’t claim themselves. There will be a focus on predecessors but successors will be added as they site the band. These trees become more and more interactive as new bands are added, allowing you to click any band that has a tree and jump to it.

We want our lists to be better. If you know something that belongs on this list, let us know. When in doubt we will leave it out, so we need reliable sources.

At The Gates are pioneers of melodic death metal and a very important band. The core of the band has been with vocalist Tomas Lindberg, drummer Adrian Erlandsson, and bassist, and bassist Jonas Björler. Until more recently Jonas’s twin brother Anders Björler was on guitar, but his role was filled by Jonas Stålhammar starting in 2017. Alf Svensson was on the second guitar for the first two albums and since then that role has been filled by Martin Larsson. Larrson and Stålhammar have not written in the band, and Adrian has only co written one song. This list will focus on the influences of the other members.

David Bowie is a super influential and popular art rock singer out of the 60’s. Tomas named him as his favorite singer.

King Crimson are an important progressive rock band. Tomas named them as an influence. Andres is also a fan.

The Stooges are considered a important proto-punk band. Tomas is a big fan.

Allan Holdsworth

Allan Holdsworth is an influential jazz guitarist. Anders is a fan.

Thin Lizzy are a very influential hard rock band. Tomas named them as an influence

Neu! were a German band formed by members of Kraftwerk. Tomas named them as an influence.

Judas Priest is among the most important heavy metal bands. Tomas is a big fan of their earlier stuff. Jonas said Screaming for Vengeance is one of the albums that got him into metal. Adrian also named them as an influence.

Goblin is a progressive rock band known for their movie sound tracks. Tomas named them as an influence, particularly the Suspiria and also said that Jonas is a fan of Roller.

Cabaret Voltaire were a post punk / electronic band. Tomas is a fan.

Yngwie Malmsteen is one of the most influential guitar players with his neo-classical style. Anders named him as his biggest influence.

Joy Division were a post punk gothic band. Tomas named them as an early influence.

Accept are German heavy metal legends. Anders said they were his favorite band at one time. Jonas is also a fan.

Discharge was an influential hardcore band. Tomas named them as an influence. Alf is also a fan.

Iron Maiden has been one of the most influential bands in metal. Jonas said Number of the Beast is one of the albums that got him into metal and named Steve Harris as a huge influence for him.

Black Flag are an important hardcore punk band. Tomas said he is a big fan.

Venom are the fathers of extreme metal. Tomas named them as one of the bands that made him a vocalist. Jonas is a fan.

Rudimentary Peni were a anarcho-punk band. Tomas named them as an influence.

Metallica are the fathers of thrash. Tomas named them as an influence and particularly said Master of Puppets was huge for him when it came out and named them as one of the bands that turned him into a vocalist. Anders named them as an influence. Alf said he learned to play guitar by playing Metallica. Martin also named them as an influence, saying he learned to play along to their first three albums. Jonas is also a fan.

Napalm Death are pioneers of grindcore. Alf said he is a fan of Harmony Corruption.

Slayer are hugely influential and one of the big four of thrash, the most aggressive sounding of them. Tomas named them as one of the bands that turned him into a vocalist, and Anders named them as an influence as well. Jonas is also a fan. Adrian named them as an influence.

Dark Angel have never been a very mainstream band but has been influential to more extreme bands. Tomas named them as one of the bands that turned him into a vocalist. Adrian also named them as an influence.

Warlock were a German heavy metal band with singer Doro Pesch. Jonas named being into them.

Sonic Youth were a post punk, noise rock, alt rock band. Tomas named them as an influence and said he probably listened to Sister more than any other album.

Swans are an experimental rock band. Tomas named them as his favorite band.

Voivod are a technical thrash band. Tomas named them as one of the bands that turned him into a vocalist.

Celtic Frost are an important part of the extreme metal evolution. Tomas named them as one of the bands that turned him into a vocalist.

Stormwitch are a German heavy metal band. Jonas said he was into them.

Possessed are the transition between Thrash and Death metal. Tomas named them as one of the bands that turned him into a vocalist.

Repulsion are a death metal and early grindcore band. Tomas is a fan.

Death are pioneers of death metal and considered the fathers by many. Anders named them as an influence.

Necrophagia are among the earliest death metal bands. Tomas named them as a band he was into.

Insanity are a death/thrash band. Tomas was into them early on.

Warrant were a heavy/speed metal band from Germany. Jonas said he was into them.

Morbid Angel are an important and influential death metal band. Tomas and Anders named them as an influence.

Vomit were an underground Death metal band from Norway. They were one of the early death metal bands Tomas was into.

Bolt Thrower are UK death metal masters. Alf is a big fan. One particular At The Gates song came from Tomas asking Anders to play a Bolt Thrower style riff.

Macabre blended thrash, death, and grind. Alf is a fan.

Autopsy are an influential death metal band. Tomas is a fan. Anders named them as an influence.

Terrorizer were a death / grindcore band. Tomas named them as on of the early death metal bands he was into.

Incubus are a death/thrash band (now Opprobrium). Alf said he was a fan of Beyond the Unknown.

Deicide are a prominent death metal band known for their over the top anti-Christianity. Alf said he is a fan of their first album.

Tomas is fan of German prog bands like Can, Tangerine Dream, and Neu!. He also an occasional fan of jazz. He said the first stuff he was listening to as a kid was rock ‘n’ roll from Chuck Berry, Bill Haley and Elvis Presley. Around 10 he got into a broader array of music from his sister’s boyfriend’s collection with bands like MC5, the Stooges, Thin Lizzy, Blue Öyster Cult, Dead Boys, The Cramps, Ramones, Black Sabbath, Wishbone Ash, and Deep Purple.

Anders said that Alf brought influences from Swedish folk, classical and opera, mainly Russian composers. In a 1997 interview Alf said he mostly listened to “opera, medieval music, and music from the early part of this century, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and all their Swedish likes”

When asked about his solo album, Anders said it would reflect influences from “Italian soundtrack music like Goblin, Bruno Nicolai, Fabio Frizzi, Walter Rizzati, etc., mixed with influences from progressive UK bands (King Crimson, Camel, UK, Alan Holdsworth), Post Rock (Explosions In The Sky, MONO), ambient (Harold Budd, Brian Eno) and Jazz/Swedish Folk Music (Jan Johansson, Esbjorn Svenssons Trio, Lars Gullin, etc.).”

Martin has been on guitar since 1993 but has only written for a couple songs. Metallica is the only influence I’ve seen him name.

Jonas has said he is influenced by 70’s progressive rock, but didn’t name specific bands. He said his first concert was Motley Crue and then got into heavier stuff. He also said that he had a music teacher in school and they use to jam AC/DC. Before getting into Thrash he was big in British and German Metal.

Adrian has only co-written one song that was on the first album. Besides bands named above, he also named influences as Exodus, Forbidden, and Saxon.

Bands influenced by At The Gates!

As this project advances, bands will be added here… there are many!

Popular metal-core

Modern Death metal

Metal-core

Dark Tranquility Family Tree

Metal Family Tree

This is a project aimed at making it easy to see who inspired the bands you love or even hate. For this I try not to use any influences that the band don’t claim themselves. There will be a focus on predecessors but successors will be added as they site the band. These trees become more and more interactive as new bands are added, allowing you to click any band that has a tree and jump to it.

We want our lists to be better. If you know something that belongs on this list, let us know. When in doubt we will leave it out, so we need reliable sources.

Dark Tranquility are one of the pioneers of melodic death metal. They would play with other sounds on occasion most notably a gothic sound on a few albums. Their line up had been fairly consistent until more recent years. Mikael Stanne played guitar on the first album but has been on vocals since then. Anders Jivarp has been on drums since the beginning. Niklas Sundin was on guitar for every album except the most recent (Moment). Martin Henriksson played bass on the first three albums then switched to guitar; he did both on Construct. Martin was with the band till 2016. Fredrik Johansson was on guitar was on two albums, 1994-1999 Martin Brändström has been on keyboards since 1999. Mikael Niklasson was on bass from 1999-2008, Daniel Antonsson 2008-2013, and Anders Iwers 2015-present. This tree will feature influences of members who have contributed to writing. Although some members may write most of the riffs the band as a whole work on arrangements. I will not be including newest guitarists Christopher Amott and Johan Reinholdz who have been with the band since 2017.

(note: Below “Mikael” refers to Mikael Stanne not Niklasson. “Martin” refers to Henriksson not Brändström.)

Iron Maiden are one of the most influential metal bands, known for their harmonies. Niklas named them as an influence.

Mercyful Fate are known for King Diamond’s vocals but should also be known for their technical arrangements of traditional metal. Niklas named them as an influence.

Depeche Mode were an influential new wave band. Niklas says he listened to a healthy dose of them although he probably wouldn’t have admitted that in the early days. Mikael was also into Depeche Mode and other synth music before discovering metal.

Metallica are the fathers of thrash. Niklas named them as an influence.

Sodom are a very important German thrash band. Mikael named them as an influence.

Death Angel are prominent bay area thrashers. Niklas named them as an influence.

Slayer were on of the most aggressive thrash bands in the early days. Niklas at one time when asked about influences said he was influenced by Slayer and Satan.

Not Fragile are a speed/power metal band from Germany. Niklas named them as an influence.

Helloween are one of the most important power metal bands, often being seen as the originators. Niklas and Martin named them as an influence.

Thanatos are a death/thrash band from the Netherlands. Niklas named them as an influence. (There are several bands by this name but I’m fairly certain this is the one he means.)

Destruction are one of the baggiest German thrash bands. Mikael named them as an influence.

Sabbat were British Thrashers. Niklas named them as a big influence on them and was Niklas’s favorite band for a time. Mikael also named them as an influence, particularly on the way he does lyrics.

Kreator are among the most important German Thrash bands. Niklas and Martin named them as an influence. Mikael named Kreator and Mille as an influence.

Testament are bay area thrash legends. Niklas named them as an influence.

Morbid Angel are among the most important and influential death metal bands. Niklas named them as an influence. Mikael named them and David Vincent as an influence.

SDI are a German Thrash/Speed metal band. Niklas named them as an influence.

Crimson Glory are a traditional/progressive metal band often considered part of the US power metal movement. Niklas named them as an influence.

Sindrome were an underground thrash band. Niklas named them as an influence in the tape trading days.

Atrophy are a lesser known American Thrash band. Niklas named them as an influence.

Merciless are a Swedish Death/Thrash band. Niklas named them as an influence. Mikael named Rogga as an influence.

Blind Guardian have become one of the most influential power metal bands. Niklas and Martin named them as an influence.

Scanner are a German power metal band very similar to Helloween. Niklas named them as an influence.

Forbidden are bay area thrash. Niklas named them as an influence.

Intoxicate were an underground Swedish Thrash/Speed metal band. Niklas named them as an influence.

Atheist are a progressive death, death/thrash band. They were released a few demos under the name R.A.V.A.G.E., Niklas named them both as an influence. Mikael named Atheist as an influence.

Nihilist was the early version of Entombed. Niklas named them as an influence.

Dr. Shrinker were an underground death metal band. Niklas named them as an influence in the tape trading days.

Fatal were a underground death/thrash band from Detroit. Niklas named them as an influence.

Varathron are a Greek black metal band. Niklas named them as an influence.

Zemial are another Greek black metal band named as an influence by Niklas.

Niklas says he is not interested in the guitar hero type of players. He is impressed by Blixa Bargeld of the German industrial band Einstürzende Neubauten for his originality. He names a band Assassin but there are several bands by this name that he could mean. He says they listen to traditional folk and classical music.

Anders Jivarp names drum influences as “Mike Portnoy, I think he's number one. I like Neil Pert of course, Joey Jordinson from Slipknot, Brad Wilk from Audioslave and Rage Against the Machine I think he has amazing groove, and Dirk Verbeuren from Soilwork”.

Besides his metal influences, Mikael said he got into a lot of 60’s and 70’s progressive rock and in more recent years Doom and Sludge. Before finding metal with bands like Iron Maiden and Helloween Mikael was into synth music like Depeche Mode.

Anders Fridén was the vocalist on the first album before being in In Flames. His influences will be on an inflames tree when it exists.

Fredrick was part of the second and third albums but I have not found his influences.

Martin has been on keys with the band since 1999, I haven’t been able to find his influences.

Mikael Niklasson played bass for five albums; I have been unable to find his influences.

Daniel Antonsson played bass on only one album and is not noted as contributing a significant amount to writing.

Current bassist Anders Iwers has yet to have writing credits in the band (prior to Moment).

Bands influenced by Dark Tranquility!

As this project advances, bands will be added here… there are many!

Folk Metalers

Metal-core leaning on the metal side

Sources:

https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2013/09/09/niklas-sundin-dark-tranquillity-interviewed/
https://metalbite.com/interviews/267/dark-tranquillity-with-niklas-sundin-guitar
http://rockrevoltmagazine.com/interview-dark-tranquillity/
http://www.apeshit.org/features/dark-tranquillity-slayer-and-satan/
https://www.mixcloud.com/TheAgeOfMetal/martin-henriksson-of-dark-tranquillity-chats-with-the-age-of-metal/
https://sickdrummermagazine.com/news/off-beat-interviews/tyranny-a-bloodshed-tour-interviews/
https://www.nationalrockreview.com/interviews/moments-mikael-stanne
https://crypticrock.com/interview-mikael-stanne-of-dark-tranquillity/
https://www.rockarena.co.uk/dark-tranquillity-one-of-the-earliest-pioneers-of-the-gothenburg-melodic-death-metal/
https://rockoverdose.gr/mikael-stanne-dark-tranquillity-rock-overdose-people-still-listen-music-different-way/