Prior to their first disbandment in 1996, At the Gates released four albums, ending with and including Slaughter of the Soul (1995), which has been seen as a landmark in the mid-1990s Swedish death metal scene.

[3] The EP led the label Peaceville Records to sign the band, and they released their debut album, The Red in the Sky Is Ours in 1992.

[3] After the recording of their second studio album, With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness, founding member and guitarist Alf Svensson left the band in 1993,[3] to pursue tattoo artistry, graphic novel illustration and his solo electronic-opera-black metal project, Oxiplegatz.

The band continued touring Europe, and were filmed for a Headbangers Ball special feature in Nottingham, England in July 1993.

On 27 January, the band revealed on Facebook via a new cover photo and profile picture, that their confirmed fifth record would be titled At War with Reality and would be released in the fall of 2014 through Century Media.

[11] When asked whether At War with Reality is At the Gates' final album or if the band will continue recording, Tomas Lindberg replied, "We can't say really.

At the Gates concluded the touring cycle for At War with Reality in August 2016 with a festival appearance at Elb Riot in Hamburg, Germany.

[13] In September 2017, Jonas Stålhammar was announced as the new guitarist to take the place of Björler on a permanent basis, but he had joined too late to be involved in the writing process of the new album.

[14] While the album remains rooted in the Gothenburg metal tradition, it also features a wider range of musical styles, influences, and instrumentation.