Antestor
Det Tapte Liv
Endtime Productions
This new 5 song EP limited to 1000 copies is a nice sampler of what's to come on their upcoming full length CD. If the tracks on this EP are any indication, the full length will be simply amazing. With addition of a great new vocalist, Vrede, another great addition to the band is the drummer. After looking at the inlay card, I now see the reason why...the drummer is none other than Hellhammer of
Mayhem, Arcturus, and Immortal fame. Given the sordid history of the Norwegian black metal scene, I find this to be an interesting collaboration. If you're reading this, I'm fairly sure you already know about all the "who killed who", "which church went up in flames", and the various histories of bands involved, so there's no need to go into that nonsense. I think it's pretty cool that Hellhammer is playing for Antestor, whose members are Christians. After their last release, Return of the Black Death, they were booted from Cacophonous Records once the label found out the members of
Antestor were Christian, and that didn't jive with their satanic philosophy in promoting bands....or at least that's the rumor. Regardless of whether or not you're a black metal elitist, and think that bands like this don't fit into the scene because they don't espouse satanic/dark/evil views through their music, just listen and judge for yourself whether or not the musical ability is worthy of praise.
And what's the music like? This is black metal to the core. They've also been described as sorrow metal, and some of the musical passages here reflect that. This EP starts off with some latter
Emperor sounding riffs and double-bass, and ends up in a more technical realm. The guitars and drums really stand out on this one. The next two tracks, "Grief" and "Last Season" are piano and keyboard ambient pieces that would make a great backdrop to a dark movie. "Med Hevede Sverd" is straightforward black metal reminiscent of
Enslaved's Frost until it turns into almost Cynic-like material, then kicks back in, and ends with some piano and quiet guitar. The final track, "Det Tapte Liv", is a piano piece with ambient keyboards spoken with in their native Norwegian tongue.
The packaging is a black heavy paper black box with only a single inlay card containing no lyrics, but rather only band, song, and recording information. The box is just the right size so that when the full length CD comes out, it will fit in here to complete the set. This EP is also the only place to get the last 4 tracks, so if you want this one, I highly suggest you find a copy while the 1000 copies last. "Rites of Death" is a different mix that what will be on the upcoming release...whenever that is. Hopefully SOON!!!
