Antestor
The Return Of The Black Death

It's always a pleasure to browse through the pages of DeBaser and discover that some of your favorite albums are not only known by others but also reviewed and described, I must say, often with great passion and critical spirit. The other day, however, interested in knowing the opinions of other people on one of my favorite albums, namely "The Return Of The Black Death" by Antestor, I discovered, to my great surprise, that the review is missing!

 I thus decided to write the review myself with the intent of encouraging those who haven't listened to this magnificent work yet.

 Antestor is a Norwegian Black Metal band, one of the first to write lyrics about Christian themes and antithetical subjects (such as the defeat of evil in favor of good) compared to what this genre has accustomed us to. For this reason, the band has faced criticisms, threats, and even the cancellation of the album's release by their record label during its troubled journey. These events did not manage to stop the band's work but certainly hindered, if not limited, its spread and emergence.

Musically, Antestor plays atmospheric Black Metal (I'm saying BM instead of Christian Metal or Unholy Metal on purpose, because to me, it's the music that matters!) characterized by often slow and sometimes deliberately monotonous cadences; however, melodic elements are not lacking, thanks to the keyboards which contribute significantly to the dark and gloomy atmosphere of the sound. The music is further enriched by folk elements and parts, though not very frequent, in clean vocals (like Ulver, for instance). To my mind, the overall sound is very similar to that of Satyricon during what I consider their best period (from "Dark Medieval Times" to "The Shadowthrone"), and it's somewhat amusing if you think about the content and lyrics since this was the peak period for Lord Sigurd and company in opposing Christianity with hatred.

But let's talk about the album. Eleven tracks written half in Norwegian and half in English, totaling 57 minutes of music where remarkably engaging doom parts alternate with sections where guitars and drums accelerate, and the voice becomes extremely aggressive, thanks to Kjetil's scratching, and in some cases even desperate, growls. The marching rhythms and the relentless blast beat characterize most of the album and recall the medieval metal of early Satyricon. All the tracks are fantastic; there's no need to describe them one by one, I leave you the pleasure of listening to them. However, as absolute masterpieces, "Sorg" (which means Pain in Norwegian) should be mentioned, in which a very slow and dramatic start characterized by a keyboard and an almost spoken singing of rare sadness flows into a desperate growl followed by the final two minutes of the song which are, in my opinion, among the finest passages of atmospheric Black Metal ever played (they also remind me of Quark's music!). Also noteworthy is "Ancient Prophecy", a fantastic track where monotony reigns, with a decadent atmosphere reminiscent of Bathory, taken to the extreme in chilling concluding seconds where the music gives way to fire and wind emerging in the background. Another marvelous piece is "Battlefield", where really catchy and original guitar riffs blend perfectly with the drums, and here too, the middle part of the song features an atmospheric interval of rare beauty.

I'll end here by feeling strongly inclined to recommend everyone, even those who are not fans of the genre, to listen to this wonderful album which, in my opinion, is Antestor's best work (even better than the last and surely better supported "The Forsaken", excellently reviewed by Emanuele) as well as one of the hidden gems of the genre...

 Thanks for reading.