Feature: Antestor releases ranked from worst to first

Antestor Releases Ranked From Worst to First

For me personally, Antestor holds a very special place. As a fan of black metal for many years, it was Antestor (along with Horde) that planted a seed of change in me many, many years ago. At the time that I first heard of them, I was listening to bands like Gorgoroth, Watain, Dissection and Nortt. They had just released their album entitled The Forsaken, and I was totally puzzled in every way by it. Here was a Christian band playing a style of music that, for the most part, was so ideologically against anything and everything Christian that it seemed like a complete and total paradox, at least to me at the time. Necrolord did the cover art, and I was used to seeing his work adorning the covers of albums by Dissection, Emperor and Dark Funeral. But what was even more shocking was that Hellhammer – yes, that Hellhammer – was the drummer on the album! How was the drummer from one of the most infamous black metal acts of all time, Mayhem, also drumming for a band on the complete opposite end of the spectrum? After checking the music itself out, I couldn’t deny that Antestor had some serious talent. And even if at the time I had nothing but disdain for Christianity in general, I was impressed.

Fast forward to today, few bands have had as much impact on me personally as Antestor. While it was Horde that put “unblack” metal on the map, it was Antestor that showed that the genre could grow and develop beyond the simplistic anti-satanism of Horde and explore things on a deeper, more introspective level (and that’s no offence to Horde by the way!). Under-appreciated in their heyday, subject to threats of violence and shunned by the black metal scene at large, Antestor weathered every storm and ended up releasing some of the most unique and influential black metal in the genre’s history. Here, I’ll be ranking their releases from worst to best. Given the fact that the band has only released four studio albums, I’ll be giving myself a little leeway here and will count two other releases alongside their main ones (one, a compilation of two demo’s and the other an EP). Without further ado, it’s time to explore one of Christian metal’s finest’s discography.

PS: To the two Christian metal fans who took the time to talk to and listen to me, introduce me to so much great Christian metal, and plant a seed of God’s love in my hardened heart so many years ago – this article’s for you. Thank you.

Det Tapte Liv
The five-track EP entitled Det Tapte Liv was released as a teaser prior to the band’s return in 2005 with the full-length album The Forsaken. No doubt, at the time, this was quite a tantalizing release, especially considering that the band had been silent for many years. The issue with this one is that it’s really just that – a teaser. Two of the five tracks are simply spoken word, piano pieces (“Grief” and “Det Tapte Liv”) and a third is a classical/symphonic interlude akin to Crimson Moonlight’s work on their Eternal Emperor EP. That leaves us two tracks of full-on metal, though one of these is simply a stripped-down early version of “Rites of Death” which would later appear on The Forsaken in a much superior form. “Med Hevede Sverd” remains, and while it is a really good, driving song of black metal aggression, it’s not enough to save this EP from being mostly for completionists.

The Defeat of Satan
The Defeat of Satan is a compilation of the band’s two early demos – The Defeat of Satan and Despair. Keep in mind that these two demos were released in the heyday of the Norwegian black metal scene, amidst the church burnings, murders and the whole rest of it. This period saw the release of secular classics of the genre, and Antestor stood fast in the thick of it. What makes this release incredibly special as well is the sonic approach the band takes on here.

Though Antestor was associated with the black metal sound, here they were playing a strange mix of death/doom with a black metal feel, something they would perfect on Martyrium. The material of Despair from 1993 takes the cake here. Martyr’s vocals are guttural and deep, like a black metal shriek slowed down. The guitar work is ominous, the sound is almost oppressive, and there is a funereal tone to the whole proceeding that is impossible to ignore. This was something deeper and altogether different than what was happening at the time. And while Martyr’s woeful clean singing is not exactly the most tuneful, it’s pretty hard not to enjoy this compilation of the band’s beginnings.

The Forsaken
I think that many nowadays would cite this record as their favourite. Certainly, it is their most accessible to a degree, as it lacks the dense, brooding doom of their earliest material. It’s not as thin and harsh as Kongsblod (The Return of the Black Death), nor is it as ferocious as Omen. Instead, The Forsaken is an exceptionally well-produced work of symphonic black metal that echoes bands like Dimmu Borgir without falling into the latter band’s tendency to orchestral excess. Guitarist Vemod as well as session guitarist Bjørn Leren (from the demo days!) do an exceptional job on here, vacillating between traditional black metal riffing to epic, arena-friendly solos. Hellhammer’s session drum work on here as well is absolutely stellar – crisp, powerful and precise. His presence on this album was a very powerful thing for me to see back in 2005; after all that Antestor had been subjected to by the black metal scene, here was one of that scene’s most famous members playing on one of their albums. Only Vrede’s vocals (while still excellent) on here leave me missing the unique and ultra-cold shrieks of previous vocalist Martyr. The other issue I have is that much of the melancholy sound the band was known for seems to have been largely lost on this one (though it can still be heard on tracks like “Vale of Tears”). Though this one is not my favourite (mostly because symphonic black metal is not my favourite style), it holds a special place for me in that it was the album that changed my view of Christians playing black metal, and on Christian metal as a whole.

Omen
By this point, Antestor was a different band entirely. With the only remaining original band member being guitarist Vemod, the band had become a kind of all-star cast of members from other acts such as Vaakevandring, Grave Declaration, and Vardoger. Their last release (though I think we all, rather desperately, hope for another one someday), Omen is arguably also their most aggressive-sounding. It’s obvious that some hard times had befallen lead singer Vrede (Ronny Hansen), and his lyrics take on less of a spiritual focus and more of a personal one here. The sound itself is raw without being “raw black metal” (i.e. Darkthrone-style), the symphonic elements of The Forsaken dialed-back. Omen is Antestor sounding as hostile as a cornered wild animal; perhaps, after years of bearing the brunt of the black metal scene’s hatred (witness their rather nasty reception by some during their 2013 tour for this record in Brazil), the band had finally had enough. Vrede practically screams himself hoarse on this one, and some of the songs on here reach Skald in Veum levels of intensity. “Morkets Grode” is worth the price of admission alone, beginning with a gorgeous folk-like acoustic guitar before diving into a blisteringly dark assault that manages to capture the band’s signature melancholic sound while being one of the most ferocious tracks they’re ever recorded.

Martyrium
To my mind, Martyrium could be one of the most original sounding black metal records I have ever heard. I know some would argue that it’s not really black metal but death metal of a sort, and I think that argument can be fairly made. However, Martyr’s blood-curdling shrieks, as well the feel of the record all paint this record as a black metal one, but expertly melded with death/doom. When you consider that this one was recorded in 1994, you’ll begin to see how utterly unique Martyrium is. While bands like Darkthrone and Burzum were focused on trance-like minimalism, Immortal on pure speed, and Emperor on creating symphonies of icy darkness, Antestor took a totally different approach, slowing everything down to an ugly maelstrom of a crawl infused with a sense of gothic melancholy. Tracks like “Mercy Lord” echo funeral doom and end with female vocals very similar to the one’s heard on the title track of Dark Tranquillity’s The Gallery, while “Materialistic Lie” boasts some of the nastiest, throat-shredding black metal screams out there. Lyrically, the album showcases Antestor’s emphasis on moving lyrical themes beyond anti-satanic themes and turning it all inward to focus on the struggles and victories experienced by Christians in their daily lives. Though Martyrium is a slow and demanding listen, it stands out as one of the most singularly unique and interesting records in the genre, far ahead of its time.

Kongsblod (The Return of the Black Death)
Still, to my mind the band’s definitive statement. Considering that this one stands alongside Horde’s Hellig Usvart as one of the ultimate, timeless documents of Christian black metal, it’s pretty amazing to see how troubled of a history it had. Released in censored form with a different title and artwork than what I understand the band had intended, it took years for it to see a proper release with original artwork and title intact thanks to the lads at Nordic Mission.

Technically speaking, it remains a demo that never saw the light of day as a fully produced album. However, that doesn’t stop this record from getting the number one spot. Kongsblod is a somber record, its production cold and thin, with drums and guitars that perfectly flow together like one long icy river. After listening to the grinding doom heard on previous work, it might be a little jarring to hear the band go full-on traditional black metal in sound. Though the end result is not as unique as Martyrium, what they do on here, they do amazing well. “Ancient Prophecy” is broodingly dark, and “A Sovereign Fortress” is about as fist-pumping of a black metal anthem as one could ever hope for. And in many respects, the album is just as much ahead of its time as its predecessor. Kongsblod is a record that continues to develop the more mature, introspective lyrical approach the band became known for, turning the focus inward once again, but also enlarging on the concept of sorrow over those lost in the dark dead-ends of despair and darkness. In essence, Kongsblod is composed of a series of black metal lamentations over the loss of souls, but also seeks to inspire Christians to courage and fearlessness in the strength of God. It’s an album for winter nights, an album of melancholy with an aura of hope that remains. Most importantly, it definitively demonstrated that Christian black metal could be so much more than just a reaction to or attack upon something else, and that it had a sound and an approach all its own. Timeless.

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