By Phil Cooper
Ante-Inferno, the Yorkshire-based black metal four-piece, are here to deliver a heavy weight debut. The seven tracks presented hit hard with the intensity and ferocity that the genre has become known for while still incorporating a swirl of atmospheric layers and thick melodic delivery. As spring begins outside with the world still largely remaining indoors there is something to be said for a hefty dose of black metal to release some pent-up energy.
The title track opens the album and with a moody build up of soundscapes and layered percussion, develops an unsettling atmosphere for the album to follow. The listener is taken through a journey to a wild landscape which ‘Oath’ picks up on. Taking the atmospheric cues from the preceding track, the band is introduced proper as they launch a full sonic assault and display a united front combining a punishing rhythmic drive with thick textured melodies to produce a style that sounds absolutely massive.
The heavyweight atmosphere lasts throughout the album with the band really pushing it to the fore as part of the texture on tracks like ‘Return’ with its half time breakdown leading back to a sweeping soundscape. The raw aggression of ‘Worship’ swirls with ferocity courtesy of the pummelling rhythm section, yet the melodic aspect of the guitars incorporates the grandiose atmosphere keeping an element of space as the weight of the blast beats pushes down. This feeling is retained right through to the closing notes of ‘Fragments’, Ante-Inferno have drawn in all of the elements of BM and pulled together a highly charged intensity.
As musicians, Ante-Inferno have certainly presented themselves as extremely capable. Both as song writers and as technically proficient within their chosen genre. The bass and drums are locked together to deliver a furious, high intensity rhythm section pushing everything forward and anchoring the atmosphere. This allows for the charged guitar riffs to build upon the texture and also expand the counterpoint melodies that expand the atmosphere and soundscape. All the while the guttural vocals cut through with the traditional BM timbre and deliver lyrics that offer an inviting darkness. There is an enticing edge that the collective band create that pulls the listener in to their world. A world populated by many different pathways as highlighted by the different musical elements used and an all-encompassing, dark backdrop.
For a debut, ‘Fane’ hits the mark. Over the course of seven tracks it showcases Ante-Inferno as a solid representative of the UK’s black metal scene. It’s an album that will most certainly appeal to fans of the genre as well as those who follow the UK’s extreme metal acts already established.
- ‘Fane’ is released tomorrow (Friday 1 May). You can get your copy HERE.
- All content © Über Rock. Not to be reproduced in part or in whole without the express written permission of Über Rock.