By Bona Pjarren
This self-titled debut album by Änterbila, the most recent addition to the Nordvis community, is described as “a conceptual homage to the struggles of the 18th to 20th-century peasantry in their home country of Sweden… the anguish and fury of the downtrodden are embedded in every fibre of a musical score ranging from – and transcending – what would traditionally be categorized as black and folk metal”. The PR blurb goes on to tell us that “lurking amidst the metallic darkness are passages featuring violin, acoustic guitar, and traditional arrangements… [a] formula [that] has produced a collection of songs deeply imbued with that wistful, sinister, and folkloric feeling present in various Nordic masterpieces by the likes of Storm, Isengard, Taake, Panphage, and Arckanum”. Sounds intriguing, so lets get into it…
‘Vallåt från Gnarp’ is interesting with its haunting violin interplays over a keyboard wash. And leads nicely into ‘Hemlängtan’, with its frantic black metal/folk metal feel delivered by electric guitar. The blast beats are tight and crisp with a tribal undertone. Some of the guitar work reminded me of Ackercocke. But then it drops into a more measured ambient guitar before launching back into a fast metal ending.
‘1704’ brings in a more measured gothic feeling approach. It gallops along to catchy melodies delivered by the guitar. The shouted vocals add something a bit different as well as a counterpoint to the grunted main singing. ‘Södermanland’ is, apart from a short prelude, straight into the main body of the song. Speeding along it is a take no prisoners sort of a track, rumbling drum beats propelling the song forward. The guitar links in seamlessly with the rhythm.
The album’s second single promo, ‘Torparens Dotter’ establishes itself in a similar way to other tracks, slower beginning exploding into something more frantic. There are some reasonable vocal harmonies and it dips into a more measured approach for the verse. ‘Vita Piskan’ is straight into the main body of the song. It is driving and ominous in its no nonsense approach. Trem-picked guitars drive the song forward with its straight forward approach.
‘Äntergast’ has an ambient start for a change, but soon gets into its usual black metal style. It is another black metal onslaught delivered with aplomb. ‘Nattens Gåvolott’ is the last track on the album and finishes with some nice Renaissance style acoustic guitar. It is a sort of palate cleanser after the heaviness of the preceding songs.
All in all, ‘Änterbila’ is a decent album. It is more black metal than folk as the folk elements were more of a sideshow and did not feature as much as I thought they would. Still it is an album worth considering for fans of the black metal genre.
‘Änterbila’ is released on Friday. You can get your copy HERE.
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