Today in 1994 Antestor released there debut album Martyrium Jessheim,Norway Death/Doom Metal (early), Black Metal (later) Status:Active Years active: 1989-1990 (as Crush Evil), 1990-2007, 2010-present Antestor is one of Norways earliest unblack metal groups, playing a raw form of death metal with the stylistic touches of black metal and Christian lyrics. They started their career during the start of Norways second wave of Black Metal, which led to them receiving much criticism from these bands, Mayhem in particular. Antestor is the only Christian band to have an album released by Cacophonous Records, which also released records by bands such as Dimmu Borgir, Sigh and Blood Storm, and was actually dropped from Cacophonous Records after the label discovered that Antestor held Christian beliefs. Antestor (Latin for call to witness or testify) formed in 1990 in Norway under the name Crush Evil. They released two demos early in their career, and in 1994 they recorded their debut album, Martyrium, although not released until 2000. They dubbed the style of their early work as sorrow metal rather than misapply the tag black metal. The band is vocally Christian and over the course of their career have received serious death threats because of this. Euronymous, the guitarist of the seminal black metal band Mayhem, once said, The Militants of Norwegian black metal will force this band to split up. That never happened: Antestor was never forced to split apart and in an almost ironic twist of fate, Jan Axel Blomberg (better known as Hellhammer, the drummer for Mayhem) was Antestors session drummer on their latest two releases. Their first demo was called The Defeat Of Satan. and contained three songs and an outro. The demo was originally released under their original band name Crush Evil. Then came Despair, a self-released demo, which was released under the band name Antestor. The demo starts with an intro and ends with a cover of an old Norwegian hymn, called Jesus, Jesus, Ver Du Hjå Meg (Jesus, Jesus, Be With Me). Martyrium was their first full-length album, but was not actually released in 1994 due to problems with their record label. However tape copies circulated in up to fifth generation copies and their audience grew fast. Antestor did not release a full-length album until 1998, when they released The Return of the Black Death on Cacaphonous Records. The Return of the Black Death was actually dropped from Cacophonous Records after the label discovered that Antestor held Christian beliefs. Because of this, there are not many pressings of the album, and it is now rare. It is still sold at some internet-based Christian underground music stores. However, The Return of the Black Death was well-received by both Christian and non-Christian black metal fans. Antestor was soon signed by Endtime Productions, a metal record label that also helped start the career of Extol. In 2000, Endtime released Martyrium. Over the next several years, the band remained somewhat quiet; they did not release any more albums until 2003, when they re-released their two earliest demos on one CD, titling it The Defeat of Satan. By then, they had replaced several of their members as well. Their original vocalist, Martyr, left the band, as did several others. Fortunately for Antestor, the breakup of another Christian metal band in Norway, Vaakevandring, led to several former Vaakevandring members joining Antestor. Namely, Ronny Hansen, adopting the new moniker Vrede, became Antestors new vocalist, and Morten Sigmund Mageroy (known in Antestor as Sygmoon) stepped in as the new keyboardist. Ann-Mari Edvardsen joined the band as a female vocalist. The drummer, Svein Sander (in Antestor, Armoth), left the band during this time also, and Antestor would not find a new full-time drummer for several more years. In 2004, Antestor released their first set of new songs since The Return of the Black Death, in an EP called Det Tapte Liv (The Lost Life). Det Tapte Liv concentrated less on the black metal aspects of Antestors style and more on instrumental songs. However, it did show that the band was preparing for their 2005 full-length, The Forsaken. Hellhammer played all drums on both of these releases, with new drummer Tony Kirkemo joining the band later in 2005 as live session drummer. Some of the members still play in Vaakevandring, who played a reunion gig 2007 together with Antestor at the Endtime Festival. Rumors that Antestor announced their disbandment at the March 31, 2007 Endtime Festival turned out to be false, they only stated that theyre going on a hiatus in order to recruit some new members. Endtime Productions Martyr Vocals Pilgrim Guitars Armoth Drums Vemod Guitars Gard Bass Guest/Session Tora Vocals (female) 1. Spiritual Disease (6:42) 2. Materialistic Lie (3:13) 3. Depressed (6:43) 4. Searching (3:00) 5. Inmost Fear (5:38) 6. Under the Sun (5:00) 7. Thoughts (7:09) 8. Martyrium (2:59) 9. Mercy Lord (6:40) Total Time: 47:08 Recording information: Recorded At – Norsk Lydskole Mastered At – The Mastering Room Martyrium is the first recorded and second released studio album of the unblack metal band Antestor. It is one of the earliest Christian extreme metal albums released in Norway. Recorded in 1994, only bootleg copies were printed of Martyrium, and it became a cult classic among a small audience, until the album was issued in 2000 by Endtime Productions Originally Torodd Fuglesteg, head of the infamous Arctic Serenade Records, sent Antestor to studio to record Martyrium. At the time having problems with signing the band Groms for Arctic Serenades roster, Fuglesteg said: I was also in touch with Antestor at that time and I sent them into studio to do their Martyrium album. This album was later released through another label. I regarded, and still regard, Antestor as much darker than Groms, which was a happy-smiles band. Martyrium was recorded at Norsk Lydskole in December 1994, remixed in February 1995, and was produced by Jon Ove Andersen and Antestor. Some problems occurred and another label called Morphine Records ended releasing only 50 bootleg copies of it. However, tape copies circulated in up to fifth generation copies and their audience grew fast. Michael Bryzak writes in the liner notes of The Defeat of Satan / Despair compilation album (2003) that, although the first album was not officially released until 2000, Martyrium was rightfully considered a cult classic. In 2000, Antestor began collaborating with the Scandinavian label Endtime Productions, and the label released Martyrium during the same year. The cover art was changed to a painting by Kristian Wåhlin Musically, Martyrium leans toward a combination of death metal, doom metal and black metal. The guitar playing emphasizes on tremolo riffs, and sometimes on slow doom metal riffs; the drumming ranges from down-tempo to mid-paced arrangements. Martyrs (Kjetil Molnes) vocals are mostly guttural, blackened death grunts and sometimes higher growls. Several songs showcase progressive elements: Depressed begins with a grand piano solo followed by orthodoxly sung funeral dirge. Thoughts begins with a 2 minute funeral mass organ solo, before the blackened death/doom output turns in. The song Mercy Lord showcases operatic, uncredited female vocals and cites the Psalm 51. Searching was featured on Cross Rhythms Musics Extreme Music Sampler volume 4 compilation album. Mercy Lord, Thoughts, and Inmost Fear were also featured on Rowe Productions compilation album Northern Lights: Norwegian Metal Compilation in 1996. Jamie Lee Rake of HM Magazine wrote of the Endtime Productions re-release of Martyrium, suspecting that the progressive elements of the album made the band unnoticed innovators in the early Norwegian extreme metal scene: “Throughout Martyrium’s nine tracks, there are touches of more progressive deathiness: piano and other keyboards, those nearly operatic female vocals, etc. Some of these touches have become nearly commonplace among some of Antestor’s metallic competitors, such as Emperor and their side projects. Might Antestor have been a band of believers who were actually (sit down for this one) innovating in their scene? https://youtube/watch?v=xZVttDe15rE
Posted on: Sat, 06 Dec 2014 20:03:33 +0000
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