What we have here is a throwback, something which in many ways fits very much in with the early Nineties style of black metal. The debut from Yorkshire-based quartet Ante-Inferno is raw, distressed, in your face and uncompromising. They may toy with elements of death metal, but only in the areas where the boundaries are somewhat blurred as opposed to bringing it into your face, and mix tempos and rates of attack to create something which feels more like a breathing animal than a piece of music, always on the move to search out and destroy that next piece of fresh meat which deigns to wander unprotected in the darkness. Part of me feels the production does not really work, while another part of me feels the impression of these guys being caught live in a rehearsal room really does benefit the overall style and approach.
K.B (vocals, guitars), M.Z (guitars), G.S (drums) and N.L (bass) have created something which is truly vicious, far more linked to early Darkthrone than to much of the current black metal scene (although it is felt they will appeal to the likes of Forefather, Winterfylleth, Drudkh and Nefarious). This is not music which belongs in the centre of Leeds, Wakefield, Sheffield, Doncaster or Bradford, but music which is unleashed up on the Yorkshire Moors at dead of night in the middle of winter, creating a force of evil which is both of nature and challenges its very existence. Brutal and massively over the top, this debut shows there is a very dark future ahead for Ante-Inferno, and long may it continue.
7/10 | Kev Rowland
