Antestor
Jessheim, Norway15 reviews across 4 releases
Antestor is a Norwegian Christian extreme metal band formed in Jessheim in 1990 as Crush Evil; it adopted the Antestor name in 1993. Its early music drew on death, doom, and thrash metal, then moved toward black metal without abandoning slower, mournful passages. The 1993 demo Despair paired eerie keyboards with Sabbath-like guitar leads, death-metal vocals, and several contrasting singers. On Martyrium, recorded in 1995, the band described its approach as "sorrow metal": nine tracks balanced guttural growls with clean male and female vocals, piano-led keyboard parts, and shifting tempos, including a setting of Psalm 51. The Return of the Black Death made the black-metal side more pronounced, using Norwegian-language vocals and blast beats surrounding melodic passages and organ.
Kjetil Molnes, who had sung as Martyr, left around 2000, and Ronny Hansen replaced him after the breakup of Vaakevandring brought several of that band's members into Antestor. The change preceded a long quiet period. For Det Tapte Liv in 2004, Hansen handled the vocals while Jan Axel Blomberg, known as Hellhammer from Mayhem, played session drums; the 19-minute EP split its five songs between two violent black-metal pieces and three subdued instrumentals. Antestor announced a final live show at the 2007 Endtime Festival, then returned in 2010 with a rebuilt lineup. The album Omen followed in 2012, and guitarist Robert Bordevik left in 2015..
4 releases reviewed
Despair
The Return of the Black Death
Det Tapte Liv