Album Review: Antre – Void

Nottingham’s Antre are a band for whom black metal is more about staring into a musical abyss of your own making until it eyeballs you back than it is Satan and blood. On Void, they dig into the darkness using a haunting amalgamation of icy black metal slashes, the hypnotic atmosphere of bands like Isis or Neurosis, and an ability to create an overpowering sense of dread through discord and distortion.

Suffer The Light is a swirling vortex of blasting power, while Tyrant stamps its authority with the might of its title. When they go into moments of clarity, it’s like storm clouds lifting, but even these moments are not without a sense of choking darkness. There’s not even any respite during the acoustic interlude of Denisovan, as its minor-key melodies work their way unsettlingly into your head. It’s a superb piece of work which shifts and swells in increasingly creative ways while never losing its focus on crowbarring open the darkest doors it can find. Screw running to the light, jump into the Void.

Verdict: KKKK
Words: Nick Ruskell