Antre Banter.
Hello my friends, we are fast approaching the end of this most dastardly year, but we will end on a high with a few choice releases, and news of some upcoming smashers that will see us gleefully ring in the New Year. From the deepest, darkest crevices of our hearts, watch through dark set eyes, listen through worn out lugholes and devour through a burnt out food pipe.
We boldly proceed to Nottingham where we encounter Antre – old English for cave- and it’s quite fitting really as we have had to retreat to our modern day caves to ride out this pandemic. Robin Hood stole from the rich and gave to the poor; here we steal from the dead and offer the corrupted and congealed remains for the living. Bring out the heavy artillery and give 2021 a damn good hammering before it seeks to outdo this year. This EP has four tracks that cover four attributes or states of mind even, that encapsulate our innermost, sick and wretched thoughts. First up we face our fear ‘Through These Dead Eyes’ my friends it is a weighty production, not giving an inch from any angle, you are here for the long haul. The single is ‘Become the Damned’ where we meet wrath, and via some maddening visuals that are reminiscent of ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ the creepometer has imploded and you are on your own. We seek salvation with ‘Mask of Our Saviour’ it is a compelling listen, grisly yet graceful, a brutish beauty that distresses and refreshes in equal amounts. A DIY band (darkness inside you, perhaps) they are cohesive, precise and intense. The primal, guttural instincts are arranged so to incorporate subtle, sweeping moments of rapturous glory.
Breaking all speed limits and possibly the sound barrier, I implore you to try this one on for size. It will match our ‘Cursed Existence’ note for note, breath for bated breath. We aim to salvage our sanity and the gentle, zephyr like finish, soothes the palate as this EP slides happily into our abdominal cavity.
When all else fails, darkness prevails.
Antre – Dark Spectrum EP out January 15th 2021 via Withered Hand Records.