Antestor – Omen

After numerous YouTube teasers and a 7 year wait since their last album “The Forsaken”, Norwegian “unblack” metal band Antestor release their fourth album “Omen”.  Black metal has never been my cup of tea but over the past couple of years I have grown a soft spot for Antestor and have been looking forward to getting my hand on this brand new material.

The album kicks off powerfully with the chunky yet haunting “Treacherous Domain”, introduced by the screams of vocalist Ronny Hansen and guitarist Robert Bordevik.

As with previous albums, Antestor lyrical topics stay strong to themes of hope and looking to God in times of pain and mental anquish as explored in their tracks “In Solitude”, “Remnants” and “Torn Apart”.

The musicianship of the band is strong in this album especially in “All Towers Must Fall” which features an excellent blend of guitar harmonies, riffs and solos.

The calming, Celtic feel of the instrumental piece “Tilflukt” is a beautiful piece of music which helps relax the listen and waters down the brutality of the CD.  However I feel this song should have been saved for the end instead of finishing with two of the weaker tracks of the album – “Benighted” and “Mørkets Grøde”, a song written in their native tongue.

Despite the poor mixing of the vocals the album is indeed an outstanding piece of work. 8/10

Track listing:

1. Treacherous Domain
2. Unchained
3. In Solitude
4. The Kindling
5. Remnants
6. All Towers Must Fall
7. Torn Apart
8. Tilflukt
9. Benighted
10. Mørkets Grøde

Band Lineup:
Ronny Hansen – Vocals
Lars Stokstad – Guitars and backing vocals
Robert Bordevik – Lead guitars and backing vocals
Nickolas Main Henriksen – Keyboards
Jo Henning Børven – Drums
Erik Normann Aanonsen – Bass and acoustic guitar
Thor Georg Buer – Guitars

Links:
http://www.antestor.no/
http://www.facebook.com/ANTESTOR
http://www.twitter.com/antestorband