ALBUM REVIEW: Death’s Soliloquy – Ante-Inferno
In the seven years since their formation, Yorkshire’s ANTE-INFERNO have gone on to be one of the most promising acts to come out of the UK in recent years, due in no small part to their increasing live presence at venues and festivals across the country in recent years, as well as their first two albums, 2020’s Fane and 2022’s Antediluvian Dreamscapes, the latter of which saw the bands core black metal sound morph into something decidedly more dramatic and atmospheric, establishing the band as an imaginative creative force. The Scarborough four-piece’s latest album, Death’s Soliloquy, builds upon the many strengths of its predecessor, with the end result being far more animated and broad in its musical scope than the band’s previous output.
The Cavernous Blackness Of Night kicks things off with what begins as a mid-paced, brooding slab of black metal built around morose melodicism, throaty gutturals and steady, rumbling drums, but as it progresses, brief bursts of intensity and a more urgent, rabid edge starts to enter the music, with frenetic hooks and visceral vocals creating a far more caustic element that clashes with the expansive, measured bulk of the music, underpinning the punchier moments with a coarse and feral aspect that makes this incredibly powerful and engrossing, with these chaotic flourishes taking on a more central role as the song reaches its climax. Towards Asphyxiating Darkness opts for a slightly rawer, hypnotic sound that’s built upon gargantuan, rhythmic guitars, weighty basslines and searing, shrill vocals, all of which create a sharper, biting sound that proves to be extremely immersive, focusing on developing a palpable atmosphere that helps make this impressively effective.
Cold. Tenebrous. Evil leans prominently into the kind of energetic, unflinching ferocity that made the albums opener work so well, with a noticeably harsher sound with a solid emphasis on noxious, varied vocals, angular guitars and muscular, punishing drums and bass, which lend this a denser backbone that in turn makes for a thicker, domineering sound that’s only counterpointed by the more acerbic howls and stringent leads, subtle musical touches that only serve to make this more sinister. Into The Eternity Of Death a short yet dramatic instrumental that embraces the imposing gothic pomp that was hinted at on the albums opening moments, creating a grand and eerie segue between this records two halves.
No Light Till Life’s End is a continuation of the grating, fiercer sound that loomed large in the music of Cold. Tenebrous. Evil, whilst making to blend in cleaner vocal passages and slicker, catchy guitar work, sticking firmly to the shorter, darker approach of that song, but applying a more accessible side to that tracks template. An Axe. A Broadsword. A Bullet, with its cavernous, authoritative drumming and rumbling bass, is a monolithic offering that ties together the over-arching atmospheric bent of Towards Asphyxiating Darkness with the animated and discordant feel of the previous two tracks, peppering in some haunting, borderline post-rock interludes in amongst the more bellicose and aggressive parts, resulting in a more eclectic sound that boasts both the hardest and most crystalline sections on this whole album, making sure that this song remains thoroughly impactful and interesting even as it gets close to the fifteen minute mark.
Thalassophobia reverts to the kind of bleak melodicism that defined the opening track, at points coming close to the lighter end of death doom, and if it weren’t for the feral shriek of the vocals and faster, tighter portions that appear towards the end of this track, it would have almost entirely shaken off this albums core black metal sound. It’s an epic and memorable way to bring this record to a conclusion, even if the song that preceded it felt like a truly climactic affair.
As an album, Death’s Soliloquy sits somewhere between the harsher sound of Fane and the more atmospheric and expansive style that loomed large on Antediluvian Dreamscapes, with the balance making for much more varied and adventurous aspect than either of those two albums. Although the band are well known for their longer tracks and cavernous sound, it feels as though here ANTE-INFERNO have settled upon an eclectic approach to songwriting that works extremely well with this ambitious, length template, making even the most daunting offerings fantastically engrossing and varied throughout.
Death’s Soliloquy sees ANTE-INFERNO reach a sound that is much more fleshed out and impressive even than their earlier works, and it could encapsulate the bands sound moving forward.
Rating: 8/10
Death’s Soliloquy is out now via Vendetta Records.
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