Antre: Voices From The Darkness
For many, last year was one of the darkest on record and one we were all glad to see the back of. Rather than bury their heads in the sand, Nottingham’s black metal outfit ANTRE faced the darkness head on, crafting their upcoming EP, Dark Spectrum. We got in touch with the band to discuss Dark Spectrum, how 2020 impacted the writing process for the EP and a video game surprise.
“It has been rough, but Dark Spectrum isn’t a full reflection of 2020. It’s more a concept loosely based upon dissociative identity disorder,” the band replied when quizzed on whether the last twelve months have influenced their creative process. The bleak nature of ANTRE’s music is not about specific moments in time, instead reflecting the worst aspects of humanity and finding catharsis in this. It’s also the first time they’ve tackled a concept release. “It’s not exactly Seventh Son of a Seventh Son concept levels, but still a challenge!”
Given the increasingly polarised and politicised world we live in, the easy road might’ve been to mine that particular vein but ANTRE are clear that’s not their road to take. “Politics absolutely has its place in music. But, so does escapism and exorcising personal demons – that is the place ANTRE reside.” Speaking of personal demons, the band elaborate that they “don’t think [they’re] alone in saying mental health challenges are something most of us had run-ins with in one form another, not only due to recent world events but certainly exacerbated by them” and that focusing on that “even from somewhat of an exaggerated fantasy perspective has certainly felt cathartic.”
“Dark Spectrum was a product of the end of the first lockdown and the knowledge that another one would be inevitable,” leading the band to really knuckle down and crank up the pressure on themselves. That intense creative period is something the band relish. “We like to challenge ourselves and have found we probably produce our best work when putting ourselves under pressure” – though there’s no hint of this quick turnaround or that the band rushed anything throughout Dark Spectrum’s runtime.
The pandemic has certainly made itself known in less direct ways than the writing. “Not being able to get together for beers, let alone play music together has been hard. I think that’s why we threw ourselves into Dark Spectrum with as much immediacy as we did.” That immediacy lent itself to forcing the band to make more snap decisions around writing; “it’s helped in our creativity that having to work as a unit in short, sharp, very focussed bursts has removed the overthinking and overworking of ideas. Sometimes the best ideas ‘come from the gut’ – so for us, having a very personal laser guided distillation of what we are as a band this has really helped us.”
The DIY approach has been an ethos of the band for years and it’s one they stand by, both for themselves and the underground metal as a whole. “It has always been vital for the bands and artists [we] know. Before COVID, our little corner of the scene was burgeoning with amazing bands and venues.” Unfortunately it has remained “ignored by the wider world as metal always is, and sadly again ignored by Government ‘help’.” Last time we sat down with ANTRE, we asked about a remark they made, that humanity itself was the problem and its demise would be the solution. When put to them if anything had changed or if they remained hopeful for change, they were similarly gloomy. “You have people who’ve managed to create a ‘side’ at which to attack others from. People love hating each other regardless of the situation in the polarised world we are now living in – in effect, that polarity is part of our demise.”
Something that went very well for ANTRE last year was their inclusion in the much-hyped, dystopian sci-fi epic Cyberpunk 2077. “We were honoured and blown away to be asked to submit some tracks for this. Obviously, we like to think that the quality of our last album helped us getting noticed!” The excitement of being involved in such a mammoth project is not lost on them either, all being big fans of gaming. The Accursed was chosen by developer CD Projekt Red and it now appears in-game. “The irony of recording for a multi-million dollar game in bedrooms and after hours in a gym because we had no money” was certainly not lost on them. It’s an interesting pairing but perhaps, not as surprising as you might think. Cyberpunk as a genre is often focused on dystopian futures ruled by megalithic corporations taking the place of government and the struggles of oppressed people. Black metal, for a lot of people, conjures frostbitten woods and the wilderness; but not for everyone. “For me, it’s inner city living. The pollution, the concrete, the grime. It’s in there too, it’s where we live and it’s not a million miles from that dystopian future.”
Despite their themes and the grim times we find ourselves in, ANTRE still found some positivity for the underground and the burgeoning DIY scene they’re proud to call home, saying “the underground will continue, those involved have put their hands in their pockets, giving what they can to try and help keep the lights on at underground venues across the country. I think the biggest impact to the scene at underground level is likely going to be lack of movement in and out of the UK further down the line. But I’m sure we’ll find a way around that too.” A surprisingly positive prediction for the future, and one we certainly hope is the case.
Dark Spectrum is out now via Withered Hand Records.
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