Formed in Scarborough in 2017, Ante Inferno comprises Kai Beanland on guitar and vocals and Gary Stephenson on drums. They released their debut album Fane in 2020 and have followed up quickly with their latest work, the impressive Antediluvian Dreamscapes which is released on Vendetta Records.
The first thing to note is that the duo makes hell of a racket. This is face melting black metal, all harrowing screams, walls of riffs and blistering blast beats. Comprising seven songs, the album opens with the atmospheric tones of “A Lullaby to a Dying World.” Set against the backdrop of a brewing storm, the delicate guitar work leads the listener into the darkness. It is an intricate piece that prepares for the coming onslaught.
It leads into “Transcendence,” the first blast of searing heat on the album and it’s a ferocious six-minutes that is unrelenting in delivery. There’s enough underlying melody to nod the head to, whilst Beanland’s vocals are harrowing, echoing with a menace that he maintains throughout the album.
The songs here are described by the band as ‘seven pitiless memorials to a life that once was and may never be. Seven gateways, bound thickly with the blood of ages beyond; a celestial mirage whose tendrils enshroud the listener in fathomless depths of human misery.’ “Celestial Mirage” certainly fulfils that description. A ten-minute exploration which ebbs and flows, harnessing a unseen power as it swirls around the listener, enveloping you in sonic mystery and darkness.
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Drenched in human emotion, Antediluvian Dreamscapes is carved with sonic soundscapes that entice, captivate, and bewitch. They bridge intense, explosive songs with more peaceful passages, such as the haunting “Shadowed Waters,’ which eases the chasm between “Celestial Mirage” and the slower-paced, semi-doom of “Two Score and Ten Souls.” Another ten-minute track, this one builds in a slower fashion, less urgency but no less intensity. It’s followed by another long song, the frenetic pulsing of “Beyond the Memorial Veil,” which creates still further imagery of fire, Hell, of water and flames.
Antediluvian Dreamscapes concludes with a flourish of blast beats, driving the track “Nightmares of the Eschaton” along at a relentless pace. It’s a shorter track, but no less punishing, with ample to get the pulse racing one more time. It’s a natural conclusion to an album that is savage, brutally fast, and yet at the same time able to pull the listener along every step of the way. Whilst the feral vocals are unlikely to win favour with those who struggle with black metal, for those who favour the darker pathways, Antediluvian Dreamscapes is an album to explore.
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Antediluvian Dreamscapes is out on May 13th
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