Antestor is the only Christian band to have an album released by Cacophonous Records, which also released records by bands such as Dimmu Borgir, Sigh and Blood Storm, and was actually dropped from Cacophonous Records after the label discovered that Antestor held Christian beliefs.
Antestor (Latin for "call to witness" or "testify") formed in 1990 in Norway under the name "Crush Evil". They released two demos early in their career, and in 1994 they recorded their debut album, Martyrium, although not released until 2000. They dubbed the style of their early work as "sorrow metal" rather than misapply the tag "black metal".
The band is vocally Christian and over the course of their career have received serious death threats because of this. Euronymous, the guitarist of the seminal black metal band Mayhem, once said, "The Militants of Norwegian black metal will force this band to split up." That never happened: Antestor was never forced to split apart and in an almost ironic twist of fate, the reputive Norwegian extreme metal drummer Jan Axel Blomberg (better known as Hellhammer, the drummer for Mayhem) was Antestor's session drummer on their latest two releases The Forsaken and Det Tapte Liv EP.
Their first demo was called The Defeat Of Satan. and contained three songs and an outro. The demo was originally released under their original band name "Crush Evil".
Then came Despair, a self-released demo, which was released under the band name Antestor. The demo starts with an intro and ends with a cover of an old Norwegian hymn, called Jesus, Jesus, Ver Du Hjå Meg ("Jesus, Jesus, Be With Me").
Martyrium was their first full-length album, but was not actually released in 1994 due to problems with their record label. However tape copies circulated in up to fifth generation copies and their audience grew fast. Antestor did not release a full-length album until 1998, when they released The Return of the Black Death on Cacaphonous Records.
The Return of the Black Death was actually dropped from Cacophonous Records after the label discovered that Antestor held Christian beliefs. Because of this, there are not many pressings of the album, and it is now rare. It is still sold at some internet-based Christian underground music stores.
However, The Return of the Black Death was well-received by both Christian and non-Christian black metal fans. Antestor was soon signed by Endtime Productions, a metal record label that also helped start the career of Extol. In 2000, Endtime released Martyrium.
Over the next several years, the band remained somewhat quiet; they did not release any more albums until 2003, when they re-released their two earliest demos on one CD, titling it The Defeat of Satan. By then, they had replaced several of their members as well. Their original vocalist, Martyr, left the band, as did several others. Fortunately for Antestor, the breakup of another Christian metal band in Norway, Vaakevandring, led to several former Vaakevandring members joining Antestor. Namely, Ronny Hansen, adopting the new moniker Vrede, became Antestor's new vocalist, and Morten Sigmund Mageroy (known in Antestor as Sygmoon) stepped in as the new keyboardist. Ann-Mari Edvardsen joined the band as a female vocalist. The drummer, Svein Sander (in Antestor, Armoth), left the band during this time also, and Antestor would not find a new full-time drummer for several more years.
In 2004, Antestor released their first set of new songs since The Return of the Black Death, in an EP called Det Tapte Liv ("The Lost Life"). Det Tapte Liv concentrated less on the black metal aspects of Antestor's style and more on instrumental songs. However, it did show that the band was preparing for their 2005 full-length, The Forsaken. Hellhammer played all drums on both of these releases, with new drummer Tony Kirkemo joining the band later in 2005 as live session drummer. His participation on the recording session caused some controversy among metal press and black metal fans. In an interview with the Russian metal site Metal Library on January 7, 2007, Blomberg says "To be honest, it [playing for Antestor] was a big 'f--- off!' to them all [Mayhem colleagues and record company]. I will repeat again that I decide what I do and I play not only in black metal groups." The band also asked Hellhammer to play live for them, but Blomberg refused. It was not a question about their beliefs, as Hellhammer explains: "In my opinion, black metal today is just music. I will tell you that neither I nor other members of Mayhem never really were against religion or something else. We are primarily interested in music." Ronny Hansen commented on Blomberg's appearance:
“ First of all Jan Axel "Hellhammer" is a total professional. He started up together with the secular scene and worse (laughs) but he doesn't care if it's secular or Christian. He knew from the start what Antestor stands for. And maybe if we get the chance, we are more than willing to use him again. Cause his drumming is outstanding. I think that he is the very best drummer in the scene and we are just very lucky to have borrowed his brilliance.
Some of the members still play in Vaakevandring, who played a reunion gig 2007 together with Antestor at the Endtime Festival. Rumors that Antestor announced their disbandment at the March 31, 2007 Endtime Festival turned out to be false, they only stated that they're going on a hiatus in order to recruit some new members.
In 2009 Ronny Hansen announced that Antestor were looking for new members. By the middle of 2010 they had a band together who were writing songs and beginning to prepare for gigging once more.
Unchained
Antestor Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Better believe that those
Days are over now
Naivety of the past so sick
Of being abused
Forgiving is not forgetting
My revenge boils inside
Though I try to oppress it but
I cannot deny my newborn freedom
Forgiving is not forgetting
A broken heart mended no
More crying in vain regrets
Suffer ignorance all feelings are dead
Some wounds heal with time
I welcome this new reality
And call it my own
Rage, because of you hate
Because of you fallen
Because of you reborn
Because of you
Forgiven and forgotten
The lyrics of Antestor's song Unchained deal with themes of forgiveness and revenge. The singer of the song, who was once an "easy prey" for someone, has now gained a newfound freedom and is no longer willing to be victimized. However, despite this freedom, the singer still struggles with feelings of revenge and rage towards the person who once hurt them. The lyrics suggest that forgiving someone does not mean forgetting the pain that they caused, and that even as one moves on from a painful experience, the wounds may still leave scars.
The final lines of the song, "Forgiven and forgotten," suggest a level of closure and healing that the singer has achieved. However, the preceding lyrics reveal that the road to forgiveness and freedom is not an easy one, and that the pain caused by someone else's actions can leave a lasting impact. Through the singer's struggles with revenge and rage, the song highlights the complex emotions that come with healing from trauma.
Line by Line Meaning
I was an easy prey for you
I used to be gullible and vulnerable to your schemes
Better believe that those
You can trust me when I say that
Days are over now
That time has passed and I'm no longer that way
Naivety of the past so sick
Looking back, I'm disgusted by how naive I was
Of being abused
Of the mistreatment and manipulation that I endured
Forgiving is not forgetting
Just because I've forgiven you doesn't mean I've forgotten what you did
My revenge boils inside
Despite forgiving you, I still feel furious and vengeful
Though I try to oppress it but
Despite trying to keep those feelings down
I cannot deny my newborn freedom
I can't help but feel liberated from your control over me
A broken heart mended no
My heart has healed, and
More crying in vain regrets
I no longer cry over my past mistakes and regrets
Suffer ignorance all feelings are dead
I no longer suffer from ignorance, and I've become emotionally numb
Some wounds heal with time
The pain eventually fades away
I welcome this new reality
I'm embracing this new chapter of my life
And call it my own
I take ownership over my life and choices
Rage, because of you hate
My anger and hatred towards you
Because of you fallen
Are direct consequences of your actions, which caused me to stumble
Because of you reborn
But they also led to my rebirth and growth as a person
Forgiven and forgotten
But I've decided to let go of those negative feelings and move on
Contributed by Aiden V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@Monika-di7vv
Look up some of the following bands
Mortification
Horde
Living Sacrifice
Vomitorial Corpulence
Death List
Armageddon Holocaust
Underoath
Crimson Thorn
Extol
Crimson Moonlight
As I Lay Dying
Soul Embraced
Tortured Conscience
There's tons out there.. I knew this stuff nearly 30 years ago which was way before I heard any regular extreme metal
@GenuineAltruist
I love that line, "forgiving is not forgetting"
@ameliemoriamez9478
Same
@raktar1
Antestor ... Gods answer to Mayhem... God bless you guys .... and ....... MAKE A NEW ALBUM!!!!!!
@wypimentel
Caraca, um dos melhores vídeos (qualidade boa) do Antestor foi feito no Brasil! Que honra!
@vikavika4194
Foi?
@vinzperitum8367
foi mesmo?
@belysninghc8938
Gravado em Curitiba no ano 2013
@mugemex764
A banda é brasileira?
@Holagrimola
what?
@bloodstainedrosarymusic460
Just found out there was Unblack Metal out there. This is my new favorite genre