Ante-Inferno Returns With Atmospheric Black Metal Meditation Death’s Soliloquy

Transmission 138: Interview with Ante-Inferno

North Yorkshire’s black metal band Ante-Inferno released their third album, Death’s Soliloquy, on November 22, 2024, via Vendetta Records. The album immerses listeners in a grim exploration of death and psychological torment, drawing from black metal’s aggressive roots while incorporating atmospheric elements to evoke a chilling sense of desolation.

Title: Death's Soliloquy
Artist: Ante-Inferno
Release Date: 2024-11-22
Genres: Black Metal
Label: Vendetta Records
Description: North Yorkshire's Ante-Inferno returns with Death's Soliloquy via Vendetta Records, presenting death's narration through atmospheric black metal and raw aggression.

What early inspirations drew you into black metal and defined the sound of Ante-Inferno?

Thrash and heavy metal were constantly being blasted from the speakers throughout my childhood, so I guess the foundations were laid pretty early on. Though not a black metal album, I recall Sabbat’s “Dreamweaver” making a huge impression on me with its aggression, awesome vocals and atmosphere. I was drawn into the genre by the likes of Cradle of Filth’s “Cruelty and the Beast” and Dimmu Borgir’s “Spiritual Black Dimensions” – two major albums around 1998/99. From there, my descent into the underground began. As for what defined the sound of Ante-Inferno? Everything. Every black, death and doom band I had ever heard – and more from any number of other genres. If it stirs the soul and summons up a hateful essence, it’s a source of influence.

What was the key moment that led you to start creating music, particularly with such dark themes?

It’s difficult to define a key momentum because creating music is a need – a sort of compulsion, if you will. And the dark themes are easy to explore because that darkness is a part of me. I don’t mean that in the cliched and utterly eye-rolling sense you may associate with black metal musicians. I am not claiming to be “evil” or some kind of “edgy” and dangerous badass that your parents should be scared of… But there is an attraction to darkness, depression and all that is macabre within me, and this obviously needs an outlet.

What were the most significant challenges you faced during the formation of the band?

Finding a stable lineup was one – a lineup that could adequately translate our sound to the live environment. Other than that, it’s just difficult to get off the ground as a new and unheard band, you know? You get shitty slots at shitty festivals, and get “helped” by various people who have no intention of actually helping you at all but are happy to take your money. The same thing any young band goes through, I suppose. Personally, I hate how it is nowadays with social media and the need to shamelessly promote and market oneself, if you hope to make any progress. It’s all distasteful to me.

How would you describe the atmosphere of the black metal scene when you started, and what effect did it have on your approach?

It’s difficult to say, not being present at too many black metal gigs around the time we started, and not being someone who follows hundreds of bands, labels and promoters on social media. What I had to inspire me was my collection of albums, and of course the aesthetics, lyrics and sonic approach of those albums – no matter how old, recent, well-loved or under-appreciated they may have been. I can say for sure that we set out to do something different from what we were hearing, and I believe we achieved that. I don’t feel we sound like anybody else in the scene.

After “Antediluvian Dreamscapes,” did you feel pressure to follow a similar path, or did you decide to explore something entirely different with “Death’s Soliloquy”?

I didn’t feel any pressure, no. You shouldn’t back yourself into a corner by doing what other people expect of you. But there wasn’t a conscious decision to do something totally different, either. What came out of the songwriting process, just… came out… It was comparable to what came before, but it was also pretty different. Fuck knows how or why that was. It just happened. And that’s how it should be. We don’t want to make the same album twice.

The idea of death delivering a “soliloquy” is a strong theme in the album. How did this concept come to fruition, and why did it resonate with you?

The idea of Death delivering a soliloquy allowed all these different stories and accounts to be narrated by a single voice and perspective. It allowed me to transgress the limits of what one individual could conceivably see and feel, and draw together all these varying experiences, giving them life – for want of a better word. The idea fit in well with my state of mind at the time of writing the album, going some way towards vocalising the way I felt and the kinds of things I was thinking about.

The album presents death as a narrator recounting the final moments of those it claims. How did you go about transforming this idea into music?

The music came into being alongside the lyrics. However, each song, at least from my perspective, echoes the content of the lyrics that are bound to it. The sorrow and anguish of a suicide in “The Cavernous Blackness of Night”, the chaos and agonising visions of “Towards Asphyxiating Darkness”, the tragedy and loss of the story being told by “Thallassophobia” – that of a mass drowning which took place at sea. And so on.

Were there any particular literary, philosophical, or artistic influences that helped inspire the themes of “Death’s Soliloquy”?

Actually, no. Not so much this time. There have been some constants in terms of literary influences since the start of the band: Paradise Lost, Dante’s Inferno, Blake’s The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, anything by H.P. Lovecraft. William Hope Hodgon’s The House on the Borderland was a big inspiration for the first two albums.This time, however, it was just me and my thoughts. I’m not even sure I possessed the cognitive ability to engage with any works of art and literature during this time. My mind was not in the best or healthiest of places. Even listening to and enjoying music could be a challenge. I spent the entire time drinking beer, sleeping, waking, trying to hold down a job, watching horror films and taking walks in nature. That’s about all I could cope with.

What lies ahead for Ante-Inferno following the release of this album? Do you have any future projects or plans you’d like to share?

We are always scheming, always thinking forwards in terms of projects, none of which I’d care to divulge! In terms of Ante-Inferno, well, we want to continue to gig and to tour, and then there’s the process of writing the next album. It’s going to sound a little different again, though I’m not sure how. It’s all too early to say with any certainty. It’s going to take time.

Photos courtesy of Ante-Inferno

Matteo Damiani

Matteo Damiani is an Italian photographer and author. Curator of the sites Retrofuturista.com; weirditaly.com; china-underground.com and others