Martyrium (album)
Encyclopedia
Martyrium is the debut album
of the unblack metal
band Antestor
. It is one of the earliest Christian extreme metal
albums released in Norway. Recorded in 1994, only bootleg copies were printed of Martyrium, and it became a "cult classic" among a small audience, until the album was re-issued in 2000 by Endtime Productions
.
compilation album (2003) that, although the first album was not officially released until 2000, "Martyrium was rightfully considered a cult classic."
In 2000, Antestor began collaborating with the Scandinavian label Endtime Productions
, and the label re-released Martyrium during the same year. The cover art
was changed to a painting by Kristian Wåhlin
.
, doom metal
and black metal
. The guitar playing emphasizes on tremolo riffs, and sometimes on slow doom metal riffs; the drumming ranges from down-tempo to mid-paced arrangements. Martyr's (Kjetil Molnes) vocals are mostly guttural, blackened death grunts and sometimes higher growls. Several songs showcase progressive
elements: "Depressed" begins with a grand piano solo followed by "orthodoxly sung funeral dirge." "Thoughts" begins with a 2 minute funeral mass organ solo, before the blackened death/doom output turns in. The song "Mercy Lord" showcases operatic, uncredited female vocals and cites the Psalm 51
. "Searching" was featured on Cross Rhythms Music's Extreme Music Sampler volume 4 compilation album
. "Mercy Lord", "Thoughts", and "Inmost Fear" were also featured on Rowe Production
's compilation album Norther Lights: Norwegian Metal Compilation in 1996.
Jamie Lee Rake of HM Magazine
wrote of the Endtime Productions re-release of Martyrium, suspecting that the progressive elements of the album made the band unnoticed innovators in the early Norwegian extreme metal scene:
.
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
of the unblack metal
Unblack metal
Unblack metal is a term used to describe musically black metal sounding artists whose lyrics and imagery promote Christianity. Such artists are controversial, mainly because black metal's pioneers, especially those of the Second Wave, intended to encourage hostility towards Christianity...
band Antestor
Antestor
Antestor is an extreme metal band formed in 1990 in Jessheim, Norway. Credited for starting the whole northern European Christian extreme metal scene, Antestor is the only Christian band to have an album released by Cacophonous Records, which has also released records by bands such as Dimmu Borgir,...
. It is one of the earliest Christian extreme metal
Extreme metal
Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. The term usually refers to a more abrasive, harsher, underground, non-commercialized style or sound nearly always associated with genres like black metal,...
albums released in Norway. Recorded in 1994, only bootleg copies were printed of Martyrium, and it became a "cult classic" among a small audience, until the album was re-issued in 2000 by Endtime Productions
Endtime Productions
Endtime Productions is an independent record label based in Scandinavia. The label focuses on extreme metal music and helped notable groups such as Norway's Extol to gain fame and get a record deal with Century Media Records. Notable groups on the label's roster include Antestor, Drottnar and...
.
Recording history
Originally Torodd Fuglesteg, head of the infamous Arctic Serenade Records, sent Antestor to studio to record Martyrium. At the time having problems with signing the band Groms for Arctic Serenades' roster, Fuglesteg said: "I was also in touch with Antestor at that time and I sent them into studio to do their Martyrium album. This album was later released through another label. I regarded, and still regard, Antestor as much darker than Groms, which was a happy-smiles band." Martyrium was recorded at Norsk Lydskole in December 1994, remixed in February 1995, and was produced by Jon Ove Andersen and Antestor. Some problems occurred and another label called Morphine Records ended releasing only 50 bootleg copies of it. However, tape copies circulated in up to fifth generation copies and their audience grew fast. Michael Bryzak writes in the liner notes of The Defeat of Satan / DespairThe Defeat of Satan
The Defeat of Satan is an album by the Norwegian band Antestor. The album comprises their first two demos Despair and The Defeat of Satan . The songs were remastered and remixed in 2003 and was published by the Norwegian label Momentum Scandinavia...
compilation album (2003) that, although the first album was not officially released until 2000, "Martyrium was rightfully considered a cult classic."
In 2000, Antestor began collaborating with the Scandinavian label Endtime Productions
Endtime Productions
Endtime Productions is an independent record label based in Scandinavia. The label focuses on extreme metal music and helped notable groups such as Norway's Extol to gain fame and get a record deal with Century Media Records. Notable groups on the label's roster include Antestor, Drottnar and...
, and the label re-released Martyrium during the same year. The cover art
Album cover
An album cover is the front of the packaging of a commercially released audio recording product, or album. The term can refer to either the printed cardboard covers typically used to package sets of 10" and 12" 78 rpm records, single and sets of 12" LPs, sets of 45 rpm records , or the front-facing...
was changed to a painting by Kristian Wåhlin
Kristian Wåhlin
Kristian Wåhlin is a Swedish musician, graphic designer, and album cover artist for many bands in the extreme metal scene worldwide. He is often credited under his pseudonym, Necrolord....
.
Overview
Musically, Martyrium leans toward a combination of death metalDeath metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
, doom metal
Doom metal
Doom metal is an extreme form of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other metal genres...
and black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
. The guitar playing emphasizes on tremolo riffs, and sometimes on slow doom metal riffs; the drumming ranges from down-tempo to mid-paced arrangements. Martyr's (Kjetil Molnes) vocals are mostly guttural, blackened death grunts and sometimes higher growls. Several songs showcase progressive
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
elements: "Depressed" begins with a grand piano solo followed by "orthodoxly sung funeral dirge." "Thoughts" begins with a 2 minute funeral mass organ solo, before the blackened death/doom output turns in. The song "Mercy Lord" showcases operatic, uncredited female vocals and cites the Psalm 51
Psalm 51
Psalm 51 , traditionally referred to as the Miserere, its Latin incipit, is one of the Penitential Psalms. It begins: Have mercy on me, O God....
. "Searching" was featured on Cross Rhythms Music's Extreme Music Sampler volume 4 compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
. "Mercy Lord", "Thoughts", and "Inmost Fear" were also featured on Rowe Production
Steve Rowe
Steve Rowe is the founder, bass guitarist, and vocalist of the Australian Christian death metal band Mortification which was considered to be a major pioneer in the genre. Prior to forming Mortification he was in a traditional heavy metal styled Christian band known as LightForce...
's compilation album Norther Lights: Norwegian Metal Compilation in 1996.
Jamie Lee Rake of HM Magazine
HM Magazine
HM: The Hard Music Magazine is an American bimonthly publication focusing on both Christianity and hard rock. Articles include news, album and festival reviews, posters, artists to watch, indie artist reviews, devotionals and interviews with Christian artists...
wrote of the Endtime Productions re-release of Martyrium, suspecting that the progressive elements of the album made the band unnoticed innovators in the early Norwegian extreme metal scene:
Track listing
All songs by AntestorAntestor
Antestor is an extreme metal band formed in 1990 in Jessheim, Norway. Credited for starting the whole northern European Christian extreme metal scene, Antestor is the only Christian band to have an album released by Cacophonous Records, which has also released records by bands such as Dimmu Borgir,...
.
- "Spiritual Disease" – 6:42
- "Materalisic Lie" – 3:13
- "Depressed" – 6:43
- "Thoughts" – 7:09
- "Under the Sun" – 5:00
- "Inmost Fear" – 5:38
- "Searching" – 3:00
- "Martyrium" – 2:59
- "Mercy Lord" – 6:40
External links
- Martyrium at Metal Archives (retrieved 8-27-07)