Label – Nuclear Blast
Release – 12th March 2021
BBBBLLLAAMMM. Anti has so much going on that it is hard to take it all in.
The base sound is actually fairly conventional proto metal with 70s psych inflections á la Ghost. However, there is a lot more going on: Guitar leads; bluesy solos; driving bass; 80s keys; Hammond organ; drum fills; euphoric choruses; and bombastic vocals. Critically, the tempo of the album operates at a highly energetic cadence to avoid the staleness of similar records. Taken at face value, songs such as The Shovel and the Cross, All Chains Rust.., The Fucking Violence of Love are super catchy heavy space rock tracks. Scratch the surface and you will find incredible musicianship and progressive ideas. The vocal performance stands out from White Void's mastermind, Norway's Lars Nedland (of BM band Solefald and keys for Borknagar), wholly clean and soaring. The production is an XXL, super polished wall of sound making the tracks even more grandiose and decadent. Such is the excess, Anti stands out as a highly original record, and will make you joyously laugh out loud at points.
This LP may not be for those with heavier tastes, but from the artwork, the time and energy used to sculpt each song, to the eyecatching remixes, this band clearly put an awful lot of thought into their art. A highly impressive debut, which is presented as a fully realised statement.
9/10
FFO – Ghost, Blue Oyster Cult, Hawkwind
Ven
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