Ante-Inferno – Death’s Soliloquy (Review)

This is the third album from UK black metal act Ante-Inferno.

Following on from 2022’s Antediluvian Dreamscapes comes Death’s Soliloquy, which contains 47 minutes of new material. It’s Ante-Inferno’s longest album, but also their most engaging and well-realised.

Death’s Soliloquy takes influence from the raw power of the classic second wave and combines it with the more expressive atmospheric black metal that came later. Theirs is a compelling mix, fusing together harsh blackened aggression and gloomy esoteric atmospheres, making for a compelling blend of affecting darkness.

The songs are well-written and well-crafted, showing progression in both songwriting skill and performances. The music’s emotive power and sonic weight have increased in presence; these new songs are ripe with emotion and feeling, yet never lose that merciless cold edge that comes from lethal black metal intensity. Even at their most melodic, most atmospheric, and most anguished, beneath the music’s surface lurks a malevolent predator.

Ante-Inferno take what worked on Antediluvian Dreamscapes and rework it into something stronger. Death’s Soliloquy showcases a band that continue to develop and improve, incrementally refining their tormented vision one achievement at a time. The melodies cut deeper, the emotions felt more keenly, the vocals are more potent, varied, and impactful, the drumming is more satisfying, the blackened riffs and rhythms icier and grimmer; basically, this is Ante-Inferno’s best album, and it’s formidable.

Death’s Soliloquy is a very enjoyable and rewarding record to explore and get to know over time. Its teeth bite deeper with each spin, allowing the music’s claws the time necessary to find ever more purchase in your willing flesh.

Very highly recommended for any fan of the style.