The Forsaken is the third
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by the
Christian black metal
Unblack metal (also known as Christian black metal) is a religious philosophy and subgenre within black metal, inheriting several characteristics of it, such as the melody, the lyrics and the aesthetics (corpse paint), whose artists either direc ...
band
Antestor
Antestor () is a Norwegian Christian extreme metal band formed in 1990 in Jessheim. Credited for starting the northern European Christian metal, Christian black metal scene,Bryzak, Michael. Liner notes of ''The Defeat of Satan'' album. 2003. End ...
, released in 2005 on Endtime Productions. The album features guest appearances of the established metal musicians
Jan Axel Blomberg
Jan Axel Blomberg (born 2 August 1969) is a Norwegian heavy metal drummer known professionally as Hellhammer. He is best known as the drummer of Mayhem, which he joined in 1988. In 1987 Blomberg formed the avant-garde black metal band Arcturu ...
(Hellhammer) and
Ann-Mari Edvardsen
Ann-Mari Edvardsen (born 6 November 1973 in Trondheim) is a Norwegian coloratura soprano opera singer and keyboardist. She is best known as the former vocalist of Norwegian doom metal/avant-garde band The 3rd and the Mortal from 1995 to 1997 and ...
.
Recording history
''The Forsaken'' was recorded in 2004 at Top Room Studios, which has been used by groups such as
Tristania,
Borknagar
Borknagar is a Norwegian heavy metal band from Bergen, founded in 1995 by Øystein Garnes Brun. The band's style combines black metal and folk metal with progressive and melodic elements. Borknagar's lyrics often deal with philosophy, paganis ...
,
Mayhem
Mayhem most commonly refers to:
* Mayhem (crime), a type of crime
Mayhem may also refer to:
People
* Monica Mayhem (born 1978), Australian pornographic actress
* Jason "Mayhem" Miller, American mixed martial arts fighter
* Mayhem Miller (dra ...
, and
Extol
Extol are a Christian metal band from Bekkestua, Norway that was formed in 1993. The band is known for playing a variety of different styles of metal which include progressive metal, death metal, black metal and thrash metal.
Over the course ...
. The album was produced by Børge Finstad. Several songs from the recording sessions were dropped from the full-length and were published on an EP titled
Det Tapte Liv
''Det Tapte Liv'' is an EP by the Norwegian unblack metal band Antestor, released in 2004 by Endtime Productions.
Recording
The EP contains songs recorded at Antestor's studio sessions in 2004 at Top Room Studios. The band felt that these songs d ...
. The lineup on this recording session featured two former members of the dark metal band
Vaakevandring
Vaakevandring was a Norwegian unblack metal band that was active from 1996 to 2007. The name in Norwegian is a reference to the resurrection of Jesus. , namely vocalist Ronny Hansen and keyboardist Morten Sigmund Mageroy, as well as the female vocalist
Ann-Mari Edvardsen
Ann-Mari Edvardsen (born 6 November 1973 in Trondheim) is a Norwegian coloratura soprano opera singer and keyboardist. She is best known as the former vocalist of Norwegian doom metal/avant-garde band The 3rd and the Mortal from 1995 to 1997 and ...
of the gothic metal group
The 3rd and the Mortal
The Third and the Mortal were a Norwegian metal band from Trondheim, founded in 1992. The band started out as doom metal, mixing distorted guitars and heavy drumming with clean guitars and vocals from Kari Rueslåtten. The band went on to expe ...
. Lars Stokstad is the only original Antestor member on this album.
The album is known to feature drumming by
Jan Axel Blomberg
Jan Axel Blomberg (born 2 August 1969) is a Norwegian heavy metal drummer known professionally as Hellhammer. He is best known as the drummer of Mayhem, which he joined in 1988. In 1987 Blomberg formed the avant-garde black metal band Arcturu ...
, also known as Hellhammer, one of the best-known drummers in extreme metal. His appearance on the recordings was somewhat disputed in the metal scene. In an interview with the Russian metal site Metal Library on January 7, 2007, Blomberg says:
The vocalist Ronny Hansen knew Hellhammer personally and asked him to play for the band. The members of Antestor gave Hellhammer the demos for the songs in person, but according to Blomberg, he never met the Antestor members in studio personally because the producer Børge Finstad wanted to work with each musician alone per time to achieve better and more productive results. 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."
[ Quote 1: "To be honest, it was a big 'fuck off!' to them all. I will repeat again that I decide what I do and I play not only in black metal bands." Quote 2: "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 anything else. We are primarily interested in music."] Antestor vocalist Ronny Hansen commented on Blomberg's appearance:
Overview
''The Forsakens reception in media was positive and several critics gave it good reviews.
[Morrow, Matt]
"Antestor - The Forsaken"
The Whipping Post. Retrieved on 2007-11-18. However, some fans of the band's old style were not too happy with the stylistical change on ''The Forsaken'': the previous "sorrow metal" output changed to modern, fast, progressive and melodic dark metal.
[ Translated quote: "]heir
Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...
old dark and slow sorrow metal has changed into more modern, artistic and fast dark metal." The album contains several guitar solos. This addition received some criticism, and for example Roel de Haan of the Dutch ''Lords of Metal'' webzine wrote that "the elaborate solos simply are not beautiful and
recompletely out of context."
''Lords of Metal'' gave ''The Forsaken'' 75/100,
and ''Nocturnal Horde'' gave it 8/10, calling it "a very powerful album," and "an amalgamation of innovation, energy, and anger."
A few songs that were recorded during the same session were left off from the full-length album. These songs include "Grief", "Last Season", "Med Hevede Sverd" and "Det Tapte Liv", which were released as a teaser on an EP titled ''
Det Tapte Liv
''Det Tapte Liv'' is an EP by the Norwegian unblack metal band Antestor, released in 2004 by Endtime Productions.
Recording
The EP contains songs recorded at Antestor's studio sessions in 2004 at Top Room Studios. The band felt that these songs d ...
'' in 2004. The EP also included the same song that is also on ''The Forsaken'' called "Rites of Death". The song was slightly remixed on the album, the main difference is that it includes an intro sang solely by Edvardsen. "Raade" and "Mitt Hjerte" are instrumental pieces.
The lyrics on ''The Forsaken'' showcase dark, depressed, introspective and personal themes such as bitterness and longing. On this album, Antestor also deals with issues such as
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
,
[Antestor: ''The Forsaken'', song 6: "Betrayed"; Endtime Productions, 2005.] doubts about the certainty of Salvation,
and yearning for death,
[Antestor: ''The Forsaken'', song 9: "As I Die"; Endtime Productions, 2005.] which is rare for a Christian band. An example of the lyrics of "Betrayed" from the album ''The Forsaken'':
Track listing
# Rites of Death – 4:14
# Old Times Cruelty – 3:56
# Via Dolorosa – 5:09
# Raade – 3:28
# The Crown I Carry – 4:52
# Betrayed – 4:21
# Vale of Tears – 5:52
# The Return – 4:47
# As I Die – 4:51
# Mitt Hjerte – 3:18
Personnel
Antestor
* Ronny "Vrede" Hanson – vocals
* Lars "Vemod" Stokstad – guitars, vocals
* Vergard "Gard" Undal – bass
* Morten Sigmund "Sygmoon" Mageroy – keyboards
Session
*
Jan Axel "Hellhammer" Blomberg – drums
(Mayhem
Mayhem most commonly refers to:
* Mayhem (crime), a type of crime
Mayhem may also refer to:
People
* Monica Mayhem (born 1978), Australian pornographic actress
* Jason "Mayhem" Miller, American mixed martial arts fighter
* Mayhem Miller (dra ...
)
*
Ann-Mari Edvardsen
Ann-Mari Edvardsen (born 6 November 1973 in Trondheim) is a Norwegian coloratura soprano opera singer and keyboardist. She is best known as the former vocalist of Norwegian doom metal/avant-garde band The 3rd and the Mortal from 1995 to 1997 and ...
– vocals
(The Third and the Mortal
The Third and the Mortal were a Norwegian metal band from Trondheim, founded in 1992. The band started out as doom metal, mixing distorted guitars and heavy drumming with clean guitars and vocals from Kari Rueslåtten. The band went on to experi ...
)
* Bjørn Loren – guitars
Production
* Børge Finstad – mixing, engineering
* Morten Lund – mastering
* Samuel Durling – executive producer, art direction, design
Artwork
*
Kristian "Necrolord" Wåhlin – artwork
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forsaken
2005 albums
Antestor albums