Review by Arek on December 16, 2017.

Four chilled, but spurting with musical ideas Swedes created a band that moves in the territories of post-metal and sludge. They chose Antarktis for the name, because there isn’t a place that’s colder, and anything south of Antarctica is pure hell. Do you know In Mourning or October Tide? Antarktis guitarists and founding fathers - Björn Pettersson and Tobias Netzell are playing in the first one, and Tobias scored a 3-year episode in this second band. I must tell you that you can hear particles of In Mourning in Antarktis. The album composed of 6 tracks lasts almost 52 minutes in total. After the release of the last albums of In Mourning and October Tide, Antarktis also fell prey to Agonia Records.

When starting the analysis of Ildlaante, some questions arise. Is music played by this Swedish quartet even metal? In my opinion decisively YES! Will it tickle the likes of metal brothers? Most certainly not all of them. Sludge incorporated in post-metal melody is quite a specific trend to have such causative power. This music is much closer to rock than to the extremely violent rhythms of death and black metal, not to even mention grind. However, it is the sound of guitar, bass and furious roar of Daniel Jansson that makes this melodic rock gain the power and aggressiveness of metal. Musical art is such a camouflaged slut that you have to do her in order to check its power and action. Preferably several times and in different phases of mood and if you have an open mind, Antarktis may just shoot itself in. In the debut of the Swedes, we will not find meat chunks, blood-spattered walls, or Christ's corpse hanging upside down. Crazy moshing, or headbanging will also be difficult during the show. In Ildlaante the compositions are long and stretched, but due to their diversity and melodies, they do not wear you out at all. Melodiousness is not exaggerated, nor it is over sweetened, but slightly dirtied and coarse sound wise, and thus creates a more brutal impression.

The form and atmosphere of the songs makes me hear, at times, (e.g. in Ildlaante) Noc Lekkich Obyczajów of Biesy and in ‘Svalbard’ for example I hear echoes of LG Petrov from ‘Descent Into Inferno’. You may say that it is so retro, that it is so yuck! Some may even say, "it's such a clone of Cult Of Luna", and yet thanks to this Antarctic cold incorporated into music, thanks to this roughness born of black metal, death metal guitars and vocals, the differences are noticeable. You just have to want to and allow these slow sounds settle in our neuron ganglia so that they can build this cold, dark and sad climate. For example, the ending – ‘Cape Meteor Pt.2’ needs nearly 8 minutes to attack, but when it explodes - its rage can hurt pretty badly. In this album I found an atmosphere saturated with coldness and sadness, as well as furious emotions.

Yes, I agree that Antarktis is no new discovery and where is that metal fire? But does hell have to be associated with fire and seething tar? Well, no, and they are the perfect proof of it. The murderous frost and white abyss can be as infernal as fire and black. Although Antarktis does not have much in common with the hell of black metal, the sounds they spit out spin round in such dark areas that there is no reason to look for hope in there. Cold and depressing metal served by the Swedes probably will suffer comparisons to their older compatriots from Cult Of Luna, and for good reason, because, as the proverb says, when you walk among the crows, you must croak like them. Therefore, playing music in the same genre and originating in Sweden, they had to expect that such a patch will be stuck to them almost automatically. But, I dare to say that even when creating music in other metal sub genres it would happen all the same. I think that since there is a lot of room for different bands playing similarly, Antarktis music will defend itself in post-metal, the more so because their compositional ideas and musical possibilities are undoubtedly their strong points. Nothing pressures them and they’re not in the pinch. They tailored out a great material, even though the prototype was made earlier. It seems to me that it is not their last word and I will be holding my fingers crossed for them.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Review by Arek on March 28, 2014.

Domains – "Sinister Ceremonies" is the first release of the Finnish label/zine The Sinister Flame and at the same time it is the first official creation of the three Spaniards. You have got to admit that it is a solid debut. From the first bars you can hear and feel what it is that we have to deal with. A dark, underground death metal, reeking of the devil for miles. Every sound that those three Spaniards create is like a kick; a kick to destroy all the doctrines of Christianity. My subjective ear reminds me of early Immolation releases, although European-styled and with a heavy dose of tarry icing on it. I recommend this release to death and black metal maniacs alike. I don't know whether the final sound result was intended, or if it was purely coincidental, but knowing that we are dealing with a double debut, this is such a dose of bashing that Lucifer himself would not be ashamed of it. There are certain flaws in production, but such is the difference between European and U.S. releases. Skillfully applied reverbs, guitar and bass solos, and other small flavors are almost like bacon and onion bits on potato dumplings, but that reference will be understood only by few. ;-) I rated this album with a small (-) for production and a huge (+) for authenticity and climate.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Alex on May 5, 2019.

Canadian sect Death Worship follows up 2016’s widely praised Extermination Mass with End Times, a record that continues its quest to stomp out all human existence. Having heard brother bands Revenge and Conqueror, one easily noticeable difference of Death Worship is the production and less impulse-driven blade of their strike. Not saying End Times is not a savage record, it’s that maturity can be heard on this new spree of violence.

Tempo changes are still a thing on End Times which reinforces the idea of controlled musical barbarity. Black/death or "war metal" records this short mostly play at an uncompromising speed; but here, the pacing is mixed with groove laden segments, thus giving the compositions added layers of depth. Death Worship continues to use deeper carvings of harmony to prevent End Times from sounding like a perpetual wall of recklessness that some bands under the “war metal” moniker have a fetish for. Not that I would mind if they kept things more feral, as I prefer the more untamed showings of excoriation, but this works. However; coming off the momentum of a killer debut EP that was released in 2016, I was expecting a less approachable sound and a few more songs after such a long period of waiting, thus bringing to light Death Worship’s appreciation of quality over quantity. Yes, it's only 12 minutes’ worth of music, but the way the songs are constructed reflects that of an effort in which had been dwelling under significant surveillance and supervision throughout its development; thus, ensuring ideal results. Like scientists engineering a biological weapon of large-scale devastating effects; the Ross Bay Cult commanders ensured this entity underwent extensive examination, from zygote to embryo to warhead, no cellular incoherencies went undetected and untreated. Though borrowing elements from and putting to work the successful touch of Conqueror, the amendments made have proven to be anything but arbitrary. 

Due to the record being so short, the memorable occurrences fly-by so fast you get the feeling something more is missing, like the cherry on top of an ice-cream cone. End Times gallops to the end so fast that you can barely savor some really talented moments heard from the opening track to the final entry. The replay-ability is there but solely relying on how many times you can endure something that races to the end without looking back. However; Death Worship delivers what has come to be expected from them at this level. With the rabid vocals acting in accordance with the hammering drums and paroxysmal guitars, the speeding rage rarely settles but can still be intensively felt on the groovier sections of End Times, as can be heard on” The Poisoned Chalice”. Plus with the production holding up so well, this short act of “war metal” aggression will satisfy the seasoned listener/supporter, but only for so long. 

I would prefer if Death Worship adapted a more chaotic sound and muddled approach to the riff writing and guitar tuning; however, this audible polish is not that much of a turn-off; and that's all credited to the fantastic musicianship. End Times is a fairly short but quality effort by Death Worship, but after 2+ years since Extermination Mass, I’m of the belief that it’s a tease for something more to come later in 2019 (hopefully). We will have to be content with this besiegement for now; End Times crushes but I fear there is a second more destructive wave of nuclear radiation approaching. 

Rating: 7.4 out of 10

Review by Alex on May 5, 2019.

Canadian sect Death Worship follows up 2016’s widely praised Extermination Mass with End Times, a record that continues its quest to stomp out all human existence. Having heard brother bands Revenge and Conqueror, one easily noticeable difference of Death Worship is the production and less impulse-driven blade of their strike. Not saying End Times is not a savage record, it’s that maturity can be heard on this new spree of violence.

Tempo changes are still a thing on End Times which reinforces the idea of controlled musical barbarity. Black/death or "war metal" records this short mostly play at an uncompromising speed; but here, the pacing is mixed with groove laden segments, thus giving the compositions added layers of depth. Death Worship continues to use deeper carvings of harmony to prevent End Times from sounding like a perpetual wall of recklessness that some bands under the “war metal” moniker have a fetish for. Not that I would mind if they kept things more feral, as I prefer the more untamed showings of excoriation, but this works. However; coming off the momentum of a killer debut EP that was released in 2016, I was expecting a less approachable sound and a few more songs after such a long period of waiting, thus bringing to light Death Worship’s appreciation of quality over quantity. Yes, it's only 12 minutes’ worth of music, but the way the songs are constructed reflects that of an effort in which had been dwelling under significant surveillance and supervision throughout its development; thus, ensuring ideal results. Like scientists engineering a biological weapon of large-scale devastating effects; the Ross Bay Cult commanders ensured this entity underwent extensive examination, from zygote to embryo to warhead, no cellular incoherencies went undetected and untreated. Though borrowing elements from and putting to work the successful touch of Conqueror, the amendments made have proven to be anything but arbitrary. 

Due to the record being so short, the memorable occurrences fly-by so fast you get the feeling something more is missing, like the cherry on top of an ice-cream cone. End Times gallops to the end so fast that you can barely savor some really talented moments heard from the opening track to the final entry. The replay-ability is there but solely relying on how many times you can endure something that races to the end without looking back. However; Death Worship delivers what has come to be expected from them at this level. With the rabid vocals acting in accordance with the hammering drums and paroxysmal guitars, the speeding rage rarely settles but can still be intensively felt on the groovier sections of End Times, as can be heard on” The Poisoned Chalice”. Plus with the production holding up so well, this short act of “war metal” aggression will satisfy the seasoned listener/supporter, but only for so long. 

I would prefer if Death Worship adapted a more chaotic sound and muddled approach to the riff writing and guitar tuning; however, this audible polish is not that much of a turn-off; and that's all credited to the fantastic musicianship. End Times is a fairly short but quality effort by Death Worship, but after 2+ years since Extermination Mass, I’m of the belief that it’s a tease for something more to come later in 2019 (hopefully). We will have to be content with this besiegement for now; End Times crushes but I fear there is a second more destructive wave of nuclear radiation approaching. 

Rating: 7.4 out of 10

Review by Alex on May 5, 2019.

Canadian sect Death Worship follows up 2016’s widely praised Extermination Mass with End Times, a record that continues its quest to stomp out all human existence. Having heard brother bands Revenge and Conqueror, one easily noticeable difference of Death Worship is the production and less impulse-driven blade of their strike. Not saying End Times is not a savage record, it’s that maturity can be heard on this new spree of violence.

Tempo changes are still a thing on End Times which reinforces the idea of controlled musical barbarity. Black/death or "war metal" records this short mostly play at an uncompromising speed; but here, the pacing is mixed with groove laden segments, thus giving the compositions added layers of depth. Death Worship continues to use deeper carvings of harmony to prevent End Times from sounding like a perpetual wall of recklessness that some bands under the “war metal” moniker have a fetish for. Not that I would mind if they kept things more feral, as I prefer the more untamed showings of excoriation, but this works. However; coming off the momentum of a killer debut EP that was released in 2016, I was expecting a less approachable sound and a few more songs after such a long period of waiting, thus bringing to light Death Worship’s appreciation of quality over quantity. Yes, it's only 12 minutes’ worth of music, but the way the songs are constructed reflects that of an effort in which had been dwelling under significant surveillance and supervision throughout its development; thus, ensuring ideal results. Like scientists engineering a biological weapon of large-scale devastating effects; the Ross Bay Cult commanders ensured this entity underwent extensive examination, from zygote to embryo to warhead, no cellular incoherencies went undetected and untreated. Though borrowing elements from and putting to work the successful touch of Conqueror, the amendments made have proven to be anything but arbitrary. 

Due to the record being so short, the memorable occurrences fly-by so fast you get the feeling something more is missing, like the cherry on top of an ice-cream cone. End Times gallops to the end so fast that you can barely savor some really talented moments heard from the opening track to the final entry. The replay-ability is there but solely relying on how many times you can endure something that races to the end without looking back. However; Death Worship delivers what has come to be expected from them at this level. With the rabid vocals acting in accordance with the hammering drums and paroxysmal guitars, the speeding rage rarely settles but can still be intensively felt on the groovier sections of End Times, as can be heard on” The Poisoned Chalice”. Plus with the production holding up so well, this short act of “war metal” aggression will satisfy the seasoned listener/supporter, but only for so long. 

I would prefer if Death Worship adapted a more chaotic sound and muddled approach to the riff writing and guitar tuning; however, this audible polish is not that much of a turn-off; and that's all credited to the fantastic musicianship. End Times is a fairly short but quality effort by Death Worship, but after 2+ years since Extermination Mass, I’m of the belief that it’s a tease for something more to come later in 2019 (hopefully). We will have to be content with this besiegement for now; End Times crushes but I fear there is a second more destructive wave of nuclear radiation approaching. 

Rating: 7.4 out of 10