Änterbila is a band (a duo, in fact) hailing from Sweden (what a surprise, right??). Earlier this year they released their first demo material simply called Demo 2020, which has been recently transferred to a physical format – tape, to be more precise – by the Swedish label Void In The Vast Empire.
To start with, the music on this demo is not your regular satanic occult infused black metal. Through the 5 songs (3 stand alone ones and 2 acoustic interludes) and 13 minutes of length, the band offers a pleasant mix of punk, folk and black metal. I usually hate to compare bands, but if I were to suggest a band Änterbila can be somehow related to, I might say Hamys from Finland and maybe some parts of early Arckanum are the closest which come to my mind.
If the core of Änterbila‘s music is black metal, several hints of raw punk can be detected as well, mainly in the vocals, catchy riffing and tempo (“Den Vita Piskan” and “Södermanland” are a very good example of that). The band also incorporates some blast beats here and there, resulting in a more energized and aggressive rhythm, which eventually provide this short material a pleasant variation.
As far I understood, the lyrics (in Swedish, as a matter of fact) tell the story of some dark times in Swedish history, when the “statarna” were oppressed by the local government at the beginning of the 20th century (hence the folk-ish touch of the songs). If you want more info on this topic you can check out this link: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statare
The production is quite raw, even “primitive” sometimes, but keep in mind that this is only a demo tape, so things are meant to sound unpolished. I personally love this approach, it gives the whole release a more natural and sincere feeling than a highly overproduced demo made to impress the plastic producers and labels. After all this is a DIY kind of tape and, most important, this is fucking underground music we are talking about here.
Before closing this short review I would also like to mention the cover as well, done by Motvilja, who’s also in charge of the vocals on this release. The logo and the layout have both a somehow sad and melancholic feeling, reminding of a long forgotten black and white picture recently discovered in well hidden box in some abandoned attic.
As a conclusion, if you are looking for good quality extreme metal with few touches of folk and melancholy, then this demo is highly recommended. Unfortunately the tapes have been sold out pretty quickly (only 50 copies were made), but the good news is that the band is working now on their first full length album. When it will come out and what it will sound like, that remains to be discovered.
Änterbila – Demo 2020 track listing:
1. Den vita piskan
2. Du tysta ensamhet
3. Södermanland
4. Hemlängtan
5. Den bergtagna
Änterbila Line Up:
Motvilja – Vocals
Jerff – Guitars/Bass
Band Links:
https://www.facebook.com/anterbila/
https://vitve.bandcamp.com/album/demo-2020
https://www.facebook.com/VITVEOfficial
https://www.instagram.com/vitveofficial
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmRRk2xGsvl3K-_Q-SHZw7Q/featured
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