Antaeus – Blood Libels
Ajna Offensive – FLAME039 – September 6th, 2006
By Jason Jordan
What’s on tap here is a ferocious, malicious slab of French black metal from a seasoned outfit.
Blood Libels is the third full-length installment – after 2000’s
Cut Your Flesh and Worship Satan and 2002’s
De Principii Evangelikum – and while I’ve only been fortunate enough to have been on board with
Antaeus since
DPE, their latest is a more compelling release on the whole.
The packaging, first of all, is exquisite – spot gloss digipak with liner notes that have onionskin sheets placed in between photographs and lyrics. In opening the digipak, the mood is set when reading the text, opposite the CD tray, that rests under the band’s logo, which states, “We Hope You Die.” The music matches those sentiments. Playing a furious, intense, and caustic form of BM,
Antaeus relay a bulk of their material at breakneck speed, but somehow, it’s all incredibly captivating. Songs like
‘Cyklic Torture,’ ‘Colliding in Ashes,’ and
‘Blood Libels’ are fast from the get-go, while others such as
‘Control and Abuse,’ ‘Word As Weapons,’ ‘Here Is Punishment,’ and
‘Gates to the Outside’ aren’t quite as accelerated from the outset, while some simply take their time getting up to speed with the rest of their ilk. Of course the production isn’t immaculate, but is excellent insofar as each instrument has unmistakable clarity, which gives every component room to breath without sacrificing the level of aggression that
Blood Libels repeatedly boasts.
All in all,
Antaeus are a punishing unit that have proven their capabilities again and again –
BL being yet more evidence that France’s black metal underground is a force to be reckoned with. Highly recommended to all fans of fast, intense BM.
Official Antaeus Website
Official Ajna Offensive Website