Longing for the End

Anti is a probably one of the most underrated depressive black metal bands out there. Even though their discography is quite slim it is filled with amazing material and even though they had a relatively short life-span, they seem to have become active again as of 2018. Their only full-length album, entitled "The Insignificance of Life" can be considered a more refined final product that came as a natural follow up to this extended demo. The songs on this release can all be considered as standards for how depressive black metal should sound like. The only quality which this demo lacks, is the momentous atmosphere and strong production which the full-length following this album has in droves.

Unlike many underground depressive black metal bands, Anti manage to keep things fresh throughout the entire release. The musicianship being showcased here is amazing and has a very strong sense of flow which encapsulates the entirety of this demo. "Death into Life" is probably the best song on this demo, for the simple reason that it probably contains one of the best and most surprising black metal solo I've ever heard on a depressive black metal release. The only perceivable hole within the entire tapestry of the instruments, is the drum-machine. It sounds so god-damn synthetic at times that it can corrupt the overall pleasure of listening to this demo. The main offender in the drum-machine department is the ridiculously robotic snare drum. During fits of blast-beats where the snare drum comes to the fore, I can never help but to mince at the whole unnatural sound it possesses. The bass-drum is barely audible, however, its presence can still be sensed albeit minimally. The vocalist does a pretty great job at sounding completely diabolical and tortured. Unfortunately, there is not much variety when it comes to his capabilities, however it has enough strength to stand on its own two feet. As for the bass guitar, its presence is faint and mostly non-existent, but that doesn't really hurt the release in any measurable way.


"Longing for the End" is in my opinion one of the best demos that have been released within the past 20 years when it comes to depressive black metal. It has a unique character and checks every box when it comes to desired attributes and qualities that should be found within music that operates within the context of depressive black metal. I definitely would recommend this release to anyone who is just getting into this whole sub-genre because the music on here is basically your typical quality depressive black metal.

Anti hail from Germany and they play atmospheric/melancholic black metal. Atmospheric not in the sense of female vocals, eerie keyboards and weird musical instruments, but all the atmosphere is created by the guitars and cool samples (like rain for instance). This demo is a professional work and in the same vein as their next one (The Insignificance of Life); excellent production, excellent music and excellent atmosphere.

The album is divided between fast songs (Nothing and Longing Into Life) and mid tempo ones (Death Into Life and Invocation). The sound is simply superb and it is helped a lot by the production which is very clean and professional. All the instruments are heard very distinctively and the atmosphere they create is simply superb. We are talking about melancholy, suicidal melancholy spewed out of depression. This is a very melancholic release, agonising, depressing and weeping...

You get mainly long songs (more than six minutes each) with heavy, leaden riffs and burning vocals. The voice is like it comes straight from hell, ready to send you back to your most most inner fears, growling and snarling. The rhythms are torturous and they keep repeating while the guitars play their sombre melody and dusky solos. There are really not many words that can describe this masterpiece. Even when the music is very fast (with blast beats, ultra-speedy guitars and pounding bass) it's still atmospheric and depressive and you still get the occasional slow and agonising breaks filled up with melody and darkness.

The last song (Invocation) ends with a dreamy, slow, clean-guitars riff, with black metal voice in the background. A truly superb inspiration for a truly sublime album.

With this release Anti innovate the genre, they innovate the black metal sound, they take black metal one step further. If you find this cd buy it like there's no tomorrow. A timeless classic.