The second studio album by the Norwegian unblack metal band Antestor, released in 1998. It is the band's only release on the British Cacophonous Records label. The album was particularly successful in the U.S. and has sold over 10,000 copies. This album's working title was Kongsblod. The release of The Return of the Black Death proved influential for the Christian black metal movement.
Musically, The Return of the Black Death represents the style the band dubbed "sorrow metal" that combines elements of black metal, viking metal, Norwegian folk music, and doom metal, leaving out the previous death metal elements. Vemod's guitar playing is based on the mesmerizing black metal tremolo riffing, the sound production is somewhat thin and raw, and Martyr's vocals are high-pitched shrieking. The album's output is mostly down tempo and is characterized by dark, oppressive, and moody keyboards that give the album an epic Viking feel. The album focuses more on the haunting, cold and hypnotic atmosphere rather than technical playing. Songs such as "Sorg" (Norwegian for "sorrow") include several minutes of folky keyboard ambiance that specifically focus on creating atmosphere. "Ancient Prophecy" is an over 8 minute slow, black-doom metal hybrid song. The album begins with the intro "Vinterferden" that consists of breezing breath of cold winter wind, followed by a folky Viking melody and deep, harsh and oppressive speaking vocals saying something in Norwegian.
Out of all the 11 songs, only 4 are sung in English, and the rest in Norwegian language. The album ends with an outro that contains samples of wind whistling with all kinds of other spooky noises and a man talking very softly in a low Norwegian voice. The lyrics deal with the second outbreak of the Plague epidemic in mediaval Norway and the country's subsequent Christianization. Other themes include personal darkness, struggle against the evil within, sorrow, longing for salvation, Vikings, the wrath of God, and death.
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