Among all the old-school extreme metal offshoots, black metal has always been a bit underplayed and understated in the burgeoning Indian metal scene. For reasons unknown, rather its cousin sub-genres like death metal, thrash, and grindcore, have had more representation from this part of the sub-continent.
But for the ones who proudly wear the original black metal identity on their sleeves, it doesn’t matter if there are few or more of them at any given point in time. Guwahati-based ANTT is one such force of nature that, true to its identity, tries to uphold the traditional ethos of black metal with its razor-sharp uncompromising metal assault.
A two-piece project, ANTT has quite successfully regurgitated the early 90s sound of black metal since its inception in 2018. On Sunday, January 8th of 2023, ANTT will embrace the stage at DEAD OF WINTER organized by the Primordial Shriek due to take place at the Sujata Sadan in Kolkata. Headtilts had the pleasure to have them on board for a brief interaction, where they talk about their origin, inspiration, and what’s awaiting them on the horizon.
Here are the excerpts of our interaction with them:
Q: Warm greetings from Headtilts! Before going into the thick of things, let us start with a brief introduction about ANTT and how it came to be.
A: Before ANTT, we both were already working on another Black metal project and there were ideas about creating a certain style for it. We had this idea of providing an ode to the 90’s second wave of BM, and this project came alive as a practical approach. We also had the idea of combining a bit of ethnic influences of Northeast India with the ferocity of BM and the whole songwriting process fit perfectly with what we were planning. In fact, the music turned out to be more natural than any other project we were working on at that time.
Q: What are the influences behind your music? Tell us about the factors that shaped the kind of music you play.
A: Total unrelenting dedication toward BM, the harsh winter in NE India, mystical and ancient ethnic traditions of NE tribes, and the natural flow of emotions for this esoteric form of art.
Q: With so many black metal bands around along with its many variations, what do you think makes ANTT tick in the broader context of extreme metal music?
A: That would be difficult to answer since we always concentrated on making ourselves better. It’s totally worthless to think about other variations when you are concentrating on one to make yourself better. When it comes to BM, it’s still a rarely explored genre in India and we believe, that’s how it should be.
Also read: DEAD OF WINTER: In Conversation with Ladakh-based LANGDARMA and rBAPHO
Q: You’re a duo hailing from the Northeastern state of Assam. Is it a challenge to continue making music with only the two of you, and especially coming from such a part of the country which is immersed in traditional arts & culture?
A: Traditional art and culture actually help us in the curation of lyrical concepts. But when it comes to playing as a full band, it’s a problem as not many musicians want to explore the BM about here. But honestly, writing music isn’t a problem at all.
Q: You guys are going to take the stage at the inaugural edition of DEAD OF WINTER this January. What are your expectations from this gig?
A: Kolkata is known for its dedication to the esoteric art of BM, and we want to explore this genuine dedication of fans plus it’s an honor to share the stage with so many good extreme metal acts from Kolkata, so we are looking forward to joining forces with them and explore the diversity of genres.
Q: The four-track ‘Esoteric Misanthropy’, the debut album of ANTT, came out in March 2021. What was its initial reaction and how did your fans take it?
A: We believe the response was good so far considering we didn’t plan for it to be very grand in nature..also since it was only a digital release, the promotion by the ‘Black Metal Promotion’ channel helped us a lot in gathering some genuine responses from fans.
Q: You will be sharing the stage with some of the most stellar extreme metal acts from all over India, each with its own unique flavor. Are you nervous or excited about its possibility?
A: We are very much excited as it’s gonna be a great learning experience for us for sure.
Q: Anything else you want to share with your readers here?
A: Thanks a ton for showing us your support. It means a lot to us.
Tickets for DEAD OF WINTER are available at BoShow.
