Änterbila by Änterbila

Meet Änterbila, the most recent addition to the Nordvis community. Their self-titled debut album is a conceptual homage to the struggles of the 18th to 20th-century peasantry in their home country of Sweden. The anguish and fury of the downtrodden are embedded in every fibre of a musical score ranging from – and transcending – what would traditionally be categorised as black and folk metal.

Lurking amidst the metallic darkness are passages featuring violin, acoustic guitar, and traditional arrangements. This formula has produced a collection of songs deeply imbued with that wistful, sinister, and folkloric feeling present in various Nordic masterpieces by the likes of Storm, Isengard, Taake, Panphage, and Arckanum.

“Änterbila” will be released on CD and LP by Nordvis on December 2, 2022.

Änterbila was founded by Jerff in early 2020. After recruiting vocalist Motvilja, the duo went on to record “Demo 2020” – a limited tape edition by cassette-label Void in the Vast Empire. Having received overwhelmingly positive feedback, Jerff sought to bring the project to its full potential and began fine-combing the entire region of Hälsingland for suitable musicians. Out of a series of auditions with various hopefuls emerged Änterbila’s new core: Jerff on guitars, Daudr on bass, Monstrum on drums, and vocalist Agg. Together, they set out to bring Jerff’s vision to life, and the result is “Änterbila”.

From the very beginning, Änterbila was meant to serve as an outlet for Jerff’s historical interest, especially that of bygone Scandinavia. A prime example of this is the band name. An änterbila is a boarding axe – a combined weapon and tool used in sea battles to board enemy ships – developed by the Swedish navy in the 1700s. Another example can be found in the thematic content of “Änterbila”. Growing up as an avid book-reader who spent a lot of time at museums, Jerff was intrigued by tales about ‘statare’: a term for agricultural contract-workers, such as farmhands, who were given accommodation and food instead of a salary. The system reached its peak in the 19th century and continued until its abolishment in 1946.

Jerff commented:

In public discourse about slavery, class struggles, or the plights of the common man under systemic oppression, one seldom thinks about Swedish history. After moving to Bjuråker – a tiny village in the rural parts of Gävleborg County – I gained a new perspective on the peasantry of old. I discovered that a lot of the history I read about in my youth had been physically preserved here: old buildings, archaic work tools, folk-music customs, traditions, and so forth. These newfound insights spurred me to incorporate all of this in my music. I wanted to create something the listener could not only relate to on an artistic level, but which might just as likely move them to tears as induce an adrenaline rush.

Admittedly, the Devil plays a certain role for many who perform black metal – but Änterbila have neither religious affiliations nor a desire to place ourselves higher than anyone else. The darkness we sing about is of a different origin. We are not a cult and we do not perform rituals; we are the plebs!

Scandinavian Black Metal