(Our friend Neill Jameson (Krieg) introduces our premiere of music from the debut album by the Philadelphia black metal band Antihælix, and also shares his fascinating interview with the band’s two members.)
Black metal in the United States has become, much like the global scene I suppose, infinitely shapeless, changing form, moving forwards and backwards. Genre blurring has become less of a unicorn and more of a regular horse you see by the road when you’ve driving through farm country. Those who consciously try to be unique are just as obtuse as the folks trying to live like the 1980s never ended.
I’m trying to say that there’s a lot of boring shit made by boring people, but in the nicest way possible.
I’ve come to a point, and I know many of you have as well, where the idea of this sort of transcendence only works if and when the artists are focused on their craft rather than whatever clever marketing gets through the algorithm this week. They have to have that certain feeling, however transitory that is, which captures something interesting or special. Enter Antihælix, a two-piece band from Philadelphia, whose members have been in several of the city’s most creative and interesting bands. Their 2021 demo (titled Demo MMXXI) was three songs of traditional black metal infused with more than a touch of sludgy psychedelia, an impressive first showing hinting at future greatness (and one that ended up on my “best of” list that year.)
Now, after a quiet few years, Antihælix has returned with their debut full-length, A Serpentine Staircase Into Oblivion, set for release on October 28th, of which we’ll be premiering the title track here in just a moment.
A Serpentine Staircase Into Oblivion has taken Antihælix’s occult psychedelia and doused it with a fatal exposure of cosmic radiation, bringing to life an album of soaring, extraterrestrial black metal. This is a case of promise fulfilled and expectations exceeded. Antihælix have crafted a fucking burner of a record.
I sent a few brief questions to them to give them a way to transmit an introduction to the world at large and explain a little about the project itself. Here’s what they said:
Introduce the band and its conceptual makeup:
Omega : The band is composed of Imperatus (guitars) and myself, Omega (vocals and drums). For this recording we jammed riffs together in long sessions of guitar worship. Then ultimately crafted the songs more intricately on our respective instruments. Lyrically I dug into topics regarding the unknown of the cosmos. Tales inspired by hallucinations and dreams. Some fantasy used metaphorically to express a dire wish that the brainless morons that seem to be gaining capital on this planet perish in an awful display of violence.
Imperatus: Simulation Theory, and certain books such as The Holographic Universe and The Divine Matrix have been major sources of inspiration for me over the last 10-15 years. We wanted this album to pay homage to the mysteries of the universe, with a simultaneous reverence and bewilderment for all that is unfolding beyond the limited perception of our five senses.
What made the two of you decide to work together on a black metal project?
Omega: Mutual admiration for each other’s dedication to presenting their own art. This project has been years in the making before we finally got the ball rolling. We briefly played black metal together in another band not worth mentioning. This was the initial spark that offered a glimpse of our chemistry in playing and making music together. Fast forward many years of forging our own paths, which led us to where we are now.
Imperatus: This grand genre that endorses worshiping the enigmas of the multiverse is definitely where I belong, and one of the reasons I’ve been playing this style of music for over 20 years. At this point in our respective personal lives, it’s safe to say it is our destiny to make this evil, cosmic music together.
How can you describe the band’s philosophy and its ties to black metal?
Omega: While many of our themes dig into science and the unknown of our universe around us. Black metal is also a fiercely self-expressive and emotional style. Taking agency over my feelings of the world that surrounds in the form of this music brings immense satisfaction. Sure this can be done in many ways but black metal to me is a language of anger and misanthropy that feels honest to the art we wish to create.
Imperatus: Ultimate sonic lawlessness – Pure musical emotion. Beauty. Ugliness. Absolute wonder and awe. When a riff possesses you to make that iconic frown that is the facial manifestation of this genre. I live to experience that. Music has always awakened me, and makes my spirit feel so much more alive than anything else in this lifetime. I know it is one of the reasons I came to this planet.
We worship the craftsmanship aspect of music. We love to siphon memorable melodies from the riffs we write, and disguise things as 4/4. We carve out the room to juxtapose heroic parts with apocalyptic ones – and then go to a circus riff over a pirate beat for dramatic effect. We reverse-engineer a certain section of a song in such a way that it is so evil that it actually becomes comical to us. Songwriting is pure magic – and we make sure that we have fun doing it.
We have to listen to these songs a million times in the studio, so we’re going to make sure it’s music that we’d want to be listening to anyway. No gimmicks, no filler. Just huge, memorable riffs performed with the throttle wide open. Music is all about emotion to me. And I am confident these songs show how much we mean it.
I feel like Black Metal means more to me now than ever. The best thing about getting older is also getting better at everything you’ve been doing this whole time – and with that, for me, has come a deep satisfaction with the life I have chosen. Therefore, triumph is something I sought to convey in these songs, and I think we have only begun to tap into our own method of crafting a mysterious vibe that is triumphant, yet still menacing.
What does the future hold?
Omega: We’ll be releasing the album, A Serpentine Staircase Into Oblivion, via inner circle cohorts Putrid Hammer Conspiracies on digipak CD and digital platforms October 1st 2025. Work on LP2 should hopefully start soon and we also have some additional multimedia offerings including video around the release of the record planned, so keep a keen eye open for that.
Imperatus: Very stoked on this release and the future of this band. Thank you so much for your support!
https://antihaelix.bandcamp.com/album/a-serpentine-staircase-into-oblivion
https://www.facebook.com/ANTIHAELIX/
https://www.instagram.com/antihaelix/