Review by Alex Grindor on December 14, 2023.

Orthodox black metal. A movement commonly associated with bands like Katharsis, Funeral Mist, Deathspell Omega and many others that released their music around 2003-2004. This specific brand of black metal deviates from the standard in that it openly embraces the religious fervour while inverting the meaning of the message (Salvation by Funeral Mist among the best examples). However, it is curious that such movement is strong in european and scandinavian lands when, in reality, no land is more fervient and devoted than Latin American soil. It is well known that many of these countries, who were and still mostly are conservative, gave birth to some very extreme metal sounds. However, no place is more devoted to Christ than Mexico. So it should come as no surprise that Mexico has birthed a myriad of extreme metal projects, each more blasphemous and defiant than the last.

What should surprise you is how ahead of the game Skar was.

Skar was formed in the state of Toluca around 1996. That is all that can be said for certain about the band and even still it could be false, as all information regarding band members, longevity and even the circumstances behind the break-up are still up for debate and constantly questioned. In fact, it is argued if the so called "band member" interview that was done years ago is actually from someone who was actually in the band or from a random person starved for attention or pranking the interviewer. With this, I mean that the info available in every website, even Metal Archives, should be taken with a certain degree of doubt, as even the break-up details differ. Though the band was short lived, supposedly due to threats from religious groups, the band at least managed to release one single album: Antífona de Entrada.

The cover art and intro of the album may lure you into a false sense of familiarity, as it is the trope of many black metal bands (even to this day) but as soon as the instrumentation starts, it is evident that this is a totally different beast. The raw approach of the sound and the song titles evoke old-school black metal, but the crushing riffs and hammering drums call forth the most perverse type of doom metal. And the sinister, preaching vocals (which are actually pitch-shifted) further blur the line. To top it all off, the album includes very specific chants and choir segments that are properly integrated in the songs. This is another trope borrowed from black metal, but in this specific case its not done just to be used as glorified interludes or intros; they are an integral part of every song and removing them detracts from the overall experience.

The songs are constructed around 2-3 riffs repeated ad-nauseam, but the atmosphere of the music as a whole is so well executed that it becomes unnoticeable as the album progresses. "Viernes Santo 3PM", the opening track, is among the heaviest and alluring songs of the genre and each song after that just becomes more macabre and sinister. There is something really off about the overall sound of this album, as if the band tapped into something really obscure to be able to create this thing. Worth mentioning is the fact that the album contains the same songs twice, but with modifications: some of these are different start/stop marks, while others are entire choir segments and even riffs added/removed from the tracks. So the experience is twofold, yet very different.

The lyrics are a different matter entirely, as they are neutral at best. There is no open condemnation to Christ nor delirious devotion to Satan. It is ambiguous, left to interpretation and could work either way, as the track "Comunión" calls Satan's name, but with a reversed-recorded recitation of "The Lord's Prayer", as well as some sexual innuendo regarding Christ and the cross in "Crucifícalo". The fact that Skar described themselves as a band "not against Christ, but against religion and its hypocrisy" further makes the lyrics' subject hard to pinpoint.

In many ways, Antífona de Entrada could be considered a precursor to the soon-to-be Orthodox movement, as it bears all the marks of the style. The inclusion of specific choirs and chants fully integrated into the music was a presage of what Batushka would do almost fifteen years after the release of this record. The subject of the lyrics and the ambiguous nature of it resembles the work of Funeral Mist and its contemporaries. Skar was a band that was roughly a decade ahead of its time (considering the year it was recorded) and their sole release stands the test of time as a unique offering among a sea of shallow blasphemy and "Hail Satan" spewn across the country. The entire album is available on the web and it is an absolute must to experience the sinister atmosphere of Antífona de Entrada at least once in your life.

Rating: 9.1 out of 10