Australian record label Gutter Prince Cabal is proud to announce the release of Artanor debut album “In Servitude of Darkness”, which is set to be released on vinyl, cd and digital download on July 27th. Conjured from the mind of Menelyagor, formerly of the short lived Australian black metal project Fen Hollen, Artanor delivers a mystical, chilling and atmospheric black metal akin to artists like Xasthur, Carpathian Forest and Judas Iscariot to soundtrack epic tales of a magical, wicked and ancient world. Pre-orders are now available at this location. Today, Artanor reveal the first advance track “Sons of the Rock” via Decibel Magazine, who commented “The six-minute slayer has all the chilly, grim hallmarks of classic Scandinavian BM and grinds away with an atmospheric bleakness that belies Artanor’s Aussie origins.” Listen to “Sons of the Rock” here. “Artanor is a solo project that emerged in 2006 after [my previous band] Fen Hollen. Says Menelyagor “Creatively, I’d been sitting on a conglomeration of ideas for some time as my family and managing life’s sufferings took a front seat. Then spontaneously, one night, I diverted and began writing what quickly became the bulk of a high fantasy novel for a bit of personal fun, The Rise of Meklarah. In Servitude of Darkness is a release of sounds that accompanied the atmosphere of the story as the novel was written. Naturally, the album could then only be lyrically based on the stories events and actions of its characters, which was somewhat of a relief because it allowed me to reduce exposure to the more personal perspectives that I generally associate with and relate to when I listen to black metal. ‘Sons of the Rock’ is about the necromancer Rakinar and his head minion, Lauw, and their attempt to discover what the Mûrkar (elemental ground dwellers that live and work amongst the humans), are up to. While it is obvious to Rakinar they are forging weapons, armor and tools for the humans, they appear to be forging something far more important, in secret.” | 
