bands in the Christian metal scene who use corpse paint in their appearances and on photos. One example is the booklet photos in the album The Return of the Black Death, depicting Antestor in Norsemen outfits and black and white face paints at a snowy Norwegian mountain location. Sometimes the group uses art blood, as known for the session bassist Ravn Furfjord's (Frosthardr) appearance at the Bobfest 2004 concert. The band explains that corpse paint "is the same for us as masking is for actors or mimes; One way to express certain feelings in the battle we are in. The main purpose is to concentrate on God and not to break a lance in side issues like these." Reception According to Vrede in an interview with Intense Radio on December 13, 2007, "by various sources, The Return of the Black Death has sold over 10,000 copies and still keeps selling." Very few published reviews of the band's albums exist, yet the ones that are available are positive, often good and some excellent. Michael Bryzak writes in the liner notes of The Defeat of Satan / Despair that, although the first album was not officially released until 2000, "Martyrium was rightfully considered a cult classic." The group's position in the Norwegian metal scene was controversial from the beginning. Bryzak writes that "standing up for their faith in Life and Hope, Antestor received serious death threats during this time from some of the major bands and key players of the scene." When asked if the band ever played with other groups in the black metal scene, Antestor said in a 2000 interview with Tcu zine: "We played with some early form of the band Old Man's Child once. Apparently they expressed their opinion of us with their legs and walked out of the venue during our set. It was their way of saying 'screw you Christians.'" In the liner notes of Martyrium, Antestor corresponds in a slightly bitter tone: "For those of you who despised us, disbelieved in us and misplaced your anger upon us, may God have mercy on your poor souls!" On Antestor's achievements, Bryzak wrote that "The birth of northern Europe's Christian extreme metal scene can be attributed to only one act, Antestor." In 2010, HM Magazine ranked The Return of the Black Death number 40 on their Top 100 Christian metal albums of all-time list with Beck stating