led some to label Antestor as Viking metal. Unlike previously, around this time the band themselves said they felt uncertain whether a Christian band can play black metal, because the movement was still strongly associated with Satanism. The drummer Svein Sander says in the 1998 interview: The Forsaken (2000–2009) In 2000, Antestor was signed by Endtime Productions, a metal record label that also helped to start the career of the Norwegian metal band Extol. The original vocalist Kjetil Molnes (Martyr) left Antestor. However, the breakup of another Christian metal band in Norway, Vaakevandring, led to several former Vaakevandring members joining Antestor. Namely, Ronny Hansen, adopting the new moniker Vrede, became Antestor's new vocalist, and Morten Sigmund Mageroy (known in Antestor as Sygmoon) stepped in as the new keyboardist. Ann-Mari Edvardsen, who has sung in the Norwegian gothic metal group The Third and the Mortal, joined the band as a female vocalist. For the first time in their career, Antestor began using the infamous corpse paint masks as a part of their live shows and overall image. In 2000, Endtime Productions released Martyrium with cover art done by the reputive Swedish metal music cover artist Kristian Wåhlin. Antestor toured the United States with Extol that year, playing small venues and finally performing at Cornerstone Festival. Over the next several years, the band remained somewhat quiet; they did not release any more albums until 2003, when they re-released their two earliest demos on one CD, titling it The Defeat of Satan. The drummer Svein Sander left the band during this time, and Antestor would not find a new full-time drummer for several years. In 2004, Antestor changed their style into a more modern black metal, and released their first set of new songs since The Return of the Black Death in an EP called Det tapte liv ("The Lost Life"). Det tapte liv concentrated less on the black metal aspects of Antestor's style, instead focusing more on instrumental songs. However, it hinted at what the band was preparing for their 2005 full-length, The Forsaken. The cover arts for both releases were once again done by Kristian Wåhlin, and the cover for the EP depicts the Borgund Stave Church. Hellhammer played all drums on both of these releases. In an interview with the Russian metal site Metal Library on January 7, 2007, Blomberg was asked what did his Mayhem colleagues and record company