This book was an oddity. It was very much gratuitous more than anything else, and didn't follow a linear plot. There was a lot in here that was mostly just for shock value, but I feel like that was the whole point, whilst also not enjoying that that was the point. The characters were superficial and irritating, and I really didn't connect with any of them. They were designed to be frustrating and horrible people (fundamentally) but this doesn't bite like satire.

There is also a lot to be said for the art of subtlety in a book like this. The world of black metal and death metal is not subtle, sure, but something more could have been done to make it just a little more approachable and a little less over-the-top.

This was a relatively fun, dark, highly twisted tale. Towards the end I started feeling it was a bit predictable, but definitely read until the very end because there's some extra twists that brings it together in a far more satisfying way!

This book was a riot. Confessions of an Antichrist by Marta Skaði follows, well, Marta herself as she regails readers with the tale of Baphomet’s Agony. This black metal band has one goal–corruption. Arriving March 12 from Datura Books, readers will be disgusted and find delight in the antics presented before them. Or should I say, the case? This is, technically, a crime novel after all.
In order to properly dive in, a quick introduction to the band is needed. Marta, the “author” of this book, is the band’s manager. She gathered together four purported Satanists to create Baphomet’s Agony. The least inclined on all counts is The Exorcist on drums. Decadence, the beautiful hedonist, is on guitar. The Viking, Bolverk, is on bass. Which leaves vocals to a deeply disturbed individual called Suffer. Now, outside of Marta, these aren’t their actual names. But I’m going to stick with their Baphomet’s Agony personas for ease.
This book is, in essence, an interview. Or maybe it’s a confession. Perhaps it is all fiction. Marta certainly wouldn’t tell you what to believe. Except, she kind of would. This Satanic black metal band has… one Satanist in it. The resulting conversations on belief, identity, and presentation are both poignant and hilarious. And all of this, according to Marta, is her design. This girl has goals.
It is, also, a love story. But this is not a romance. And while, yes, this love story contains people, and those people have relationships together… It also reads as a love letter—to metal music. Luckily for me, I’ve been getting a metal education this year. Z, if you’re reading this, you rock. Now if you haven’t been getting a metal education, or you aren’t already a fan, this may not be as funny to you. But if you are? Prepare for a lot of laughs.
I said earlier this was a crime novel, though, right? And it is definitely a book filled with murder. But not a lot of mystery. As also mentioned above—Marta has a plan. She’s been working on it a while. But she’s also our narrator. And the question has to be asked, can we trust her? She is telling this story, looking back on events she already lived. It feels like something Poe could have written. If he lived today and wanted to write as a metal obsessed teenage girl in Norway, that is.
Metal, though, isn’t really Marta’s obsession. And I know I said this feels like a love letter to the genre. I don’t refute myself. That is how it feels as a reader. As a character, though, destruction and depravity are the true obsessions. This book can be nasty. It is violent, it is explicit, it is gross. It is also irreverent, unflinching, and indiscriminate. But it goes to these places and scenes with such wit and dry humor that the book doesn’t become splatterpunk.
I had so much fun with this book. More fun than I expected, honestly. And it has to be one of the funniest books I’ve read. At least in a long time, if not overall. It was so over the top while being undeniably clever that I could not help but laugh. And hey, it also made me really want to go find some new music. What more could I ask for in a book like this?
Confessions of an Antichrist arrives March 12, 2024 from Datura Books and is available for preorder now. Marta Skaði is a pen name for Anthony Misquitta.

This book left me with a "what the heck did I just read" feeling. It started out kind of slow but at about chapter 4, one odd and shocking thing after another kept coming and you can't look away. Unreliable narrator and not for the faint of heart.

“Kindness, love and beauty cannot exist in a world that doesn’t know evil, hatred and pain. That is where I come in. I create the darkness out of which the light can shine.”

Marta Skadi’s novel is about a a young women called Marta who forms a black metal band from a fishing village in Norway. These wannabe satanists want to spread their message and corrupt the masses across the world through their depraved displays at their infamous shows. As a record deal is on the table, soon things take a turn within the band and community. Marta is good at getting what she wants so this decent into madness is only the beginning of the destruction headed her way.

The novel is set around the 2010 heavy metal scene in Norway. It takes a deep dive into the metal music scene, what happens behind the scenes and the conflicts between other communities who are not afraid to voice their opinions against black metal music. Within this is a crime story and a disturbing look at the dynamics between band members struggling with troubled pasts.

Violence, sex, murder and abuse are a few of the themes that add to the shock and horror of what is happening within the band and how evil takes form in many ways. It is obvious that each member of this band has issues and begs the question who is the most disturbed one out of them all? But when there is a puppet master pulling the strings surely the answer is obvious.

I enjoyed reading this novel, it was a dark and twisted tale that would appeal to those who want to try something different.

First off, I’d like to thank Netgalley, the author and publishing house for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I’ve been eyeing this book for a while and was over the moon when I received it.

We started off great with such a STRONG opening chapter, and from then I knew I was hooked.
Though I will admit that the beginning dragged a bit and I found myself slightly impatient on that end, but that’s because I’ve always preferred fast-paced novels.

A very interesting read nevertheless. It pushed literary boundaries and made a mark. The blatancy of Marta making certain observations was a key highlight for me. I’ve always enjoyed narrators like that.

The humor was great, it was vile and full of violence and death and sex with a sprinkle of love all on top of a heap of black metal music and the combination was perfect. The ending was the filthiest, most shocking, twisted and picturesque part. It’s a perfect example of how humans can read about the most disgusting things, and still find curiosity in it. Remarkable. I couldn’t stop reading.

My Goodreads review as it won't link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6319476197

It was a quite interesting read. On one hand, I loved the thriller aspect of it, the darker but focused on death and murder side of it. Some moments were gripping. On the other hand, I did not like the emphasis on sex. The sexual affairs between the characters annoyed me and disconnected me from the story. And I wanted more of the music. The main character was not likeable but she was sometimes quite interesting. To sum up, I wanted more death and less sex. But it is only a personal preference — I actually prefer death. It’s just more interesting to me.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

To put it simply it’s a messed up story, which has plenty of humour, a little bit of love & a hell of a lot of death metal. I loved it!

An interesting read that follows Marta, the manager of an upcoming Black Metal band in Norway.
Initially it begins as a somewhat normal and expected story, the relationships between Marta and the band members is explained and her ambitions for the band seem to be as ambitious as you’d expect.
However there’s an underlying aura of madness in the book, seemingly from all angles, whether it’s a widow who waits for her dead husband to come home and still cooks meals for him, or the various characters who exist alongside the band, or the band members themselves, all different flavours of the archetypal metal musician.
Soon, you realise it’s Marta’s descent into madness that you’re witnessing, her constant subjection to extreme is creating a desensitised person who becomes a puppet master of those around her, her cruelty the psychological control she exerts over other people.

I read this in one sitting, I laughed out loud a few times, feeling like I was reading a parody of the Norwegian Black Metal scene, seeing elements of real musicians amongst the books characters.
At first glance it’s a crude, unfiltered description of a Metal band trying to gain reputation and success, then it becomes a sad story of trauma, abandonment and the search for something to feel.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for a chance to read - this book.