Antihoney is an extremely low-key band (?). Most people probably know them through piropito's doll animation. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend checking it out.
The version of "As we kill the night" circulating online is a 2007 demo, but the songs in it are already quite well-developed. The album gives a mysterious feeling of being immersed in darkness, as if you are immersed in a silent starry sky. The songs on the album are not particularly complex, but with a few instruments, various effects, and vocals, they still sound very dense. Especially with the abundant use of echo in the album, it gives a deep feeling of the starry sky. However, it is not accurate to say that "awktn" is something that takes your breath away like blackgaze. Because darkness does not only represent fear, it can also represent tranquility. Imagine the heat death, the darkness at that time could be argued as terrifying, but it is more like peaceful serenity.
The extremely mesmerizing arrangement combined with dreamy vocals make the first two songs, "All stars," a wonderful opening. The third part of "All stars" is more repetitive, bringing people into a special mood again.
"Dendrite" is the first track that starts in the middle of the album. From here on, these tracks show the effect of being a demo, lacking coherence. "Dendrite" gives a sense of the unknown, it can be said to be unknowable.
"Siren" is a song that I really like. It repeats a single note from beginning to end, just like its name "siren," it confuses you and draws you in. The occasional appearance of other strange sounds and the cold singing make this song sound so sad, so heavy. Every time the piano plays, it feels like something repetitive has lost another cycle. I have mentioned repetition before in "flood," so it can be said that I really like this element of repetition.
"Dove" is the most well-known song because it was chosen as the background music for the doll video. This song is very different from the previous ones, the drum beats and clearer vocals imply that the emotions conveyed by this song are more explicit. It's like seeing an indescribable fear, but only being able to generate unspeakable fear in your heart, just like most people who saw the doll video.
The next song, "Lemon," is also a very long repetition. But this song is very different from "Siren." In this song, we can clearly feel that the overall emotion becomes somewhat cheerful. Compared to the vocals and various sounds in "Siren," "Lemon" is the opposite, with repetitive and recurring vocals, while the melody and drum beats continue. It goes well with the hand-drawn animation "ゆめむし."
"And dream ended this way" is the "violently beautiful" in the lyrics. This song is similar to "Dove" and belongs to the type that expresses strong desires.
"Adagio" is similar to its name, the song progresses very slowly and monotonously, with vocal slices frequently appearing. This song gives a sense of the impending collapse of things, and we are powerless.
"Sorry, I'm leaving now" is probably the least eerie song in this album. But that doesn't mean it's not good. In fact, it is very suitable as an ending, but the ending is the next song. And the last song can also be said to return to the atmosphere of "All stars."
Antihoney died in March 2023, but this music can still be enjoyed at any time. So I will also revisit this album in the future.