siLLy puPPy One of the many bands over the decades to evoke the Egyptian god ANUBIS, the god of death, mummification, the afterlife, tombs and all things underworld in ancient Egypt, ANUBIS GATE officially formed in Aalborg, Denmark in 2003 although many members from the original lineup were working together on various musical projects as far back as the 1980s and a direct lineage of a band called Graff Spree. After many changes the first ANUBIS GATE lineup for its debut album PURIFICATION featured only three permanent members: Torbin Askholm (vocals), Jesper Jensen (guitars, bass, synthesizers) and Morten Sørensen (drums). Three additional sessions musicians would add more guitars, synthesizers and vocals. This would be only the first of two albums that featured Askholm on vocals before Jacob Hansen (who also sings lead in Invocator.)

During these early years of the band’s existence ANUBIS GATE created its own style of progressively infused power metal with nods to the classic 1980s heavy metal style. Given the style the band would become known for, PURIFICATION is somewhat of the odd album out of the band’s discography. The ten tracks on board feature a bizarre mix of heavy metal, power metal, progressive rock and even a bit of doom metal. The noticeable difference is that on PURIFICATION there are more slow plodding moments which is usually not the case in anything remotely considered power metal. At this point the power part of the equation was quite tamped down and the compositions were darker with less energetic outbursts. The keyboards are less pronounced than later works serving only as an atmospheric enhancer for the most part.

On this debut it’s obvious that ANUBIS GATE was following in the footsteps of the pioneers of progressively minded heavy metal bands like Queensryche, Savage, Crimson Glory and even aspects of Iron Maiden for that matter however the band’s first vocalist Torbin Askholm probably sounds most similar to Psychotiz Waltz’ Buddy Lackey. The musical compositions though while sharing a lineage with the aforementioned bands was successful at sounding distinct even as far back as this debut release however the first two ANUBIS GATE albums are often overlooked in favor of the albums with Hansen on vocals which also found the band upping its game in terms of creativity and songwriting skills.

Personally i find this one a difficult one to swallow. On paper everything is executed as planned with excellent instrumental workouts, brilliant vocals with a wide range and subject matter that is the cream of the crop for a progressive metal band in the 21st century. What’s missing from this debut are memorable compositions that really sink in. The creative mojo wasn’t firing on all pistons quite yet and the weakness of the album is that the tracks pretty much all sound too similar without enough distinct personality to bring them to life. With power metal it’s pretty much mandatory to craft super catchy hooks but the ones provided on PURIFICATION just seem a bit lackluster which sound even worse given the top notch performances.

Of course every band can’t hit a home run first time out of the GATE, even the ones guarded by ANUBIS but it wouldn’t have taken too much tweaking of the songwriting to make these tracks stand out more. Overall this is indeed a decent album but it seems to lack the most vital elements that make a progressive power metal band really stand out amongst the competition and unfortunately the album offers very little in return visits. Luckily ANUBIS GATE would soon reinvent themselves with a new singer and become one of Denmark’s most famous metal exports but as far as this debut is concerned, they hadn’t quite gotten there yet.

666sharon666 The first Anubis Gate album Purification is a pretty much by a different band compared to how the band exists today. I'm not talking about how the album sounds precisely, as Anubis Gate's releases show a steady evolution across each release, but the band membership. If you ignore the guest musicians on this album you won't find any of the same musicians that appear on their sixth and most recent album Horizons.

Purification is a bit less reliant on keyboards than the later work, though they're still featured. The guitar sound tends towards a less polished tone as well. Though Anubis Gate often get branded as progressive power metal the music on Purification is usually fairly mid-paced stuff with only a rare burst into power metal. I'm more inclined to call it progressive heavy metal, as it's neither as progressive as their later work but does display some quite strong traditional metal roots. The album is good but I think this is a classic example of a 'still fining their sound' release. It's an album worth owning if you enjoy the band, but for me their weakest release. They come on by leaps and bounds with their next release A Perfect Forever though.

Unitron Anubis Gate-Purification

Purification is the debut album of Danish progressive/power metal band Anubis Gate. Most people seem to forget the earlier offerings of Anubis Gate, before they got a new vocalist and scored a critically acclaimed prog metal album with 'Andromeda Unchained'.

On 'Purification', the power metal part of Anubis Gate's work is heard much more, with more crunching guitar and original vocalist Torben Askholm's powerful vocals. The powerful riffing really shines on songs like the title track, where near the end of the song the guitar really crunches. One of my personal favorites is 'I, Demon', Askholm's vocals flow very well with the driving powerful guitar that flow from crunching to melodic. Another favorite of mine is 'In the Comfort of Darkness'. A lot of the songs immediately start with powerful riffing, but a few songs like 'Hypernosis' have a beautiful soft acoustic intro. There are also some traditional heavy metal elements in this album heard in especially in the bridge of 'Downward Spiral'.

Torben Askholm's vocal performance is the main highlight for me, having a very powerful voice that kind of reminds me of Geoff Tate of Queensryche. His voice is still very unique though, and his voice fits very well with the music. He is definitely one of my favorite vocalists in progressive/power metal. His vocal performance is just awesome on 'I, Demon' where he shows his vocal range a bit more.

Overall, If you are a fan of progressive metal that is largely based in power metal, you'll probably enjoy it. Don't skip the first two Anubis Gate albums, two of the finest prog metal albums I've ever heard.

Hope you found this review helpful.

Feel free to comment!

Time Signature Purified...

Genre: progressive power metal

Anubis Gate's debut album "Purify" is not a bad album at all, but it's not the best Anubis Gate album either. It's a solid blend of power metal and not-too-quirky progressive metal. And, while not ripping these bands off, Anubis Gate do remind me a bit of a combination of early Queensrÿche, Fates Warning, Mercyful Fate, King Diamond, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest.

While the guitars and drums a dominant, as is typical of heavy metal, there are plenty of keyboards which, apart from a couple of solos, serve primarily athmospheric and background layering functions. There is a nice keyboard solo in the title track, which also employs some Depeche Mode-ish keyboard effects in the bridge, which actually works very well. There is also some interesting call-response type of interchange between the lead guitar and the keyboards in "I, Demon", and there's a certain Jean-Michel Jarre feel to "Kingdom of Duat". The guitar sound is quite heavy (and on later releases it is even more so), and the driving guitar riffs oscillate between rhythmically complex probably Pantera inspired riffs, power metal style staccato riffs and riffs based on sustained power chords and open string figures. The track "Hypernosis" is an example of this balanced combination between these different types of riffs. Some of the rhythm guitar work also reminds me of post "Excursion Demise" Invocator. Anubis Gate also make use of guitar melodies and guitar harmonies, which, while simpler than on future releases, work quite well, and seem to be inspired by the work of Queensrÿche. So, there are many interesting elements on this album, but I think what makes it progressive metal is primarily an approach to composition which is akin to that of Queensrÿche prior to "Hear in the Now Frontier".

Especially the tracks "Hypernosis", "In the Comfort of Darkness", "Before Anubis", "I, Demon", "The Shadow", and the epic "Discrowned".

Torben Askholm's vocals may take some getting used to, because of his use of vibrato and the nature of his voice itself, but once you get your head around it, it works very well, and he really is a good singer. The downside to me is the production of the drums, and I think it's very strange that the hi-hat and ride cymbals have been panned out to the right. It gives a sense of imbalance.

But all in all a fine album that should appeal to fans of progressive metal and power metal.