ANUBIS GATE — Anubis Gate (review)

Album · 2011 · Progressive Metal

4.5/5 · 2011-10-21
Diogenes

Just when Danish prog/power masters Anubis Gate seemed to be hitting their stride, releasing the critically acclaimed The Detached in 2009, vocalist Jacob Hansen stepped down from his duties to focus solely on his career as a producer. This was some pretty bad news to a lot of people, as Hansen’s piercing vocal delivery made The Detached what it was (i.e. really, really good), and yet there was never any concern about the band’s future. Why? Look no further than their new self-titled release, my friends. Great musicianship tends to find ways to survive the rough times (sometimes getting even stronger in the process), and the Danes show us how it’s done once again.

Stylistically speaking, this album sees Anubis Gate leaning more towards the power than the progressive-to call this “progressive power metal” would still technically be correct, but this time it would refer to power metal that’s more advanced, rather than a mix of the two genres. This whole shtick is inconsequential (as are most genre classifications), since this album kicks a whole lot of ass, but it’s still worth noting. I’d say the two outliers in this area would be “World in a Dome” and the majestic album closer “Circumstanced”; both tracks are longer, giving the band more room to work and show off a little more flair. Apart from those, the album is pretty straight-forward, albeit technically proficient as usual. You might be able to call this US power metal on musical steroids (“Telltale Eyes” and “Desiderio Omnibus” are prime examples of this), but the masterful electronic sampling and melodic hooks running rampant remind you that it’s still the best prog/power metal band in Denmark, not some second-rate Iced Earth knockoff. Yep, that’s a relief!

Vocally, bassist Henrik Fevre takes over the position he held part-time during and before the Hansen days. Fevre doesn’t hit the abundance of high notes that were all over the place on the previous two Anubis Gate releases, but rest assured that his voice is still perfectly suited for this type of music-perhaps even more so than Hansen’s. Like the rest of the band, Fevre’s performance on Anubis Gate has an air of both confidence and professionalism about it; nothing over-the-top, but that’s not needed anyway. “Facing Dawn,” in particular, proves that you don’t need any choirs or loads of layered vocals to write a strong chorus, something that many bands seem to have forgotten.

With Hansen still on board as a producer, Anubis Gate sounds equally as wonderful as the rest of the band’s catalogue. Those of you familiar with his production style know what to expect: thick guitars, an excellent snare sound, and an extremely rich aura that surrounds you and just forces every single bit of the music right into your brain. Absolutely flawless engineering, but anything less would not do this album justice whatsoever.

To go with their small change in approach, Anubis Gate made this album more song-based than their last few, which I must say was a wise decision. You won’t find any grand arrangements here; instead, you’ll get a bunch of tracks that really have no big weaknesses. Each one is great in their own right: from the uplifting power of “Golden Days” to the killer guitar work in the opener “Hold Back Tomorrow,” and so on. Consequently, the album is pretty easy to get into (although Anubis Gate have always been accessible for a prog band), although it might not have the astronomic ceiling that The Detached does, which costs it a few points in the end. Still, that should be far, far, down on your list of worries-or not even on it at all.

Writing solid, professional metal is one thing. Doing it on a consistent basis, while enduring multiple vocalist changes and reinventing the overall sound each time, is a completely different story. Anubis Gate may be one of Scandinavia’s best-kept secrets, but at this rate, they’re going to hit it big sooner rather than later…at least, one can hope so, because metal this good deserves to be noticed.

more than 2 years ago
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Time Signature wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I have two canditates for the 'The New Queensrÿche' title - namely, Anubis Gate and Artizan.

Diogenes wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I wouldn't have thought of that, but that's a good point. Good to see some bands sticking to this style.

Time Signature wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Nice review, bro. It's funny, when I listen to this brilliant album, I tend to think about Queensrÿche back when they were really good. It's sort of progressive in the same was a Queensrÿche, you know with small progressive bits here and there, but overall very accessible.