By: Anders

Posted: Nov 15, 2005

I have had this album for quite a while now, so you might wonder why a review of it hasn't surfaced until now. Though the reason for that is very simple, as you Danish reading followers, might remember, I had nothing but praise left for Anubis Gate's first album "Purification" and was, before the release of the new album, looking very forward to it and had very high expectations to it. Those expectations was immediately fulfilled and to make sure I wasn't fooled by my eager to hear new material with the band, and to make sure the album was as good as I t first thought it was, I gave it more time to make my judgement of the album sure and credible.

The new album is a display of powerful and melodic power metal with a progressive edge that keeps it interesting all the time. The musicianship is out of this world. Guitarist Kim Olesen isn't known by many metalheads, but that will for sure soon change, a wizard with the six strings, truly amazing. Jesper M. Jensen which best is know for his tenure with Invocator, where he handled the 4 strings, is a good guitarist as well, he has a killer flair for atmosphere, and he is a godly songwriter. Henrik Fevre on the bass is quite a player as well, the bass is getting a lot of space and that is for sure deserved, he makes the heavy strings dance and delivers a groove beyond comprehension, while still keeping it technical and inside the boundaries of the music. Morten Sørensen, who handles the drums is a good drummer as well, it seems like he has developed a bit more to the technical side, since the last album. The drumming on here is amazing, very fitting, yet still straight in your face and very metal. We only have the singer left now, Torben Askholm, what a voice, it's hard to find words to describe his voice. Torben is right now being held back by disease, but the best wishes from here, and we hope to have him back in action soon. The vocals on this album is amazing, though nothing less was expected after "Purification", and his earlier recordings. A powerful and melodic effort, with a very atmospheric touch, the vocals are captivating and sucks the listener into the universe of Anubis Gate, truly enchanting and amazing, even though he isn't hitting the highest notes anymore, the effort on here, seems somewhat more controlled than on "Purification", a thing that I found strange at first, but now it fits perfectly into the picture. The harmony vocals from Henrik is the icing on the cake, when talking about the vocal aspect on this album, they adds the last piece of enchantment, just check out the opener 'Sanctified' and the tune 'Future Without Past', the vocals work so well together and adds to the higher wholesome.

The compositions on the album is breathtaking as well as the musicianship, again and again am I left behind in awe. The pace shifts, the riffs, the leads and solos, the bass lines, the vocals, the impact, how can a band deliver such music with such an impact. From the start the music is cloaked in a mysterious dark atmosphere, which is driving forth the music and keeps the listeners interest in a tight grip, together with the music. There are always some new things happening, though the band never looses the red thread, and keeps the songs and stories in focus. There are a lot of show off and technical details, but it never impacts the flow or takes the focus away from the song, very mature and thought through song writing.

The production of the album, which is made by the always present Jacob Hansen, is heavy with a good weight on the instrumentation and the output of the band. There is power behind it, but still clear and with a lot of focus on the single instrument and detail, a hard hitting, yet soft and very suiting production.

I am left here, in front of the computer, 2½ months after receiving an advance copy of this album, after have seeing the band perform live twice and after having listened to this album more than a hundred times, and I still can't find a flaw about it. Melodic progressive power metal, with good songs and killer stories, hour after hour of enjoyment, while getting deeper and deeper into the mindset of the band. This is very close to being perfect, though I am pretty confident in that the band will top for real on their next output, even though it'll be tough as hell, though they have shown that they can go beyond the boundaries of normal melodic prog metal and deliver top notch metal, blazing all listeners' minds into oblivion. Beware the name Anubis Gate, it'll soon be branded on the heaven of top melodic prog bands, there is not a single doubt about that from here! Though I am pretty sure the band never will top the track 'Epitome Of Delusion', such a dark and mesmerizing track with hold in the harsh reality. The music on the track is varied and very progressive, killer pace shifts and then the very emotional and heartfelt vocal performances to top it off, at this moment this is one of the most perfect tracks I can think of, ever written and performed.

Rating: 9½/10

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