UNTIL ALL THE GHOSTS ARE GONE

Eight years after their last, excellent album, this would class as a come-back for some bands. But Anekdoten have never been prolific, and it was previously usual for their cult following to have to wait four years between albums. Their guitarist, vocalist, and driving force Nicklas Barker has been engaged recently in the wonderful side-project My Brother The Wind, and that certainly has been a consolation for the silence from Anekdoten.

But they are back with a vengeance! Probably like many, I was expecting some intrusion of MBTW-like psychedelia in their sound - instead the jaw-dropping opener Shooting Star is replete with influence from Steven Wilson and Opeth; imagine a confluence of Luminol, Raider II and Slither, taken up a gear with a positive energy I did not think Anekdoten possessed. The second track Get Out Alive starts like a familiar middle-period Anekdoten number, but then again takes off like a torrent. Also in this vein is the final track Our Days Are Numbered. These tracks rank among the best this great band have ever produced. Like a few other reviewers, I feel Anekdoten's only weakness is the competent but characterless voice of Nicklas Barker, and I always feel uneasy on first hearing a track that sounds like he will over-vocalise. One or two of the other tracks fell into this category initially, but in every case the music takes over and I really don't have a criticism in the end. The deep concept behind the lyrics I detect to be religious, sometimes euphoric, sometimes despairing and I'm not qualified to judge the overall picture. But this is a masterpiece, no question.

Verdict: Einwahn's #1 album of 2015.