THE SECOND HAND

Are they serving their first or second hand here, or what? ... oh, it doesn't matter. It's not the bands first sign of life of course. This new ANUBIS album runs into a 70 minutes lasting revelation, when it comes to (my) prog standards. Going back to the very beginning ... similiar to Aisles due to 'Club Hawaii' this Aussie sextet made Fool's Gold and The Making Of Me available beforehand. Those songs are addictive really, sorta well sought out appetizer, which won't let you turn away in the aftermath, never ever. What stays, nothing but eagerly waiting for the release date ... and finally obsessively hoping for some more jewels, hell, yeah!

They are returning back to a concept album format, dealing with the downfall of media mogul James Osbourne- Fox, left paralysed and imprisoned in his own body after a severe brain injury, this obviously spiked with references to current conflicts worldwide. The cinematic touch predominantly comes from several interspersed samples, often representing the transition from one song to the next. As for that 'The Second Hand' ultimately comes as an epic unity, moreover somewhat ageless, sounding like a modern blend of neo and art rock, however, due to the offensive use of mellotron, organ and piano, also rooting in the early prog years too.

This album shows the band on its emotive peak, definitely. There's no need, respectively no chance, to emphasize any particular excerpt or involved musician. The entire compositional attitude belongs to the finest attempts I could listen to this year. Featuring diversity and a bunch of catchy moments, alongside with the technical and instrumental implementation, a really stunning result. By the way, Douglas Skene has offered another regarded effort with the band Hemina last year. Perfect, perfect, almost perfect! Hardly ever it occurs that I'll hand over a masterpiece status to a new album appearing ... now here we go!