UNDER A STONE WITH NO INSCRIPTION

"Under a Stone With No Inscription" is the 3rd full-length studio album by Swedish death metal act Anata. The album was released through Wicked World Records in January 2004. It´s the successor to "Dreams of Death and Dismay" from 2001. There´s been one lineup change since the predecessor as drummer Robert Petersson has been replaced by Conny Pettersson.

The material on "Under a Stone With No Inscription" is US influenced technical death metal. There are definitely a nod or two towards Morbid Angel here and there, although this is generally much more focused on technical playing and complex song structures than their more famous US influence. It´s quite challenging and highly energetic music, and I used to think the album featured a lot of needless technical noodling, but as I´ve given the album more spins over the years, it has won me over, and what I hear now is a lot of technical playing, but it´s technical playing which is a means to an end.

So there are a lot of strong tracks here (they take time to digest and they aren´t instantly memorable, but patience is rewarded), featuring a massive load of killer riffs, solos, and great technical drumming. The vocals are aggressive snarling growls, which suit the material perfectly, and to top it off "Under a Stone With No Inscription" also features a powerful, clear, and detailed sounding production, which further enhances the impact of the music on the listener. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)

Anata continues their mix of Gothenburg and US death metal on this, their third album.

.......with a slight difference. The music has become slightly more catchy and melodic. Some power metal has been introduced too. Not much, but it is still there. Anata has also added some hardcore to their sound. The result is a pretty modern, dare I say...... trendy death metal album. It sounds fresh and crisp.

The quality of the material though is still not that impressive. Anata's problem is the lack of identity. They are just one of many bands on the same scene and Anata is pretty average. It is a good band. But so is ten other bands and that is their problems. This album is pretty decent and workmanlike. It is not an outstanding album though as required from this overcrowded scene. This is a case of "must write better riffs and songs".

2.5 stars

At 2004, Anata finally did an album sounding like themselves. This is their unique style. It's still exaggerated, but in a good way. Anata noticed the fact that they are hyperactive songwriters, and tried to balance their music. They could not do this, Quite the contrary, they were more hyperactive than ever. Aggressive and hard listening, too many complex riffs per song and sometimes melodic, but now the strange non-stop riffage machine makes the album pretty catchy. The weak point is the double bass, even the tempo changes prevents the strafing drums. The guitar works are unbelievable, these guys don't stop playing expert stuff and gettin prog within weird tempo. The highlights of the album are: Shackled to Guilt (the opening track) and Entropy WIthin, the perfect fuse of swedish old school death metal with technical tune.