ANUBIS GATE

This album is a really inspiring and diversified progressive metal album. It's filled with atmospheric parts, technically addicting progressive passages and a good amount of catchy melodies. It's easy to listen to this record if you listen to it as background music at one side but also easy to listen to if you concentrate and focus on the songs. This is a quality which many progressive bands don't have as they sound too complicated, ambitious and diversified for their own good. With an average length somewhere between six and seven minute sper song, Anubis Gate just found the right mixture in my ears. They sound fresh and addicting but still complex and creative. There are really many interesting changes in style to observe but the band doesn't lose itself in musical masturbations with endless guitar solos or keyboard intros like many other bands of the genre. Anubis Gate are creative and surprising like in the epic hymn "Yiri" or the amazing and exotic "Pyramids" but also easy and coherent to approach, catchy and straight like in the more commercial and addicting "Lost in myself" or the darker and hypnotizing "Out Of Time" that sounds like a Dream Theater classic and I mean this in a entirely positive way.

This would be a perfect album for someone who would like to discover the progressive metal genre and who wants to start with something original of a high quality but nothing to complicated. Anubis Gate delivers the best deal here. It is a very good progressive metal record that fits to any occasion and the best thing is that this record grows more and more with the time. The only small negative element that keeps this record away from being perfect and not just very good is the fact that there is maybe neither a good single choice nor a truly outstanding epic masterpiece on this album that could gather further attention as most of the tracks really are all equally great.

Originally published on www.metal-archives.com on October 5th of the year 2011.

On 'The Re-Formation Show' there is a great odd progressive time sig made of chunky guitar staccato blasts, and the melodic vocals and keys balance out beautifully. I love the harmonies and the interplay of guitar and keys competing against each other. This one also features a wonderful lead break that reverberates against another guitar harmonising perfectly, and as it builds the metal riffs return creating a wall of sound. This is an awesome song well worth checking out to find out what the band are capable of.

'Facing Dawn' has a driving tempo from the percussion work of Morten Sørensen, and some great riffs over Fevre's pulsing bassline. The time sig is again quirky and chops and changes with tension and release. The harmonised chorus is anthemic and well accomplished. The keyboard solo from Kim Olesen, who also plays guitars, is fabulous, and augments the melodies so well.

'World in a Dome' has a mechanised percussive rhythm that gives it an edge and then some grinding distorted guitars blaze away. It settles into some melodic vocals from Fevre, and eventually a chugging riff locks in. the keys lift up the atmosphere majestically in the chorus along with harmonies. I love the metal precision riffing on this and the way it builds to the instrumental break. The break is very serene keyboards and acoustics at first and gradually leads to an uptempo double kick drumming and another enduring riff to a lead solo. The time sig gets faster at the end, the drumming especially and it caps off an album highlight. The 8:22 song has enough time changes to satiate any prog metal addict.

'Desiderio Omnibus' follows with breakneck speed drums and heavy riffs. It breaks when the verses begin but there is still a relentless speed on this one, sounding as fast as Dragonforce at times. The twin lead break is glorious and the guitars trade off solos like Megadeth or Iron Maiden. It ends with swirling spacey keys and chimes, very atmospheric and ethereal.

'Oh My Precious Life' has a guitar intro with a darker sound embellished with symphonic keys and an off kilter signature. It builds dramatically to the verses, and a crunchy riff. The vocals are crisp as usual and they balance well with the incessant dirty guitar sound. The tempo is measured and steady and tends to break rhythm unexpectantly. The fast speed riff during the lead solo is captivating and a head banger's delight. Then it breaks the sig back to the main tempo to end with a keyboard swirl that stops abruptly.

'Golden Days' has a strong beat that is slow and layered with dramatic outbursts of guitar and keys. The lyrics are about going back to the golden days, "I hunger for success" and "I find myself invisible, collecting golden days, I could be king, I could be anything" perhaps channelling the thoughts of all band members wishing to break out. The lead solo is mixed to the back along a soundscape of keyboards. The vocals are commensurate to the powerful melodies, with Fevre singing "my time has come" like a cry out for the greatness of the past. This is also the type of feeling that might be locked inside the elderly remembering their youth, "it's the final stage I'm in, I see the light that somehow mesmirise".

'Telltale Eyes' is another fast track beginning with a flurry of guitar riffs and electronic effects. The galloping riffs are precise and breakneck speed along a very unusual time sig. This is fantastic music and again the vocals are clean but no less powerful as some of the growling vocals that usually accompanies fast metal. This is more like Helloween or Iron Maiden style vocals but the music is like Dream Theater or Dragonforce. The riffs continue to bludgeon the scape and then a trade off of synths and lead guitar dominate the instrumental break. One of my favourite songs on this album.

'River' has an atmospheric haunting feel and the intro is creepy and mystical. The drums and guitars take over soon with speedy tempos. The synths are dreamy and quite chilling, and this is a dark river that we are journeying down no doubt. The instrumental section works well after all the vocals previously and at less than 4 minutes in length this is a very well structured track. Fevre's vocals come in briefly later and are echoed and distant like the music itself.

'Circumstanced' ends the album with a slower song at first driven by melodic keys and guitars with Fevre singing in a high register and as crystal clear as one can get, not a single shred of growl in his delivery. There are some weird sounds on this track adding to the atmospheres. The melancholy lyrics are about unrequited love; "Everytime I close my eyes I see you coming back to me." Again, the song features some symphonic key pads and odd time changes. The lead break is emotionally charged to augment the sadness of the song where "nothing seems to matter no more". The song lasts for 9:23 running time and switches into a heavier feel at about the 7 minute mark.

In conclusion, Anubis Gate have produced a solid quality album with enough metal to appease headbangers and enough epic prog melodies and time sigs to conciliate proggers. I was very impressed with the blend of metal and prog and especially the vocals. Fevre is an exceptional singer and really shines on this album. "Anubis Gate" is a prog metal release well worth seeking out.

some fantastic stuff: Yiri, Dodecahedron, Pyramids, Out of Time, Options - Going Nowhere

and some average stuff: Lost In Myself, Bloodoath, Find a Way (Or Make One) (which are all not bad songs but sound suspiciously like some of their other songs, so i cant quite figure out what i'm listening to) and A Lifetime to Share (again, not bad but i'm always tempted to skip to the next track, so i don't really remember what it sounds like!)

in any case, the good stuff far outweighs the not so good stuff, so i would say 3.5 stars rounded off to a 4.

their latest, simply self-titled, held up very well in comparison to the others. they had quite a notable stylistic change between A Perfect Forever (largely straightforward power metal) and Andromeda Unchained (powerful, progressive and layered). it seems they really liked this new style a lot since its stayed pretty much the same through The Detached to this album. i agree, i love the "new" Anubis Gate and don't much care for their first 2 albums.

though bassist Henrik Fevre takes over on vocals, he has a similar voice and style as Jacob Hansen, the previous vocalist, so this gives us some continuity in this area as well.

on the instruments, these guys have always been technically sound, very capable and quite creative in blending together their signature layers. i like the way they gel and you cant really say that any one instrument stands out as dominant.

star songs: The Re-Formation Show, Desiderio Omnibus, Golden Days, River and Circumstanced.

not so good ones: Oh My Precious Life, Telltale Eyes (i only picked these because i'm always tempted to press "skip" on my player when they start, but that may be only because they fall in between absolutely wonderful songs!)

summary: some bands evolve all the time, experiment with new styles and never realize when they've hit their "signature" style, Anubis Gate seems to have avoided that and stuck to what they do best. so when people criticize them for sounding the same as in their previous albums, i say thats a good thing because they are making some terrific music.

The 10 track, 60:24 minutes long album features intelligent progressive/power metal. Well composed, well played and well produced. Henrik Fevre has a slightly less distinct voice than Jacob Hansen, but he is still a great singer who suits the band´s music well. Compared to the two precessors "Anubis Gate" features slightly less synths, but the sound is still epic with beautiful anthemic choruses and layered instrumental work. They band succeed in incorporating both progressive, power and harder edged thrashy parts in their music which ultimately makes the album a varied listen.

"Anubis Gate" is more or less anything you could ask for in the more polished part of the progressive/power metal genre. It´s simply a top notch product in any way possible and a 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

And with their latest eponymous album, Anubis Gate have just scored a hat trick with me. I absolutely loved "Andromeda Unchained" and "The Detached", and "Anubis Gate" immediately became a hit with me, too.

The overall sound is lush and melodic and at the same time quite heavy and hard rocking. After Jacob Hansen left the band, bassist Henrik Fevre took over vocal duties, and while he does not deploy the same number of singing techniques, opting for a comfortable midrange voice, he does a very good job of it, and his voice suits the music perfectly - and especially lends itself well to the choral harmonies that often pop up in the choruses on this release.

There is more focus on riffage, I think, on this album than on the previous releases, and the album - while definitely a melodic metal album - contains some of the most aggressive passages I have heard from Anubis Gate, who also bring power metal back into the picture to a greater extent than on their two previous albums. Interestingly, the album is tinged with quite progressive keyboards, but overall the synths seem less prominent than on the two Hansen-fronted albums; still, "Anubis Gate" strikes me as being much more lush.

"Anubis Gate" is a very focused album, but rich in different expressions and moods, and there is a certain dynamicity to the juxtaposition of heavy groovy riff-based passages, mellow clean passages, uptempo passages and more progressive and lush passages. Anubis Gate are good at what Queensr'che used to do: write progressive and different music which was still incredibly accessible and full of hit potential. While musically quite different from Queensr'che, Anubis Gate are still a more than worthy contender for the title of "the new Queensr'che".

Lush, heavy, expressive, progressive and accessible, "Anubis Gate" is definitely one of the strong contenders for the title of progressive metal album of the year, and fans of melodic metal and power metal should definitely check it out.

(review originally posted at metalmusicarchives.com)

Rather than replacing Jacob Hansen with a new vocalist, the band instead decided to bring bassist Henrik Fevre up to the microphone; a very good decision in my opinion. Henrik has a very powerful and commanding pair of pipes in my mind, and his distinct delivery is unique from that of many other prog/power metal vocalists. His tasteful and melodic singing is actually one of my favorite aspects of this album. Musically, we're dealing with very sleek and almost commercial sounding progressive metal. Though melodic and polished prog metal typically doesn't appeal that much to me, Anubis Gate delivers the style with so much class and emotion that it's difficult not to be amazed. Catchy yet intricate tracks like "Hold Back Tomorrow", "World In a Dome", or "Golden Days" are absolute masterpieces of the genre.

In many regards, Anubis Gate reminds me of a more modern version of Fates Warning's Parallels or Queensrÿche's Empire. All three of these albums are fantastic examples of top-notch metal music that is both progressive and intricate, yet still easily accessible and melodic. I could easily see this album being right up the alley of fans of the two aforementioned albums, as well as melodic power metal and traditional progressive metal in general. This is much more polished than many fans of 'raw' progressive metal may enjoy, but any open-minded fan of the genre who can handle a sleek production with polished riffs and melodic song structures should be in for a real treat.

I ended up really being blown away by Anubis Gate, and I have a feeling this album will go on to be remembered as one of 2011's strongest progressive metal albums - surely no small feat when you consider how steep the competition is this year! This is a much more polished and accessible slice of melodic prog metal than some fans of the genre may be expecting, but I think it'll be difficult to not be left at least somewhat impressed by this irresistible observation. 4.5 stars are the least I can hand out to Anubis Gate. Although all eyes may be on Dream Theater, Symphony X, and Arch / Matheos right now, every prog metal fan should make sure not to let this gem slip under their radars.

Well, this is actually my first rue encounter with this Danish metal band, so please be patient with me, and also be patient because as some of you know, I am neither an expert nor true follower of the metal scene. "Anubis Gate" offers ten compositions that together make a totl time of 62 minutes, in which you will find progressive-melodic-metal (excuse my ridiculous labels).

The songs here are not that short, and we can notice it since its opener "Hold Back Tomorrow" that shares seven minutes of the self-called Anubis Gate sound, which has a melodic yet powerful metal style, with nice vocals, great keyboard soundscapes and of course, strong guitars.

What I like of the album is that they don't really have the same sound in all the songs, of course they do have their style, but I wont say Anubis gate are a repetitive band, not at all. And that can be noticed from one song to another, for instance, we can listen to "Facing Down" which has some 80s style prog metal ala Queensryche and then to "World in a Dome" which is an eight-minute track with a powerful beginning, but with some melancholic sound in several passages; here we can listen to a let's say modern metal sound.

Fans of progressive metal will surely like this album, this Danish act has an excellent compositional style, they know how to use their instruments, how to give the diversity of feelings and changes between one song to another, without harming the listener, I mean, they are not drastic changes. You can enjoy heavier songs such as "The Re-Formation Show" or "Telltale Eyes", more melodic and softer ones like "Oh My Precious Life" or "Circumstanced", and even a catchy one like "Golden Days".

I like it but I have my reserves, after several listens it is not an album that really catches my attention, nor make me feel enthusiastic, but well, that is probably because the metal realm is not my favorite, however, as I mentioned if you are a true fan of the genre you will probably like it. My final grade, three stars. Enjoy it!