A TOWER OF SILENCE

Sydney, Australia neo-proggers ANUBIS were formed with only the intention to fulfil the desire to construct a tribute album for the memory of a lost friend killed in an untimely accident. The result of this grief channeled into creativity yielded their debut album "230503." The album was a success in the niche world of progressive rock but after making such a beautiful album just so rich with magnificent melodies and creative constructs just dripping with originality what do you do when the music is still oozing out of every pore of your body? Well, make an another album of course! And that's exactly what ANUBIS did. A TOWER OF SILENCE is their second album released in 2011 and as it turns out a very good move for this album is every bit as engaging and brilliant as the debut proving that this band was more than a mere one shot.

Apparently obsessed with death and the afterlife the theme of this album is about literal and symbolic limbo, about being trapped between dimensions in the spirit world and in the physical realm. This is a story of a girl who died in the 19th century and is summoned by a group of teens who perform a séance in one of the rooms of an abandoned workhouse where she lived. A mega-concept that truly tackles many a social woe such as social division, alienation and most importantly the mighty unknown. As with the debut album the story is just icing on the cake since the musical compositions are outstanding enough in their own right to keep the listener engaged for the 72:16 playing time developing long drawn out meandering melodies that manage to wrest all the corresponding emotional reactions from the listener.

Although this album could be accused being more of the same started on the debut, I have to say YAY! Such a good album it was that another of the same is just what the doctor ordered :) ANUBIS managed to steer the Genesis inspired neo-prog sound into fresh and fertile pastures incorporating everything from Pink Floyd like space rock to hard metallic rockers with crazy proggy time signatures. While generically being lumped into the neo-prog world this band takes the category and really stretches to the point where it is really hard to classify it as being in any particular subgenre by including a gazillion different sounds including sax solos, flutes and clarinets resulting in an eclectic mix that has a knack for throwing in everything but the kitchen sink and succeeds to smoothly mix and mingle opposing forces without anything feeling unnatural. Although I like the debut just a smidge better because I feel the ending on this one drags just a wee bit I cannot deny the overall awesomeness of this second creation and ranks so close that i'll just call it a tie.