230503

Modern progressive rock band from Sydney,Australia.The idea of the project falls in the hands of singer Robert James Moulding and keyboardist David Eaton.The line-up was completed by Nick Antoinette on bass,Doug Skene and Dean Bennison on guitars along with drummer Steve Eaton.Their debut,actually an indepedent release,was released in 2009 under the title ''230503''.

Here Anubis mix a bit of everything in a rather chaotic release,which is based on rather accesible songwriting,but with a result very confusing.Elements from Heavy Rock,Neo Prog,Progressive Metal,Psychedelic Rock and Alternative Rock are thrown all in Anubis' basket with powerful,dynamic and atmospheric tracks.The singer though has a very common voice,suitable for modern rock bands but not for a progressive-styled one,while the guitar work is very grungy sometimes,being like a fish out of the water and some distorted parts here and there are too indifferent.The compositions,which are of course the most important part of the album,contain some above average ideas,very far from winning an Oscar or being original,but still listenable.The problem is that these ideas seems to be incorrectly mixed,resulting something trully energetic,but not quite memorable.Yet you can see some rays of sunshine through the compositions with a few nice melodies,some challenging breaks,while the heavy loads of mellotron are well-executed and add a very mysterious feeling combined with the general heavy sound.

Anubis' debut falls short compared to many other records by modern bands trying to push the Classic Prog sound a bit further and customize it to today's standars.Still the high levels of energy of this young band give hope for a better future and one wonders what will be born,if this power transforms into strong,adventurous and memorable songwriting...2.5 stars.