The Detached

Anubis Gate are without a doubt one of the most interesting contemporary progressive power metal bands in the world and as far as I am concerned the best metal export from Denmark. It's a shame that those guys haven't made their breakthrough yet especially as they are able to not only maintain their high level but to improve it in regular time lapses. At least, they got a lot of favourable ratings from genre experts and their growing fan base.

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.

There are few better things in this world to experience than The Detached. It's an album so flaw-free and beyond belief that I actually find difficulty describing it, a reality not helped by it sounding like nothing else on this earth. For sixty-five minutes, there is only music; sublime music that will outlive this life and all others, creating a gateway to another time and space only accessible through its cosmic flow, breathtaking story, and sweeping melodies. In all the genre's years of existence, prog of any kind has never surpassed it, and it will be difficult for anyone beyond the band itself to expand upon this lucid euphoria. Anubis Gate alone wears the crown, and this is the jewel on it that shines the brightest.

The music here is so far out of this world, it makes ours seem brutish and dated in comparison. The atmosphere is everything, and Anubis Gate has shifted from apocalyptic themes to that of space. The production engrosses the listener with all the jet stream leads, dark rhythms, and high-register vocal shooting stars one would expect from the prestigious Anubis Gate, launching them beyond all known life into the crystal clear sky. Which is to say, it sounds really freaking good. Every corner, every instrument, and every electronic effect used to enhance the sound comes off in a vibrant, crystal clear manner. Such a digital recording often conveys a false sense of plasticity, but that couldn't be further from the truth; this sounds huge, brilliant, and futuristic.

The Detached is conceptual genius, but the full glory of the tale cannot be felt without the physical copy's booklet, something I discovered long after listening to it. The lyrics, although bright and often wonderful, cannot express all the details of this film-worthy story, one that I wouldn't want to spoil for you. Where the album's mark is most felt, of course, is in the songwriting, which is absolutely unparalleled. The verse to chorus relationship always feels just right, and the placement of samples and effects could not be better to produce its spacy environment. There are concise tracks and there are lengthy epics, and both manage to hold your mesmerised attention for their respective durations. Instrumental sections from the band's previous albums have been fine-tuned and made even longer than before. Let's just say I'm not complaining. This is a group of virtuosos unequaled in their skill to write simple but compelling music, never showing overwhelming technical prowess, but also never needing to, either.

There are too many brilliant songs to recount here, and their placement is divine. "Yiri" certainly stands as one of the best, with a wonder-provoking verse leading to its heavenly chorus. "Pyramids" transmits images of its title straight into your mind with its rolling Egyptian rhythms. "Dodecahedron" succeeds in spades, casting poetic imagery through the stratosphere, complete with a crafty intro. "Out of Time" is an elegant ballad that boasts some of the most emotional lyrics on the record. At the end, all instruments fade away, leaving an A Capella chorus that's nothing short of mindblowing. The little interlude "Ammonia Snow" must also get a mention, crafting a nice atmospheric piece that reprises some parts of the jubilant "Find a Way (Or Make One)" from earlier on the album. The Detached concludes with its best track, however. "A Lifetime to Share" bears an unbelievable chorus that must be heard to be believed, seemingly wrapping up the story... and yet that necessary feeling of wonder lingers still.

Anubis Gate cannot be confined with lines. They don't perfectly fit into any genre or description, instead bearing an otherworldly vibe dissimilar to any other band even colloquially within the progressive metal district. The Detached is perfection that could not have been created in our world, truly one of the best albums of all time. Own it or be worthless; your choice.

(http://metallicfaithimmortal.blogspot.com/)

Jacob Hansen is a busy man, having to divide his time between three pretty damned good bands: death/thrash luminaries Invocator, Danish prog metal gods Beyond Twilight, and yet another progressive metal band of some notoriety...Anubis Gate. But if he can continue pushing material this catchy and consistent, who is complaining? This is actually only the second Anubis Gate album Hansen has fronted, replacing Torben Askholm who left a few years ago. This is also the 4th full-length of Anubis Gate, and in my opinion, their most interesting yet, from its sleek modern cover image to the many weapons it brings to the battle.

Hansen's vocals are angelic; he is one of the few vocalists (along with Nils Rue of Pagans Mind) who can produce such crystalline highs but maintain their leverage and power, perhaps not hitting the range of Geoff Tate in his prime but highly pleasing throughout the 12 tracks of The Detached. The rest of the band surges with creativity, seemlessly intertwining the air of graceful leads with deep, thrashing rhythms and a myriad of electronic elements which fuse well (another similaritty to Pagans Mind). This album stands tall throughout its rockers: the complex impact of "Find a Way (or Make One)", the atmospheric and epic "Yiri", and the even longer "Pyramids"; as well as its subtle moments, like the shining and brief ballad "Ammonia Snow" and the breathy prog rock of "A Lifetime to Share" (not as dopey as the song title, I promise).

The Detached is top of the line in terms of its mix, which is bright and bold, almost melodic enough to serve as a ray of sunshine, scorching the hides of nightbeasts and sending them rearing back into the shadows. Despite the elegance of the band, they manage to keep the tone of the music serious as opposed to flowery, and along with their closely knit comrades of Beyond Twilight, they stand at the top of this game. Not every track on this album slays, but most will at least put a spike of light through your mind.

Highlights: Find a Way (or Make One), Bloodoath, Yiri, Pyramids

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Every once in a while a band releases an album that makes us all stop what we're doing and look. Be it Lost Horizon's incredible A Flame to the Ground Beneath, Defying the Rules from Brazil's Hibria or recently Pharaoh's Be Gone – albums every metalhead should hear at least once in a lifetime. When Anubis Gate released the superlative Andromeda Unchained heads turned the world over, having an effect similar to the aforementioned albums. Ladies and gentlemen prepare to take notice once again, as Anubis Gate proves Andromeda Unchained wasn't the only ace up their collective sleeves.


Once again a concept album with a pretty damn sweet story, based around a chap named Bilao who belongs to a special race of humans; the Detached. They are called the Detached because they are immortal and able to move time past them, and thus detached from the dimension of time and space. This enables them to visit any era. However there is a catch, that being; the more they move through time the harder it becomes physically for them. Another interesting twist in the idea is that the Detached can choose to age and die like regular human beings if they wish. A really nice idea and throughout the story we see Bilao travel through the past and into the future, with a pretty interesting outcome in the end – although I'll let you explore this story throughout the music. Speaking of which, I really didn't think these guys could get any better; boy was I wrong because The Detached is a vast improvement over Andromeda Unchained.


Whilst retaining the signature Anubis Gate sound, we see the Danes adding to that sound in every possible way. Heavier than anything they've released to date and sounding at their most mature, the vocal arrangements are out of this world. Technically we see the band stepping up their game, be it the tasteful drum-work of Morten Sørensen or the incredibly inventive fret-board acrobatics courtesy of Jesper M. Jensen and Kim Olesen. Not to forget bass-player Henrik Fevre and his sublime backing vocals. The star of the show however has to be the multi-talented Jacob Hansen, with his unique style of vocal delivery and of course what he's known best for on the metal circuit: his phenomenal production.


Kicking things off is a short intro with an atmosphere similar to that of Andromeda Unchained - the computer/space effect really works for these guys. "Find A Way (Or Make One)" is an awesome track, tearing through your speakers with a wicked dual harmony, with a foundation of pounding drum-work. Seriously this is the perfect introduction track to Anubis Gate, showcasing everything that's catapulting them into the Progressive Metal premier league. Next up is the godly "Yiri" boasting a very impressive chorus, sending shivers through me each and every time I listen. The pace never lets up with The Detached, not a single track is without its own merit. Be it using smoking Power Metal guitar leads, soaring vocal melodies, or drenching the music in sublime atmosphere - we really have it all. Tracks such as "Dodecahedron" and "Bloodoath" see Anubis Gate firing on all cylinders, with bad-ass chugging and some inventive guitar work of which only these guys seem capable of. Epic tracks such as the masterpiece entitled "Pyramids" features an awesome Arabic atmosphere with some cool Egyptian-style riffage woven through it. "Options – Going Nowhere" is another really cool track, pushing nigh on 10 minutes with a really awesome spacey/computer effect throughout.


Most of us know by now that ballads and metal don't gel, "Out Of Time" is the closest we get to ballad and really breaks the mold when it comes to ballads and metal. Showing us exactly how it should be done keeping an awesome doom-esque theme riff and adding a wonderful atmospheric part in the mid-section, sounding like something from an anime movie. Special mention has to go to the sublime vocal arrangement at the end of the song. It's hard not to write a fully fledged track by track. Anubis Gate are a band I hold very dearly and The Detached has undergone a lot of scrutiny from me, due to how high in regard I hold Andromeda Unchained. Try as I may I just can't fault this release. Forget what you ever thought about Progressive Metal because this album deserves your undivided attention. Anubis Gate really are on top of their game and I hope they can keep this streak up with album number five. Absolutely Essential


Originally written for www.metalcrypt.com