Anubis Gate - Purification

Year of Release: 2004
Label: Locomotive Music
Catalog Number: LM183
Format: CD
Total Time: 00:00:00

Ancient mythology has always been a welcomed source of inspiration for many bands and this is also the case with the in 2001 formed Anubis Gate. The members of Anubis Gate all have a background in metal, albeit styles like trash metal, rap-metal, but also progressive metal. The line-up consists of founding members Jesper M. Jensen (guitars, bass, keyboards) and Morten S?rensen (drums), completed with vocalist Torbnen Askholm (Prophets of Doom, Northern Empire). Together they wrote the material for an album and then teamed up with renowned producer Jacob Hansen (who produced bands such as Ancient, Falconer and Manticora) to record their debut album, Purification. For some reason this Danish band ended up with a label from Spain, which released it and now we can enjoy this excellent album.

The concept of the album is loosely based on Egyptian mythology and deals with fighting inner demons and cleansing on a psychological level. Musically the album is like a rock! The band brings a very modern sound, with some references to the 80s heavy metal, however never sounding like another band's clone. It took me a while to get into the music, but after a few spins I really started to appreciate this band for their stunning compositions. They combine powerful, crunchy guitar riffs with very melodious parts. Two guest musicians add to the soundscapes: Kim Olsen, on guitar and keys, and Henrik Fevre added his vocals to several songs for the harmony parts. Opener "Downward Spiral" ("Hall Of Two Truths" is more a short, instrumental intro), kicks in with heavy guitars, powerful drums and the, slightly high pitched, vocals of Askholm. I like the way how they mix the keyboards with the guitars in this track. The guitar solo is fantastic.

In contrast to the power metal violence, "Hypernosis" excels in soft, almost subtle guitar play, accompanied by atmospheric keys. Well, only for the first 2 minutes, and then the crunchy rock is back. This is absolutely one of my favourite songs on the album. "Before Anubis" is an instrumental song, which has lots of progressive elements in it, such as a great melody line, spacey keyboards, [and] fantastic harmony guitars; too bad it is a bit short, as this is truly a great song! Some of the songs have an almost catchy melody line, such as title track "Purification" and "The Shadow," but all songs have progressive elements in them. So, although the press release describes Anubis Gate as "mid-tempo power metal," I think this band is very close to progressive metal, as there are absolute great melodies on the album, lots of well-placed keyboard parts and especially the instrumental songs ("Hall Of Two Truths," "Before Anubis" and closing track "Kingdom Of Duat") show this.

I liked one phrase in the press release about this album: "beautiful soundscapes, cool riffing, and a clear and powerful vocal performance," and can only agree with that. This combined with the clear production of Jacob Hansen make Purification to one of the better metal albums around these days. Add to that the superb artwork of Mattias Nor?n and you have a winner here! It may take you a while to get into it (or maybe not ... ), but once you grab it, you won't let it go.

[This review originally appeared May 2004 at the ProgPower Online review site -ed.]
Tracklisting:
Hall Of Two Truths / Downward Spiral / Purification / Hypernosis / In The Comfort Of Darkness / Before Anubis / I, Demon / The Shadow / Discrowned / Kingdom Of Duat

Musicians:
Torben Askholm - vocals
Morten S?rensen - drums
Jesper M. Jensen - guitars (rhythm & occassional lead), bass & synthesizers

Guests:

Kim Olesen - some lead guitars & synthesizers
Henrik Fevre - harmony vocals

Discography:
Purification (2004)

Genre: Progressive-Power Metal

Origin DK

Added: December 8th 2004
Reviewer: Marcel Haster
Score:
Artist website: www.anubisgate.com
Hits: 2076
Language: english