Band:	Anubis Gate
Album:	Anubis Gate
Style:	Power metal, Progressive metal
Release date:	September 2011

01. Hold Back Tomorrow
02. The Re-Formation Show
03. Facing Dawn
04. World In A Dome
05. Desiderio Omnibus
06. Oh My Precious Life
07. Golden Days
08. Telltale Eyes
09. River
10. Circumstanced

When I heard Anubis Gate had amicably parted ways with singer Jacob Hansen, I was worried. I had greatly enjoyed The Detached and Andromeda Unchained and the one thing I have noticed to change a band's sound more than anything else is a change in singer (just look at the change in Nightwish when they switched from Tarja to Anette). Inversely, when a singer remains and the band is nearly entirely replaced (such as Evergrey) the sound remains similar.

Fortunately, Henrik Fevre, the bassist for Anubis Gate has taken the mantle for singing responsibilities and he has carried the job admirably. His voice is, like the singers before him, clear and high, and he wields multi-tracked harmonies with great skill. (If you want a sample of his voice, check out "Take Me Home" on Andromeda Unchained).

The album itself is a masterwork that takes most of its growth from A Perfect Forever and Andromeda Unchained, but with more darkness infused into the work. The first track starts off with a calm, futuristic-sounding piano intro that slips into riffs darker than anything heard on any of their previous albums. The album progresses with great variety, with "Reformation Show" sounding like it could have been on A Perfect Forever, and "Desiderio Omnibus" dancing on the edge of melodic death metal.

The one song that I felt detracted from the album was "Golden Days" a ballad about the loss of youthful ambitions as one ages. It was a good song, wonderfully written and executed, but to me it didn't fit in with the rest of the album. Likewise "Oh My Precious Life" seemed a little out of place.

The instrumentation is, as to be expected, technical and impressive without being inaccessible. The guitars continue on in similar riffing styles from the previous albums, but still bring new ideas forth. The synths are used to great effect either for solos or for adding layers to the music (see "World in a Dome"). Speaking of solos, the guitar solos and leads, while not being as full of shred as many power metal bands out there, are more interesting than the traditional wankery of the genre.

While this may not be Anubis Gate's most ambitious release, it comes across as more thought-out than The Detached and A Perfect Forever. The variety and the new sound that comes with the new vocals have made this my top release by the band.