| With Anata's "The Conductor's Departure" try and think of the more agressive
side of Opeth mixed with the disharmonic sounds of Gojira and an overall brutal
mixture of death metal represented best by a comparison to labelmates Decapitated.
If you can grasp a hold of all of these different sounds put together into one
fine sound, chances are you'll already know what to expect with Anata's most recent
Earache effort. Although the sound of Anata may fit well in with other musical acts,
and may also seem a little unrecognizable don't let that fact discourage you from
jumping right into this progressive death metal release. It contains clever harmonies
and in many cases, musical breaks of just wandering guitar work and ravaging drum
arrangements which really shows Opeth and Gojira's musical imprints on this bands sound.
In this highly progressive death release, listeners could either find themselves completely
sucked in or a tad bored. The musical integrity of this band is well up there in the ranks of
today's greatest, but if you're not much into the genre of progressive death metal (in the
vein of Spawn of Possession) you might find this release a tad bit overwelming and demanding
to listen to. Tracks such as "Better Grieved Than Fooled," "I Would Dream of Blood," and
"Downward Spiral into Madness" are prime examples of Gojira's influence and in the long drawn
out rhythmic harmonies it's made quite apparent. In other cases tracks such as "Children's
Laughter" and "Renunciation" blatently scream Opeth. The majority of the album has smooth
interludes that are well represented by the previous mentioned tracks, but I think the prog-
death influences of Decapitated and Spawn of Possession are made a little more known in the
majority of this album.
If you can't stomache the lengthiness of progressive death metal, or find it all to be a
little bit boring to you, Anata is definately another band that will fit the equation to a
"T". But if you find yourself facinated with the long drawn out harmonies and rhythms of the
genre, this album could find its way well up into your top favorites for the year of 2006.
It's really all a matter of what your tastes are in metal. But if you're looking for something
new and havn't ventured off into the genre, Anata's "The Conductor's Departure" would serve to
be a good album to test your luck with.
~ Drew
October 23 2006 |
