Review: Anubis Gate – Interference

Style: Power/Prog (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Vanden Plas, Pagan’s Mind, Leprous
Review by: Matt
Country: Denmark
Release date: 02 June, 2023

Time has certainly flown since we last heard from Anubis Gate, right at the start of the pandemic. However, the passage of eons is of little concern to the gods, and Anubis Gate have kept on doing their thing as always. Hearing new Anubis Gate is a little like going back in time to the mid 2000s, when analog and digital production lived in harmony and a Mattias Norén artwork meant you were getting a great album. Most prog bands of the era either lost their edge or migrated to the lands of chug, but Anubis Gate stubbornly remain themselves, uncaring or oblivious to the world of mortals.

Not everything is the same, of course; We’re not quite back to pre-Detached levels of power metal, but Interference shows more willingness to step on the gas than 2017’s Covered in Black did, which is much appreciated. At the same time, there are more 80s new wave influences and overtly Floydian moments of ambience and bluesy guitar playing than ever before. Last album’s persistent aura of melancholy is still lingering around, but the clouds have parted and allowed some sense of fun to return. The contrast between pummeling riffs and calm sections makes for great drama without coming across as jarring, and if things ever threaten to drag, it is usually resolved by a fantastic chorus just in the nick of time. Musical descriptors are all somewhat irrelevant anyway, as Anubis Gate have a way of giving you the album you need, even if it’s not the album you want. Just know that, although the songs rarely go in the direction you would expect, you are in good hands.

Take one of my favorites, “Ignorance is Bliss”: It’s two minutes before we get a proper verse, and they drop everything multiple times for ambient cooldowns rather than immediately going to the next section, but the more thoughtful pace results in a sort of cinematic tension. There’s a similar push-and-pull on “The Intergalactic Dream of Stardom” between laid-back, swaggering classic rock sections and the ultra-precise cosmic sound we’re more used to from this band. If you really look at it, there’s a lot of what you might call “downtime” on this album, and it’s impressive that you don’t spend it just waiting for the payoff. The songs are structured in quite a mature way, where the meandering is well-disguised and still purposeful. Of course, if you want more immediate single-oriented songs, that base is well-covered with “Emergence” and “The Phoenix” being a couple of the catchiest songs they’ve done.

On the vocal front, Henrik Fevre has nothing left to prove at this point in his tenure, having comfortably made the role his own forever ago. I’d just like to say that I appreciate the more natural production on his voice of late. The “ethereal god from space” sound was part of this band’s appeal in the past, but the heavily edited walls of quad tracking and chorus irked me at times. The vocals are still unmistakably modern and dolled up, but for the first time I really have the sense of a good singer delivering his lines in realtime. Fevre isn’t stylistically flashy, just delivering excellent melodies with great tone, but he has some surprising high notes lurking in the toolbox when you least expect them. I daresay the vocals are the best part of the album, bringing the best set of choruses the band has yet penned.

Suffice to say, Anubis Gate have extended their winning streak yet again. Whether you’re an old fan of Andromeda Unchained or a current diehard follower, Interference is not to be missed. Now excuse me, I’ve got to wipe this bird shit off my copy…

Recommended tracks: Ignorance is Bliss, The Intergalactic Dream of Stardom, Interference
You may also like: Lord of Mushrooms, Darkwater, Tanagra
Final verdict: 8/10

Related links: Spotify | Official Website | Facebook

Label: No Dust Records – Facebook | Official Website

Anubis Gate is:
– Henkrik Fevre (vocals, bass)
– Kim Oleson (guitars)
– Michael Bodin (guitars)
– Morten Gade Sørensen (drums)