Anubis Gate – Interference Review

In this niche within a niche of brooding progressive metal that relies on melancholy hooks and heart-filled riffs, Anubis Gate has produced a bevy of under-the-radar successes among the company of acts like Vanden Plas and Wolverine. Nowadays, you can find bands like Lalu or PreHistoric Animals wearing the same progressive rock influences under sleek and sticky veneers of mystifyingly moody metal—all traveling the path worn by the dozens of followers (Dolph included) who listen eyes closed, ears open. Now nine albums along a slow and steady career, Anubis Gate returns after six years of radio silence¹ with Interference, teasing a new level of sonic diversity. With great prog, comes great power—or at least that’s what I want! So take your pills and put your helmet on cause Anubis Gate’s cosmic aspirations hope to launch you pleasantly into the great unknown.

Between Covered in Black’s scattershot aggression to Pink Floyd-influenced wandering, and this newest Interference boasting a continuing lean to the dark side (check the intro to “Number Stations” and closing solo to “Absence”), Anubis Gate has majorly cast away the power in the power/prog of their older sound. Mostly gone are the wiggling and worming atmospheric anthems like “Dodecahedron” (The Detached), “Facing Dawn” (Anubis Gate), or “Never Like This (A Dream)” (Horizons).² ”Equations” and “World of Clay” come close, the former embracing a harshness not shown since their 00s work and the latter living on a chorus full of heavily layered, ominous vocal refrains. But as our Great Ape noted in a passing positivity, Covered in Black started an even deeper wade in prog waters that Anubis Gate had been pooling since Horizons. Regardless of whether the power tag still applies, the quartet of Danes that fuel Anubis Gate ooze talent throughout Interference, finding a playfulness in synths that promote gentle body wobbles more than full-on windmills (“Phoenix,” “Equations”).

Anubis Gate at their brightest moments has always managed to make time drift away in the clutches of dancing melodies that crash upon cascading vocal lines—Interference finds ways to keep that promise. Vocalist and bassist Henrik Fevre enchants as potently as ever. His power imbues lines that resemble literally reading numbers from a phone book (“Number Stations”), or that match the hypnosis of a spoken word relaxation sample (“Interference”), with sneakily sharp barbs. If Covered in Black saw Fevre stretching his prowess against the jolt and jerk nature of jagged tempos, Interference sees Fevre blending more seamlessly into different yet challenging modes of ambience. The forceful build and gruff bark of “Equations,” the freaky Fripp zig-zag of “Dissonance Consonance,”³ the classic chorus call of “World of Clay”—sing along with Fevre and forget about the clock.

But for all the grandeur this brand of progressive album boasts—an esoteric tackle on spacey Floyd-bound themes—Interference has both trouble lifting off and landing. Successful in their serpentine slingshot of riff and harmonic resolution, “Number Stations” and “Interference” offer the most desirable pull to the push of surrounding tracks. As such, having two powerfully anthemic duels fuel initial propulsion sets us up for a journey that feels side-tracked by the unique drive that “Numbers Station” possesses. And just as “Dissonance and Consonance” opens up a wormhole through which Anubis Gate could segue to the immensely eruptive “World of Clay,” “The Intergalactic Dream of Stardom” enters in supreme wordiness to provide a subdued stutter instead, enjoyable as it may be. Interference doesn’t ever register as bad in its detours, but the theory of a direct album experience lingers on repeat listens.

But maybe that’s the point—the album is called Interference after all. Anubis Gate could be running everything true to the title of misdirection and forced opposition to create a tale of cumulative intensity. However, I find more that the two identities that Anubis Gate harbors—that of the electro-influenced progstronaut and the rocket-riding power-pusher—pulse ever so slightly out of phase. The good news is that neither face ever rubs me the wrong way, just a little too long in either direction, not that that has stopped me from listening. For the unacquainted, Interference in its duality may spark the urge to dig—do not resist. Don’t forget to spend some time with Interference too though—Anubis Gate remains compelling even when comfortably in orbit.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: NA | Format Reviewed: Stream ;~;
Label: No Dust Records⁴
Websites: anubisgate.com | facebook.com/anubisgate
Releases Worldwide: June 2nd, 2023