This is the second album for the Australian band, Anubis, following on from their very good '230503', released late in 2009 and favourably reviewed here at Progressive Area by my colleague, Merlin.
'A Tower Of Silence' tells the story of the spirit of an eleven year old girl lost inside the walls of a victorian paupers' hospital where she lived and died. Of course, this is a concept album and all songs are linked, almost all by the sounds of nature (Pink Floyd, you say?), through a barrage of highly melodic instrumental flights of fancy.
Just imagine - you are in Australia and that you are going to see a concert with Anubis opening for Unitopia! If you didn't know, these two groups are two of the best progressive rock discoveries of the past decade, on tour together! How I wish I could teleport from time to time!
The core influences and likenesses are simple, the first and longest piece, 'The Passing Bell', comprised of six parts is strongly reminiscent of IQ with vocals not unlike Peter Nicholls. The brilliant guitarists play at their very best. This is great art, timeless.
This suite segues well into 'Archway of Tears', a far shorter, nervous, and harder piece, but not uninteresting either. I had my reservations about 'This Final Resting Place', a little over eight minutes with a lot of vocal, but keyboards are merely assisting the guitars - a small disappointent. However, if you like your guitars, then Christmas has come early for you, and it's fun and games for Douglas Skene and Dean Bennison.
Then follows the title track, introduced by a delicate piano and a symathetic vocal. A tragedy (these are the words) playing out with hyperintense music of astounding beauty. The keyboards again take the bull by the horns, guitars this time assist with gentle arpeggios before a devastating but highly melodic solo. A true work of craftsmanship. The second highlight of the work and it's not over ...
Slightly calmer, comes "Weeping Willow", breathing Beatles-esque that will allow us to take our spirits under the willow tree before the storm ... which breaks out on the sixth title, the most conventional and the least ambitious on the album, despite some great keyboard parts (that's my opinion - it's purely subjective and open to debate, of course).
The third highlight is 'The Holy Innocent', the story of time passing, and Robert James Moulding's best vocals to date. David Eaton uses his whole array of keyboards, mostly in the background (real or sampled mellotron? I do not know), except for a solo piano section. The guitarists play mostly in unison, and there is still a very strong influence of IQ in this piece, its just as if, for a moment, Michael Holmes made a trip to Australia, before a ripping saxophone solo in the final section.
We end our trip with "All That Is", a quiet piano introduction, then the mellotron (yes, I know I am obsessed with it). The spitting guitars ... it's hard pulse dominates before a softer instrumental bridge that takes us far, far away, outside the walls of the workhouse, somewhere in another world, another dimension. Listen and listen again to this musical beauty that comes from the Australian sextet Anubis.
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